We are a group of students at Vista Virtual School. We all attended a program called “Connections”. The goal of the 5 day camp was to inform students about the different types of everyday discrimination young adults face. Topics discussed were: racism, homophobia, disability discrimination, religious discrimination, and sexism. These are only a few examples of sensitive topics that greatly affect today’s youth. At this camp we learned how to combat discriminators, both personally and when it’s being witnessed. We learned so much on how to be more aware of the many different ways we can fight discrimination.
With all we learned we want to share our ideas with others who were not able to attend the Connections program as we did. So, we decided to create this blog. Our goal here is to impart our gained knowledge to other youth. We each chose a topic that we learned about and can connect to. We want to share our experiences and other’s experiences to present another perspective.
Here are our perspectives…
Authors; Mona. K ~ Kailee-Ann M. P ~ Pam. S ~ Ifra. A ~ Katie. T
Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.
Religious discrimination is intolerance of religion, mistreatment, unfavorable treatment, and bias against a religious group or certain person because of their beliefs. It has caused war and international disputes. It includes stereotyping and labeling. It has divided societies, nations and humanity.
We see religious discrimination demonstrated historically in the oppression of Palestine by the Israeli government over the last 50 years, for example, and religious freedom laws. The conflict has caused issues like discrimination in society because of tension between Jewish and non-Jewish people in Israel. The government’s control of Muslim and Christian Holy sites restricts religious freedom.
Profiling of religious groups is common in the modern day. This can be seen through the intolerance of and refusal to accommodate women wearing Muslim religious garments such as the hijab, niqab and burka. Labeling all Muslims as terrorists, making assumptions, committing hate crimes, using slurs, bullying, & disrespect are all forms of religious discrimination.
Lack of respect and acceptance for what is different is caused by a lack of understanding and education. When you educate yourself, you are more open minded. A blocked perception or narrow view results in ignorant, arrogant thoughts. Learning about Islam and other religions will make you aware that the main principle of these groups is love and nonviolence. Depending on a preconceived idea is naive and leads to belief in illogical things, like profiling an entire religion or disrespect of humanity.
It is our responsibility to love and respect each other, and any form of discrimination does not play a role in that.
-Katie. T
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
We’ve all heard the comments, or at least seen online, that some people choose to make about gay people. These comments are usually disrespectful, rude, mean, or just downright cruel. Being targeted by these types of people can be very scary and very hurtful, especially when you are a lover, not a fighter. As well, it can hurt to have to watch these incidents occur because you may not know what to do or how to help. Well, that’s what I’m here to try and help you with! For any of you who are completely unfamiliar with the term, homophobia, or being homophobic, means that you hate or have a dislike for gay people and for the way they live, dress, talk… you name it! As I have stated above in the title, homophobia is a choice, being gay is not. You choose whether you want to be kind or unkind, but you cannot choose who you love (believe me, I think we all wish we could).
For starters, let’s address the drawbacks of homophobia, specifically to gay people. Receiving a hateful comment can be extremely damaging to a gay person’s self-confidence, especially if they are not truly accepting of the feelings that they have. Homophobia, en masse, can cause those types of homophobic feelings to be ingrained in all people almost naturally! This can be very harmful to any gay people who have these internalized feelings because it may cause them to hate themselves or have years of confusion and self-doubt for who they are. As well, parents who have this internalized homophobia may not know how to love their children if they ever come out as gay to them and, in worse case scenarios, they may hate their children and shun them. This of course can be extremely psychologically damaging to a child and may leave them with years of trauma.
But I’m speaking too broadly here: Let’s get personal. When YOU are homophobic, you hold hate in your heart. I think we can all agree hate is a disgusting feeling, and it looks terrible on anyone. When you radiate hate, you attract hateful people. This may be exactly what you want, but understand that hate is an internalized disease that, if you let it consume you, will completely take away your humanity, your mind, and most importantly, your heart. Even if you are not homophobic, having homophobic friends can easily cause you to become numb to certain comments and ways of thinking. This may just be me talking here, but I’ve noticed that openly homophobic people have this weird obsession with gay people. They just can’t not spend every moment of every day thinking about how much they hate gay people, how much they wish ill-will on their lives. Their hate has completely consumed their life, their love, and their happiness. Oh, and before you ask, no, loving to hate someone does not count as having love in your life.
“The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be, rather than recognizing how we are.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Gender stereotypes have existed before we were even born. Take history, for an example, where women were not allowed to vote because they were considered to be only house wives and mothers. Or even today, when you walk past a teenager your age and overhear them say “all Asian women are bad drivers”. Gender stereotypes exist throughout all of society, but they start at an early age. The toy store is a part of every child’s life, but the toy store is a form of gender stereotypes. They have two different sides, one filled with pink dolls, teddy bears, and paint sets while the other is filled with blue monster trucks, light sabers, and skateboards. As little children we know which side is ours because of how society sets up our standards. We need to stop having two different sides of the toy store and we need to combine those and let kids choose what they want, not what society wants.
Gender stereotypes can really drop a person’s self-confidence to a low-level, and people can’t be themselves if they are pressured to follow these standards. It’s hard for women to go anywhere without seeing many forms of gender stereotypes. For example, at the grocery store there are magazine racks that show a photo-shopped model and the message: “Get this amazing summer body by doing these great workouts.” This message is body shaming women who don’t look like the model featured in the magazine and encouraging them to follow the standard of how a woman “should” look.
Personally, I see the checklist that society sets for women as unbelievable and disgusting. Society’s standards for how a woman’s body should be or how she dresses, eats, and learns should not exist and a woman has the right to do these things as she pleases. Women and girls go through a lot and many are strong. Some have depression and anxiety and they suffer through eating disorders just to look like the models on magazines. Their lifestyle changes and they attempt to follow the expectations that hurt them physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Gender stereotypes have affected me as well. I always heard from people who say I am fat, and I need to lose weight. I need to wear dresses, or that my hair must always be done every day. But I am happy with the way I look. I know I don’t want to change anything about myself. We need to encourage women and girls to love and care for who they are and how they are. We need to shut society up and do it our way!
Gender stereotypes also affect men and boys. Society has standards for men and boys on how they should behave, what they should wear, how they act, etc. Some include…
Boys have no feelings
Men are aggressive
Boys love to play sports
Men are stronger than women
If a boy doesn’t want to be in a relationship or if he is shy he is considered to be “gay”
These stereotypes affect boys and don’t allow them to discover their identity and do different things. Society also brands that a man has to be muscular, strong and work in certain jobs such as an engineer or a construction worker.
We can block gender stereotypes by pointing it out in magazines, in public, in school and in the workplace. If we start spreading awareness about this issue, people will start to understand how these stereotypes affect people. If we keep the message going around, those who are affected by these stereotypes will feel encouraged to be themselves and find their own way, and not the way society wants them to be.
“Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.” -Emma Watson
Let me know what you think. Don’t be afraid to comment below. Thanks for reading.
Racism: “antagonism directed towards someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior”. For some people, racism may be simply a word in the dictionary with a definition next to it, but for others, it is a word that evokes hurt, anger, and fear.
Along with many great discoveries and inventions, racism also has been a part of human history. The most common examples that come to mind are slavery in America, or Hitler’s antagonism towards Jews. In both these examples, racism has played a major role in causing mayhem and bloodshed. It all started with one thought: these people are different from me, hence they are inferior. Who knew that one thought could cultivate such hatred? If one thought could lead to such destruction, isn’t it possible that another thought, possibly a more accepting one, could have shaped history a bit differently?
Imagine if Africans weren’t seen as slaves, but as equals? What if Jews weren’t shamed, but were accepted for their different religious beliefs? Racism does not choose us, we choose racism. The most powerful ability humans have is agency: To freely choose a path that will help others, not harm them. One thing I’ve noticed is that in the past you knew if you weren’t accepted based on your skin color, religion, or race.
It was pretty straight up. But now, it is more subtle. Think of a time when you directly or indirectly experienced racism. It could have been job rejection because you were a different skin colour. It could be being called racial-slurs by friends, or it could have been as subtle as being followed around a store because you “looked” suspicious. Racism is still a part of our society; we just don’t realize it. Now, based on these examples, I want you to think of a time when you, or you saw someone, judging another person based on their skin color, race, or religion. Did you choose to act that way? Did they choose to act that way? The answer is yes. Being intentional or unintentional, a choice is still being made.
I attended CONNECTIONS, a program that focuses on making youth more aware about the troubles one faces in the society, such as, homophobia, Islamophobia, bullying, and sexism. The basis of all these issues are racism, stereotyping, and prejudice. We were taught to be more open, more accepting, and more aware of our words and actions. One important thing I learned, and will remember in the future, is the difference between intentional and unintentional. It is easy to be intentionally inviting and respectful towards someone. It is also easy to be intentionally dis-inviting. Again, it comes down to the agency you have. You can choose to have good intentions, and they will shine through in your words and works. Now, the hard thing about doing something unintentionally is that half the time you don’t realize you are being disrespectful towards another person. That’s why it’s so important to be aware, and too know that certain things you say or do can hurt someone, even if it wasn’t your intention. Next time you hear a racial joke, or you yourself casually use a racial slur, know that it is hurting the person on the receiving end.
Furthermore, with these issues it is never just between the victim and abuser; there is a bystander. It isn’t easy being a bystander: you are sympathetic but you feel helpless. If you see racism happening it’s important that you don’t worsen the situation by stepping in-between, but it’s also important that you don’t stand by and silently watch. If possible, have a teacher or adult help you diffuse the situation. If there is no one available, wait close by until the victim is alone. Then go and talk to them, ask them if they are OK. Sometimes having someone to talk to makes us feel so much better. If it’s online, you can flag the comment or image as inappropriate. Our silence often times encourages the abuser, but it’s also important to put your own safety first.
Racism was there in the past, and it’s here in the present. It’s up to us to not make it a part of our future.
“There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more”
-Robert M. Hensel
“Disability” is defined by many people with different personalized interpretations. The English dictionary states that disability is: “A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.” This, however, is different than how I see disability. To me, no matter the physical or mental state of a person, one’s capabilities are only limited to the mind. A disability doesn’t define you, it doesn’t make you who you are. It only makes YOU more unique.
However, I have met so many amazing people who are “disabled”. Though some are more physically/mentally challenged than others, they achieve so any amazing things. Take young Madeline Stuart for example. She lives in Australia and has Down syndrome. In 2015 she made her debut on The New York Fashion Week catwalk. At only 18 years of age, Madeline became the world’s first ever Down syndrome professional model. Her goal is to “change society’s perceptions of beauty – one photo shoot at a time”. As she explained;
“I hope through modelling I can change society’s view of people with disabilities [and use the] exposure to create awareness, acceptance and inclusion.”
-Madeline Stuart
To me, she is such an inspiration. All I see is another reason to love the strength that a community can offer. She is defying the stereotypical idea of the term “disability”. She is showing society that she is capable of more than what they think she can.
Most people think of disability as a negative thing to live with, but to me they are just regular people. Disabilities that are physically restricting don’t always affect the mind. Take the late Professor Stephen Hawking as an example. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which impaired his physical abilities. However, his physical impairment never hindered his ability to be great. He was theoretical physicist, a cosmologist, an author, and director of research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. He was a world renowned scientist who’s been praised for many years, with many years of praise to come, too.
I can personally connect to this topic. My uncle was born with Down syndrome and autism. He was incapable of doing “normal” things such as talking and potty training until he was 9 years of age. He, however, is a very smart little boy. He can understand English, Swahili, and ASL. His spirit is gentle, that when he smiles, your heart melts. When I look at him I don’t see him for his disabilities, I see the little boy who loves to jump and eat cupcakes. His disability is in the eyes of the beholder, but to me he is my Uncle Scott.
Physical inability isn’t always easy to deal with, but just look at the amazing participants of the Special Olympics. Many of the participants are physically challenged but through the power of determination they have accomplished great things. In the 2017 Special Olympics, Paige Norton competed in two events and won a gold and silver medal for Canada. In 2016, Shane Haddad won Gold for Canada. Since 1983, Haddad has been an advocate for the intellectual disabilities community, just as his family has been. Both people are amazing no matter their “disabilities”: they have accomplished much with no regard to the social stereotyping of the disabled community. They put aside what society says they can’t do. They’ve proven they are more than capable of achieving great things.
All these people have something in common: disabilities. Yet I see accomplished, amazing humans who have denied society their stereotypes. They are capable of great things. Disability is in the eyes of the beholder. I choose to see someone without a wheelchair or without autism because, to me, they are people. They are human. They are ABLE.
Seeing disability is a choice. Choose to see the person inside, not the disability on the exterior.
Let me know what you think in the reply below. Thanks for reading 🙂
From all of the students here at Vista Virtual school that worked on this project, thank you. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy days to hear what we have to say about these sensitive topics. We hope no body was hurt and that we were able to share the knowledge that we learned at CONNECTIONS camp.
We hope that we shared some things that will open your eyes a little and see a different perspective. We hope to change things so that nobody has a label. That you can decide how the world sees you not what they what to see. You can decide who you are. But be who you want to be.
Know that what you do everyday is going to make another happy in some way. You choose how you act, so do so with kindness. See the person within not the body.
Be The Positive.
A thanks from us all
Pam. S ~ Katie. T ~ Kailee-Ann M. P ~ Ifra. A ~ Mona. K
Vista Virtual Students Present The Positive Project 