child things

"December 11thth, 2012 marked the beginning of First Nation Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike. ..."

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:09:00 -0500

“

December 11thth, 2012 marked the beginning of First Nation Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike. Spence gave the country an ultimatum and in turn demanded a meeting with the government to discuss the fragile state of indigenous treaty rights, and Canada’s relationship with its First Nations peoples. After a protracted stalemate between the Prime Minister and grassroots pressures, Harper finally agreed to a meeting on January 11. Spence, referred to by some supporters as “our lady,” has become the figurehead of the Idle No More movement.

Initially triggered by Bill C-45, which undercut the protection of Canada’s waterways and reduced the number of votes required to relinquish indigenous land to development projects, the Idle No More movement has come to stretch beyond legislation, encapsulating a wide spectrum of long-standing frustration shouldered by Canada’s First Nations.

The recent social movement has enjoyed an almost unwieldy evolution with the help of social media; forms of protest have expanded well beyond demonstrations on Parliament Hill, having taken diverse forms ranging from flash mob round-dances to CN railway blockades. The message, however, has remained the same: there must be an end to “chronic underfunding of essential human services,” premature deaths, “youth suicides, over-representation in child and family services, prisons and hundreds of murdered, and missing women.” In sum, Canada must change its relationship with its indigenous peoples.

Many Canadians agree: Idle No More has met the support of public figures such as the CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, and activist Naomi Klein. Across Canada and beyond its borders, throngs of advocates have been championing the #idlenomore hashtag, sustaining a constant flow of information and support through various social media sites. Indeed, a quick gloss over a comment section on a news article or on www.idlenomore.ca should leave you with a sense of pan-Canadian pride and unity.

One of the movement’s primary goals has been to “improve Canada’s understanding of the issues facing First Nations.” Internet comment boards have provided a window into the successes and failures of this endeavour. Although the medium has dispensed a space for support, debate, and critical analysis, it has also given way to polarization: having simultaneously created a corollary forum for the expression and distribution of racist counterattacks. The following is exemplary of the type of rhetoric that has been comfortably employed and defended in response to Idle No More: “The aboriginals on reserves are virtually a totally dependent group – The hunting and fishing era is over – the internet and satellite TV, Alcohol and drugs are in!” And while the comment was met with criticism at large, an Anonymous user offered their semi-confessional encouragement: “You[‘re] just expressing what everyone else is afraid to.”

Anonymous’ response conveyed an apprehension towards social admonition, but other posters are not held back by such shame. A young movement, Idle No More already faces an all too recognizable arsenal of stereotyping and prejudice—complaints over ‘handouts,’ accusations of corruption, appeals for assimilation. Although it is widely acknowledged that implicit and structural racism are still highly relevant, comment boards have unveiled a disturbing level of acceptance for its explicit and unabashed counterpart.

Certainly, Idle No More has made laudable progress in a small window of opportunity. The public is more aware, more informed, and perhaps more supportive than ever. Nonetheless, Canada’s pervasive and seemingly ‘acceptable’ perspectives on its First Nations herald a long, painful and rocky process of relearning.

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- Idle No More: Public Opinion in the Comment Box | The Political Bouillon

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Thu, 03 Jan 2013 04:15:33 -0500

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Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:36:18 -0500

mpdrolet: Solar energy plant Casabermeja, Andalusia,...

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:23:29 -0500

mpdrolet:

Solar energy plant Casabermeja, Andalusia, Spain

Benjamin Antony Monn

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Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:22:47 -0500

mpdrolet: From Burma Miti Ruangkritya

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:06:30 -0500

mpdrolet:

From Burma

Miti Ruangkritya

nzafro: 1933.

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:34:59 -0500

nzafro:

1933.

"Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do."

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:34:24 -0500

“Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do.”

- J.D.Salinger (via alannahharris)

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Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:01:36 -0500

The Sartorialist Goes Colonial | The Political Bouillon

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:35:00 -0500

The Sartorialist Goes Colonial | The Political Bouillon:

“What Burberry’s plaid is to London, the Hudson’s Bay blanket is to Canada in all its Far North glory.”

— Hudson’s Bay Salesclerk, 2003

To this day the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ubiquitous stripes convey the historical keystone of Canada’s naissance: the fur trade. In a country where national identity is perpetually under question, the Hudson’s Bay blanket has secured itself an unwavering position within the Canadian narrative.

The Bay has remained ever faithful to its stripy icon of ‘Canadian-ness.’ A quick look at the Company’s winter collection will confirm the commodification of a historical emblem. Indeed, it seems that the brand’s stripes have become a status symbol for Canadians, as prices for the average Hudson’s Bay striped jacket will range between well over $ 600 to just under $ 900. Just like Burberry, the Bay pattern is not just an example of nationalist aesthetic. It has become a class marker.

Not unlike many other marketing strategies, the Bay has begun a project to foster a sense of Canadian culture around the blanket, establishing a site called “Stripe Spotting” (http://b-insider.com/stripe-spotting/) where consumers can submit stories and photos about their Bay experiences. Such mini photo essays range from photos of dogs in stripy jumpers to entire rooms clad with HBC, from “truly Canadian” wedding photos to blanketed engagement photos centring around a ‘glamping’ theme: “Glamour Camping.” The latter is perhaps the best example of the identity that the Bay has sought to cultivate: a hybrid between a blue-collar, nature-loving Canadian sensibility and a sense of belonging to a White bourgeoisie.

It seems that the Bay has quite successfully managed to veil, recontextualize and reshape the original meanings of the blanket. Once an instrument of colonial genocide, the blanket has been imbued with ideas of glamour and an overall sense of Canadian inclusivity—to the exclusion of those marginalized by history.

One cannot forget that during the “French and Native-American wars between 1755 and 1760,” colonizers used diseased smallpox blankets as biological warfare against the indigenous populace. In disseminating the Bay blankets, the smallpox blankets were used as a genocidal tool to “extirpate this Execrable Race.” Complicit in this scheme, a British officer explained: “we gave them two Blankets and a Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect.” In fact, it would surpass this “desired effect” and proceed to determine the path of Canada’s history.

Such a history has been one of exclusion and marginalization. With the last native residential schools shutting down in the 1990s, Canada’s track record in matters of Indigenous Affairs remains a source of quiet national embarrassment to some. However, the country still manages to uphold an international reputation of humble correctness. Much of the colonial legacy has been swept under the rug, with Canada’s subaltern having little voice in the processes of historiography. To this day, policy-making pays little respect to indigenous needs.

What effect, then, does the revamping and reshaping of the Hudson’s Bay stripes have? Those privileged by the outcomes of history have had the power to manipulate a symbol representing an inconvenient stain on Canada’s reputation. The erasure of the blanket’s genocidal connotations draws an uncomfortable parallel to the consistent oversight of the subaltern within discourses of Canadian history and identity.

It is an embarrassment that people should unknowingly don the smallpox blanket—now a source of nationalist pride and wealth in their eyes. With so little awareness, hopes of accountability and justice fall flat.

The voice of the victor, loudest as always, proclaims his implicit victory of colonial rule.

22 de septiembre | Teatro Hipódromo [Edifico Ermita, DF] | +30...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:46:47 -0400

22 de septiembre | Teatro Hipódromo [Edifico Ermita, DF] | +30 proyectos emergentes de música,nacionales e internacionales | TODAS las edades.

Preventa de boletos (con descuento) en http://festivalantes.com

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Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:03:49 -0400

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Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:51:10 -0400

Mark Rothko’s first UK solo show at London’s Whitechapel...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:30:12 -0400

Mark Rothko’s first UK solo show at London’s Whitechapel Gallery, 1961

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Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:07:11 -0400

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Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:31:00 -0400

"This living hand, now warm and capable Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold And in the icy..."

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:30:35 -0400

“This living hand, now warm and capable
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood
So in my veins red life might stream again,
And thou be conscience-calmed—see here it is—
I hold it towards you.”

- John Keats

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Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:50:01 -0400

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Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:43:14 -0400

"Talking like touching Writing like punching somebody"

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:39:33 -0400

“Talking like touching
Writing like punching somebody”

- Susan Sontag (via billowy)