ISU post #6

" I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today."
-Martin Luther King Jr

 This quote is a part of a speech by a famous and well known freedom fighter, Martin Luther King Jr. This speech describes the dream of Martin, it invokes the  Declaration of Independence. By speaking the way Martin did he educated, inspired, and informed people throughout America about racism. His ideas reflected really well through his speech due to his first hand experience of the mistreatment and exploitation of the African Americans. He wanted to make sure that racism was stopped and people are educated about the social issue. His goals were seen within his full speech and he did a great job on acting on the issue of African Americans being oppressed. He received such a great response by several different forms of media and people. Similar to the novel, The Help written by Kathryn Stockett the characters such as Aibileen and Minny were done by being treated poorly. They decided to stop such an unjust issue by expressing their feelings and sharing their stories through a novel. Similar to Martin they had such ambition to go and do something about the situation. They believed that many people should be educated on this and understand that racism needs to be abolished. Though they weren't famous freedom fighters in the novel, they still had great success on letting those who were oblivious to racism be informed about it.

ISU Post #5

The novel The Help written by Kathryn Stockett, tells a story about black maids working in white Southern homes in the 1960s. Aibileen is one of the African American maids in the novel and she shares her experiences as a person of colour. She expresses the way she feels and how she is treated in the novel. The Help also shows the ways that revolve the segregation and mistreatment of the African Americans that live and work in a white peoples town.

In this picture it represents one of the situations that were happening in 1960s, the time in which the story in the novel was written in. The fountains labeled white and colored are similar to the ones in reality at the time. There was separation of the use of things in public or at home at the time between the people of colour and the whites. White people didn't like to share the things they used with the people of color for many reasons. Some believed they carried diseases others thought really low of them and believed they shouldn't be using the same things as them.

This picture relates to the novel because one of the characters named Aibileen, who faces a situation similar to this related to the use of bathrooms. She wasn't allowed to use the same bathroom as the people she worked for. She would have to go outside to a dirty little place similar to present day portable toilets but wooden, more uncomfortable, and appeared extremely damaged. The picture also shows the fountain of the people of colour, more destroyed and cracked. It also refers to the damaged bathroom described in the novel. Furthermore, Aibileen was  accused of carrying diseases just because she was different coloured and an African American.In the end,the picture represents one of the ways white people discriminated the African Americans in The Help.

ISU Post #4

I choose this quote to represent on the social issue of racism in the novel, The Help. In this quote Shirley Chisholm describes that racism is such a common thing seen within the world that it has become invisible. The idea of this quote is seen throughout the novel in several ways. For instance, Aibileen , a African American maid, had been treated poorly for most of her life. When a white woman named Skeeter talked to her casually Aibileen was shocked and believed she would get in trouble for even speaking to Skeeter. Aibileen was often caught up with doing the right things and making sure she pleased the woman she worked for that she didn't realize how poorly she was being treated. Thus making racism become so invisible to her.

Another example of this quote is seen in this novel was in the character Skeeter. In the beginning of the novel Skeeter was also oblivious to the racist acts that people such as Aibileen faced. She'd seen the African American work for her family and had got used to them and didn't pay attention to the discrimination they faced. Eventually, Skeeter  realized what was actually happening to them and how they were being treated. Furthermore, Skeeter was more educated than many other characters and decided to help the African Americans. Even from the beginning Skeeter would made an effort to make conversation with them. Being a white woman Skeeter didn't care about the difference of colour between her and The Help.She helped have their voices be heard discarding opinions of others, even her family. At the end of the novel Skeeter succeeds in helping the voices of many be heard and raise awareness about the issue of racism.    

ISU Post #3

In the documentary , "A Conversation About Growing Up Black" , it describes the issues in which young black men experienced throughout their lives in America. The black men interviewed  talk about many racist situations in which they had come across and the fact that the racist actions were extremely repetitive. They talked about the definition of racism to them and examples of it. For instance, a boy in the video named Shaquille shared his story of a situation. He explained that he once had to cross the street because he didn't want to scare the white lady that was on the street.Though this situation is small it still had strong racial content involved.Others in the documentary mentioned situations involving police officers and how they've been stopped for no apparent reasons while other white people were walking with them. They mention several issues in which they found to be really discriminating and racist that now have become a daily thing for them to come across.

This documentary relates to the novel , The Help because of the major racial issues that the characters in the novel and documentary face. Towards the end of the novel many of the characters such as Aibileen and Minny shared their experiences and everyday lives as The Help .They expressed their feelings towards their race being oppressed by the white people. By having their stories shared Miss Skeeter, a white girl, wrote a book about many situations to raise more awareness about this issue of discrimination.  This is similar to the documentary since the characters featured in the documentary also share their thoughts and experiences to their viewers. Both the characters face similar problems of oppression and want to do something about it and show people that racism exists. They live their lives by being hatred due to their race and find it extremely wrong.

Both the novels expressed strong ways in which certain races are being oppressed. They show how much of an extent of this kind of act they face, their reactions, and how they feel towards it. The documentary shows that racism still exists in present time and in one of the most "powerful" countries in the world. The novel shows the slow change of racist acts and the awareness it reaches towards the end. The question then remains, why do so many black people still experience discrimination today after so much progress in civil rights reform in the last four decades (especially in America) ?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/opinion/a-conversation-about-growing-up-black.html?_r=0

Slam ISU post #2

Disregarding humans because of the color of their skin
Heckling people for the religion they believe in
Centuries of advancement as a species but we still keep repeating the same sin
No two people are alike that's the beauty of this place
So why Look at someone and judge them because of their face
Physically different but we are all part of the race
We Look to extend the dream of equality
Yet continue to live in a world filled with frivolity

- Gurleen Sandhu

This poem is written in relation to the social issue in the novel, "The Help".  It talks  about current discrimination  issues that still occur. Furthermore, it mentions the development of the human race and how far it really has come but some how society keeps repeating the same issues. It even shows that the same issue that has been going on from the period in which the novel is written (1960s), is still occurring and hasn't been stopped. It shows how little of an effort the human race makes in order  to stop such injustice actions. 

Important Quality of a Leader

Communication 

The most quality of a leader is great communication. Communication is the key to having strong relationships with others. Many successful leaders tend to show high skills of communication. Being able to communicate successfully is important because it can reflect on how you are as a person. Communication skills can also help a leader clarify their goal and anticipate the receivers viewpoint and feelings. Furthermore, negotiating with others is easier with great communication skills.  Being able to build relationships with others is important for a great leader. For example, Barack Obama has great communication skills and still keeps a strong bond with the citizens. Many reasons why people respect Obama as a leader is because of his great communication skills .Another example of communication skills is seen in the novel, “Ender’s Game”. Colonel Graff shows an effective use of skills in many ways throughout the novel. He first communicates well with Ender to have him come to battle school and get his point across well. In chapter 9, Graff also showed his communication skills when convincing Valentine to write Ender a letter. Colonel Graff manipulates Valentine into writing a letter for his own use. However, Graff still shows effective communication skills while in the process of manipulation. As a leader, Graff did a great job in using his communication skills to convince others for his own use. Therefore the most quality within a leader is excellent communication skills.   

War and Conflict Artifact

This picture is Albert Einstein’s point of view on war. He states “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. What Einstein is trying to get across is the idea of humans repeating the past and starting from the beginning again. He believes that war is repetitive and decreases human intelligence because of the fact that they are repeating war over and over again than finding a solution. In addition, by war taking place it involves several amounts of resources and causes a lot of destruction. Einstein is saying that if the process of destruction continues, it will eventually demolish all the resources resulting humans to start back from the beginning.  People will stop trying to look for other alternatives than war and keep resulting to the same actions to consult with the issues that they come across. Furthermore, by war occurring all around many people won’t be able to focus and ponder on other things. This picture better helps me to understand war and conflict because it shows me a point of view which states that war is repetitive. I also believe that by repeating the same actions that don’t result with more positive solutions but negative is completely wrong. It made me think more broadly, and helped me to realize many possible reasons why some countries/nations might result in war. Some may take part in war to show how much power and great technology they have, others may do it to please their ego. Overall, this picture made me think more about the consequences of war and how it begins to happen or why it happens. 

The Boy in The Striped Pajamas

Retell:

The movie, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” is about a boy named Bruno at the time of World War II in Nazi, Germany. The story starts off by Bruno and his family moving from Berlin to a new unfamiliar home. Bruno is tempted to explore the area around the new house and is told that he is not allowed to explore certain areas. Bruno still decides to discover the area behind his house and comes across a Jewish boy at a fence around his age at a concentration camp. Bruno and his new friend, Shmuel bond together and discuss about their family background. Just as the boys start to bond Bruno’s family is planning to move away not allowing Bruno to speak to any Jewish person. They also restrain Bruno from knowing what his Fathers work actually is and what happens to the Jews. Bruno goes against his Fathers orders Bruno still visits Shmuel and brings him food and entertainment which aren't provided at the camp. Shmuel confides to Bruno that his father goes missing and he is worried. Bruno promises to help him find his father at the concentration camp and Shmuel promises to bring him pajamas to blind in with the people on the other side of the fence. Towards the end, Bruno goes missing. His clothes were found at the side of the fence in front of the concentration camp. As the boys search for Shmuels father at concentration camp they suddenly get trapped in a gas chamber. Sadly, it was too late when Bruno’s father finally realizes where he had disappeared to.

Reflect:

            This movie was about a start of new friendship. The desire of friendship is universal and important part of every child’s childhood. Bruno and Shmeul exist in completely different worlds and seem to meet due to Bruno’s desire to explore. Despite their circumstances they began to start a great friendship. Though they had conflict throughout the movie when Shmeul went to Bruno’s house the boys still developed to come across their problems. They both knew that they would get in trouble if anyone else knew about their friendship. I admired their friendship and the fact that despite their differences they still became great friends. Overall the movie was great and fascinating. It was unique to see life in the perspective of World War II.       

Relate:

            Bruno and Shmeul became great friends despite their differences in culture. It didn't matter to them about their differences even though they knew they would be in trouble if someone knew about their friendship. I can relate to this because several of my friends have different cultural backgrounds then me. I don’t care about their background but like them as my friend do to their personality. This is similar to Bruno and Shmeuls friendship because they also don’t care about their difference in background and still became great friends. 

slam post #2

Sniper Newsarticle

                                                                                           June 16, 1920

Republican sniper kills three victims

Written by: Gurleen Sandhu                                                                                                            

Yesterday night, in Dublin, Ireland three people had been killed in gunfire by 19-year-old, Republican Sniper. This occurred on the rooftops in the Four Courts area near O’Connell Bridge. The deaths were the results of gunfire between the Republicans and Free Staters who were engaged into a civil war.

The civil war was started to fight for Ireland's struggle for independence. Due to the tension and conflict between the Republicans and Free Staters, war had begun. The war involved several weapons and machinery used by many people within the city. Republican Sniper killed anyone who had come in his way. A statement was released that, an unidentified woman who lived in the area, was shot by Sniper. The driver of an armed car was also killed in the fight.

                A woman at the scene, described hearing many gunshots. She stated, “I saw a man dressed in casual clothes armed with a rifle over the body before fleeing in the direction of the park. When he looked at the body he was shocked and started to cry like he had known the man who he killed”. At the end of the shooting, a sniper who was shot was found dead on the street where he was estimated to have fallen from the roof of one if the buildings.

                When the police searched the surrounding area, another roof turned up signs of habitation. The head of the investigation, Officer Brown, declared, “There was a lot of blood found at the scene on another roof, the 19-year-old Republican Sniper may have been wounded. His riffle was also found in the street”.  Dublin had become the scene of several sniper attacks in recent weeks, as the civil war continues to put pressure on the new government.

                The authorities have been working on to find the man in charge of killing three victims. There is still an investigation going on, with a little evidence given they doubt they’ll find out who is behind this. If you have any information related to this contact Dublin Metropolitan Police at DMPlaw.org or call 1-800-887-0000. 

The Sniper

“The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty Summary

 

            The short story “The Sniper” is about Republicans and Free Staters who are  engaged in civil war in the city of Dublin near O’Connell Bridge . A young boy, Republican sniper, lays on the roof top waiting and searching for the enemy.

 

It’s the evening of June and sniper hasn’t eaten anything and desperately wants to light a cigarette and finally risks the chance of being seen and lights the cigarette .Instantly ,a bullet hits the wall near him. He then put out the cigarette and looked over the parapet, where another bullet flashed over his head and he flattens himself against the roof.   

An armed car stops near O’Connell Bridge just close and below to snipers position. Sniper wanted to fire at the enemy car but knew that his bullet would not penetrate its strong exterior. An old women points towards snipers way and he realizes that she is an informer. When a man came out of the turret, sniper shoots, the man falls on the turret wall. He then shoots the woman who attempted to escape and fell into the gutter. Suddenly from the opposite side of the roof bullet hits sniper.

 

Sniper quickly rips open his sleeve with a knife and applies a bottle of iodine on top of the wound. Sniper knows he need to do something quickly in order to kill the enemy on the opposite side of the roof and thinks of a plan .Taking his rifle which he now can’t use because of his wounded arm, he places his cap on top of the muzzle and places it on top of the parapet. A shot knocks down his hat to the ground and sniper places his arm lifelessly over the parapet holding his riffle.

 

The enemy now thinks that sniper is dead, relaxes and stands over the roof. The Republican Sniper aims at the enemy with his revolver and shoots. The enemy stumbles over the parapet and falls to his death. Sniper began to curse the war, himself, and everyone else. He drains his whiskey flask all at once.

 

Sniper leaves the roof and out of curiosity wants to see the enemy who he shot. He goes beside the dead body of his enemy and turns him over, he finds himself staring at his brother’s face.

 

Authors Message

 

In the short story, “The Sniper”,  the author indicated the idea of cruelty and irrational behavior of war. When Sniper is killing his enemies, he seems to find joy through the process. This kind of behavior is irrational and brought out by the civil war happening at the current time. The reason he joined the war also shows the cruelty of war because of his youth and “the cold gleam of the fanatic on his eyes.” As a young man being a part of such irrational behavior also proves that war is cruel. War also has brought out his irrational behavior and changed his perspective on certain people who he now claims are his enemies. This story goes on and the moods of sniper also change from feeling strong lust for war to remorseful. It shows the cruelty of war itself and irrational behavior.   

Slam poem- Racism ISU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ_8Ib2lCHg

ISU post #1

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/22/after-winnipeg-called-worst-place-in-canada-for-racism-city-leaders-admit-there-is-a-problem/

I.S.U 

In the article "After Winnipeg called worst place in Canada for racism, city leaders admit there is a problem", it talks about racism still existing in Winnipeg, Canada. The mayor of Winnipeg acknowledged that one of the problems the city dealt with was racism against Aboriginal people.

The article states how there is discrimination within local restaurants and on the streets of Winnipeg. Furthermore, it mentions how Aboriginal people are not getting the respect they deserve. Society portrays them as alcoholics, drug addicts and uneducated people.In fact, in the article Mr. Kinew as a Canadian broadcaster, musician, and university administrator in Winnipeg feels that this issue needs more attention and needs to be dealt with immediately. Mr.Kinew exclaimed, "I'm a professional, but people assume I'm some entry level or custodial worker....people will be talking to me about how everyone in your community's got issues with alcohol or problems with the government dependence"(Boesveld). The quote shows how many  Winnipeg citizens prejudice against  Aboriginals. Additionally, the perception of the lifestyle of Aboriginals is seen in a negative way. 

Through my personal experiences in Winnipeg without knowing,  I even judged many Aboriginals. Due to the things I heard about them I discriminated the group of people and distinguished them as uneducated people who only committed crimes. Even though, I only went to the "bad" side of Winnipeg, I later got to be aware that there are many educated Aboriginals and that I should not judge them right away.   

In the book, The Help, it talks about the racism between African Americans and white people in the 1960s. The book is written in the perspective of Aibileen, a black caregiver. It shows how the African Americans are also oppressed by the white people. In the book Aibileen described how black people are thought as disgusting, uneducated people who bring diseases into white peoples houses.This presumption is wrong and makes the society at the time think that all black people are horrible. "He even start writing his own book, bout being a coloured man living in and working in Mississippi"(pg.9, Stockett). This quote describes how Aibileens son was writing a book. As a black person at the time many didn't express their knowledge or weren't educated at all. They wouldn't even write books but he did, he was well educated enough to write a book. Thus showing that not all black people are uneducated, therefore should not be perceived in that one type of way. 

The book and article relate to each other because they both talk about how society discriminated and labeled people without knowing the entire truth. They also both dealt with racism against two completely different races such as the Aboriginals and African Americans. Both of these races were seen and treated poorly. In conclusion, both the Aboriginals and African Americans dealt with racism that impacted their lives and the way society pursued them.   

The 4 C's- Child Soldiers

Changes
The changes within attitudes and actions throughout the video, are when Ishmael was able to go to a rehabilitation center. At first Ishmael hated being in war but the idea of fighting and killing changed because he was brainwashed into doing so and felt that the soldiers are his family and friends. At the rehab center he refused to cooperate with others , who were trying to help him because he thought he had been taken away from his family and friends. He eventually connected with an adult nurse and began to recover. He with drew drugs and faced the memories as a child soldier. Though, the process of recovery was harsh he had got used to the idea and learned to be around people who were happy.

Concepts
The key concepts and ideas that are worth holding on to from the text are the commanders and adults who forcefully recruited child soldiers. The idea of them doing so shows how much humanity and intelligence they lack. These adults should know not to involve the innocent lives of the children and have them take part in war which they don't need to be in.

Connection 
The video "Former Child Soldier Ishmael Beah Recounts his Past" is about a child soldier who experiences difficult and harsh situations. The video is similar to the article "Teaching Kids to Kill" in numerous ways. Firstly, the theme is similar and is directed towards the amount of children which see violence on social media networks. Children are more exposed to violence and don't find it to be wrong.  Most kids are seeing violence though out video games and television. These children are surrounded by violence, so as they grow up to find it not be wrong and are unaware of the criminal charges or consequences in reality of violence being used. Ishmael Beah was also taught as a child how to use a gun and was forced into war. He had been brainwashed into thinking whats right and wrong, but ended up being involved in war as a child.

Challenges

• As a kid your parents teach you whats right and wrong, how did Ishmael not figure out that what he had been doing was wrong? How did he refuse help?
• How can a person like Ishmael experience so much and be so strong ? Does he not have any emotions left towards it ?

Summary on "Islamic State will lose, says Obama" and connection

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31425384

    Summary   

       President Barack Obama recently received congress approval on formally authorizing a military force against the Islamic State militants. He had clarified that it would not turn into another ground break war against the Middle East, but did state that this mission would take longer than expected. President Obama also clarified that this wasn't going to be an endless war. Furthermore, Obama called lawmakers to come together and help to not drag this situation into prolonged war. President Obama even stated "ISIL is going to loose". Obama does believe that this mission will be difficult but still has ambition to successfully achieve it. The main goal of the mission is to degrade and destroy Islamic State militants. In the end, President Obama is trying to quickly demolish the situation it currently has with the Islamic State. 

Text to World Connection 

       President Obama's congress authorization approval is similar to President Bush's situation in the Iraq War Resolution. The Iraq Resolution was a joint resolution which was a public law that authorized military action against Iraq on October 2002. These two authorizations both are similar because they both targeted an attack on the Middle East. Even though the situations may be different, both President Bush and Obama seem to be seeking authorization for a military attack towards the same place.

      In the past, conflict arose between President Bush and the Plaintiffs, who argued that the President did not have the authority to declare war. With President Obama's situation he decided to seek help from the lawmakers and wanted to unite with them to possibly prevent the problems which occurred in the past.Obama is trying to show that the actions the United States are taking aren't in any way wrong.

     Both President Bush and Obama were determined to receive authorization and had received what they wanted in the first place. In addition, President Obama and Bush were both ambitious to succeed within their missions in different ways. With this intention, Obama clarified that the past would not be repeated again in particular with the ground war with the Middle East. In the end, both President Obama and President Bush dealt with similar situations with the Middle East resulting in situations with the presidents favours.