Although I feel as I MUST be open to all human rights issues, feeling that there should be an equalness and equity between every human being, the reality is that there ARE issues that I am uncomfortable with. One issue being anything that associates with LGBTTIQQ2S (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgendered, Intersexual, Queer, Questioning, 2-Spirited).

I think the main reason I feel uncomfortable with this is because of the environment I was exposed to when I was younger, who also thought of anyone who associates with LGBTTIQQ2S do not deserve the rights that other “normal” humans do. I used to believe that is how the social construct should be, but because of the past few years, I have reformed my idea on this. I also try to stop myself from saying stupid remarks like, “that’s so gay”, when i’m trying to say “that’s so stupid” because IT IS a form of discrimination, and may offend someone. But the thing is, my past thoughts still intefere with what I want to think right now, and what I am thinking right now, but ultimately, I’m trying to build an openness to this, so that I can become more comfortable with this issue. yay ;]

Wan and Andrea HAFTA do the first impression thing =)

Today what we had to do is go on the Human Rights Watch website, go under ‘take action’, and do something under it, then just talk about, whether we had to sign a petition, or we just got educated on a subject.

What I did on the Human Rights Watch website was send a letter regarding violence among women. Female abuse is happening all over the world, and many people are oblivious to it. Why do some men in the world believe that they are superior in comparison to women? And what made it so that WOMEN, not MEN, are inferior?

An example is in Iran, where it is legal for wives to be raped by their husbands. This shows how patriarchal this society is, as it still believes in the system in which males in dominant. In a place like Canada, where there is less discrimination against females than other countries, would think this is absolutely crazy. But, it is mind blowing to actually think that this is how the society has been brought up, and that there is an acceptance of this from society, even though it is SO disgusting to us. I still believe that male and female are equal, and both sexes can do the same thing if they desirve, but would my views be different if i was brought up in a society like in Iran, rather than Canada?

Finally! After two dry days with stuff like the mandatory WHMIS lecture, it’s finally gotten exciting =). Today we had: Jason and Patricia from the equity department in the TDSB, lawyers of the TDSB, UNICEF, Jamal who shared his story, and Human Rights Watch came to talk to us, and open our eyes to various aspects in the world, in regards to Human Rights. Everything was WAY more lively today, as people had LOADS of questions and stuffs, especially Ammar and Araf during the lawyer’s visit.

Anyways, all the workshops were amazing, as it brodened my perspective on different rights and how they can be viewed as, and what we can do about it. I really liked how Human Rights Watch gave us option in which we, the youth, could become involved with its purpose.

The workshop that appealed most to me was the one with Jamal, where he told us his story. I felt this story was more relavant to me on a more personal level, because growing up in rexdale, also as a ‘troubled neighbourhood’ or whatever, I have seen many people go in the wrong direction in their life, with smoking weed and getting themselves involved with gangs. The fact that he could change his perspective on life, and change his entire life around, was very inspirational. It made me think that there is STILL a chance to turn someone’s life around when it seems impossible.

We then played a labelling game, where everyone wrote down their first impression of every other person, to illustrate that people are labelled, even if they do not want to. We discussed different pictures too, and how it related to society. One picture was about gays, and another picture imposed how people who originate from Palestine are born terrorists. Almost all the pictures showed some sort of generalization and an exampe of stereotypes. At the end, we watched two scenes from the movie Crash about how appearance may change the views of how people may preceive another person, just like Jamal’s story about when he went to court to bail out his brother.

I really enjoyed all workshops today, and I was engrossed throughout the entire day ! aha, way more fun than the other days =P