productofsociety

When I was in Gr. 6, a couple of boys in my class thought it would be funny to relate me to Osama Bin Ladin. They would taunt me with sentences like,

"Oh you're from Pakistan? So are you related to Osama Bin Ladin?"

and

"Is Osama Bin Ladin your uncle?"

Then they would burst into hysterical laughter.

Of course, I was only 10 at the time so all of these things kind of went over my head. I mean I understood that they were insulting me, but I couldn't quite understand why. Now, 8 years later, I know exactly why. These kids didn't know any better. They took what they saw on TV or news and came to the conclusion that all Muslim people (or all brown/Arab people) are somehow connected to terrorism.

On January 20th, 2017 Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Many people believe that the most recent presidential election is the main cause for the rise of Islamophobia in North America, and this is somewhat true. There has been a growing fear of Islam in North America and Europe- mostly noted after the 9/11 attacks in 2001- but recent studies show that Islamophobia was also on the rise during the campaign leading up to the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. In December of 2015, which is only 7 months after Donald Trump announced the start of his campaign to run for president, there were a total of 53 documented anti-Muslim attacks in the U.S. That is almost two anti-Muslim attacks per day! The number is huge compared to the average 2 attacks per month before the campaign began, so clearly there is some correlation here.. between Trump's victory and the rise of Islamophobia.

The reluctance we see- towards Islam- in western society is like none other. It is believed to have stemmed from fear...Fear of the unknown. However, historically Christianity has been more fearsome than any other religion in the world. It has been the basis of many terror groups- most widely known being the KKK- but there are also the following Christian-based terrorist groups that I have researched and listed below:

christian based terrorist organizations/groups

Army of God (AOG) is a "Christian based terror organization"which works against abortions. They claimed responsibility for a bombing at an abortion clinic as well as a gay bar in the late 1990's. This group was also responsible for multiple bombings at different abortion clinics and offices of the National Abortion Federation as well as the American Civil Liberties Union in 1984. Specific members of this Organization have been responsible for sending threats as well as actually targeting and murdering numerous doctors (that were in favour of abortions or that were running abortion clinics).

The Orange Volunteers (OV) are a Protestant terrorist group in Ireland. They were in favor of North Ireland being part of the United Kingdom (UK). This group attacked 11 Catholic churches and is responsible for 54 casualties but no deaths.

Eastern Lightning is a Chinese Christian terror group/ cult which believes that Jesus Christ has returned to Earth as a Chinese woman. They have kidnapped Christian leaders and took over their churches. It is also believed that if people try to leave the cult they are tortured, beaten and/or drugged.

The Phineas Priesthood is a Christian terrorist group that carried out multiple robberies and bombings in the Pacific Northwest. Their beliefs are against multiculturalism and they are also anti-semites. They are against any sort of mixing of different races (especially interracial marriage), they are against same sex marriage (meaning they are extremely homophobic) and they are responsible for bombing various abortion clinics (meaning they hold strong views opposing freedom of abortion for all women). Four of these members were convicted for crimes. There is no evidence that this group was larger than 4 members but technically anyone holding the same beliefs is allowed to call themselves a member and act upon those beliefs..

Klu Klux Klan is (to me) the most horrifying terrorist group that has existed in America. They were responsible for the majority of anti-black attacks during the post-slavery period. Contrary to popular belief they are still active today. However their acts were much more common and much more violent during the late 1800's all the way up to the late 1900's. Violent acts included burning houses with black residents in them (or just houses owned by black people), randomly lynching and shooting black people as well as many murders. They are instigators of fear among all people of colour [POC] but mostly Black people, since they were the main targets. Many members of this group also believe in anti-antisemitism. They are attracted to the ideologies that were presented during the horrible period of Nazi-Germany.

I am sure that there are many more groups [including many which are probably not listed as official terrorist groups] but if I continued that list would go on forever.

Now, I would like to call attention to another equally pressing- if not, even more pressing- issue regarding Islamophobia in western society. Many visible or non-visible Muslims or Muslim-looking individuals (evidently Arab or South Asian [Brown] people- men in particular) are targeted, harassed, bullied, humiliated and in some cases can even be killed or severely injured by authorities or other anti-Muslim people. This is a very large problem because these people are being HURT just because of what they believe and in many cases, JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY LOOK.

So, just to make my point even stronger, next up I will be listing Majority white terrorist or white supremacy groups. This will show that the fear of ARAB, BROWN and BLACK people is just a way for white people to "play victim", it is completely irrational and based off of NO legitimate facts.. because if we were to look at the facts, it would show that white people have inflicted just as much (if not definitely MORE) harm on POC than POC have inflicted on them.

majority white terrorist/supremacy groups

Dotbusters were an anti-Indian (South Asian) hate group, consisting of mostly white teenagers (many of which were high school/college dropouts). This group was prominent in Jersey city [near New York City]. They targeted South Asian individuals and violently attacked them. They would also check phone books and call any name that seemed ethnic to India and threaten those people and their families. These people were ruthless in the way they attacked.. There are instances of people being beaten brutally.. in some cases to death (search Death of Navroze Mody)

White PowerSkinheads were a branch-off of the Skin Heads. The skin heads were a group -originating in London, England- of working class young people [1960's]. At first, they were not all racist. There was actually large west Indian influence in the types of music and styles this group was interested in. However, in the 1980's a subgroup of the skinheads called the White Power Skinheads emerged. The white power skin heads are known to be this very anti-semetic and wear this proudly (as tattoos of badges on combat jackets). To describe just how racist and discriminatory this group is, I have inserted a quote from a site where i got my information about this group:

"unlike the Klan [mainly in America], it is a truly global phenomenon, with skinhead gangs haunting major cities and towns in just about every white-majority country on earth. From Austria to Australia and Argentina to America, working-class youths can be found dressed in some local variation on the skinhead theme, espousing a crude worldview that is viciously anti-foreigner, anti-black, anti-gay, and anti-Semitic."

Some violent acts this group has committed are : attacks on LGBTQ community, attacks on various immigrants, attacks of vandalism (painting swastikas on Jewish people's property) and I'm sure much more.

White Aryan Resistance is a white supremacist group that was popular in the 1980's. They committed violent and hateful acts such as vandalism. This includes anti-semitic words/symbols written in paint as well as eggs being thrown at a synagogue. Members of this group have also sent threatening calls to synagogues and used many racial slurs during these calls.

Nazi Party was the horrible party, led by Adolf Hitler, that was responsible for millions of deaths during the period of Nazi Germany. This party believed in the "perfect race" which they believed was: White skin, Blonde hair and blue eyes. They killed anyone else who didn't look like this and they had a special hatred for Jewish people. They sent them to concentration camps and murdered them in large gas chambers, in masses! UR GONNA TELL ME WHITE PPL DONT HAVE A HISTORY OF TERROR?

So overall, my point in this article is not to drag white people or to drag Christians... but basically what I've tried to do here is list FACTS regarding violent terror acts committed by white people or by Christians so that we can without a doubt say- LOOK white people and Christians are violent too. It's not just a Muslim thing. It's not just an immigrant thing. Violence is violence. And no matter who is committing a violent act [Although some people may have a good reason to be upset or they may have been provoked]- VIOLENCE IS WRONG. But it needs to be given an equal amount of attention and just because ISIS is present nowadays doesn't mean we can turn our backs and say its the Muslims' fault.

I have a cousin.

He's 10 years old and he lives in the west end of Toronto

(there's a lot of immigrants in the area)

and he once asked me -very randomly out of no where-

" Why do white people hate Muslims [us] so much?"

and although I wanted to give him a smart response... you know.. something to ease his young mind.

I simply said I don't know.

It breaks my heart that our children [Muslim youth] are growing up in a time where they are being told that they are nothing but monsters. They are no different than any other child. Yet they face irrational hatred everyday. I am worried for these children's future...and what will become of them if we don't speak up against Islamophobic people and racist individuals NOW.

So that's all :) Thanks for reading and let me know how you felt about this post!

A few days ago, I took my mom and sister out to watch the movie Lion and I've got to say, it was quite an emotional experience. Not only is the movie itself an emotional picture, but for personal and cultural reasons I feel I have every right to criticize it.

For those who have not seen it yet the story is about a poor Indian boy who gets separated from his brother at a very small age. After experiencing a few setbacks the boy finally finds his way into a foster care type of system. From there, a middle aged Indian woman tells him that a white couple from Australia is willing to adopt him. After being assured that the agency did whatever they could to track down his real mother but couldn't find her, the boy agreed to go to Australia to meet his new family.

Once the boy gets to Australia he is showered with love by his new parents and slowly adapts to their culture (in fact, he forgets his own language and associates more with Australia than with India). However, around 20 years after he was adopted, the boy finds a dire need to go back and find his real mother, his brother and his younger sister. It takes him quite some time to gather information and find out where exactly he is headed, but when he does he hops on a plane and successfully reunites with is mother and sister (unfortunately he finds out that his brother passed away the same night he got separated from him).

Since this movie is based on a true story, I can't say much about the plot. However, what does concern me is the way the movie was directed, the people who are benefiting from the production of this movie and the message it is sending out to people.

According to a few websites and video interviews, the director of this movie, Garth Davis, is from Australia and has been directing for over 16 years now. He is best known for directing a T.V. series called Top of the Lake and he has also directed a lot of commercials. I also dug in deeper to find out what caused the inspiration for LION and apparently Davis heard about an article in the newspaper, through some colleagues, and when he read it he was extremely excited and fascinated by the story.

So according to a video source (which you can find at the end of this article), before creating the movie, Davis went on a "research trip" to find out more about where Saroo (the little boy in the movie) grew up and the environment in which he lived as a boy (in India) and with his adoptive family (in Australia). According to Davis, as part of his "research trip" he wandered around the streets of Kolkata.."at night imagining what it would be like".. for him to be living on these streets. When the reporter asked what the time frame was of Davis "sinking into Saroo's world", Davis replied saying that the trip was about 3 weeks but he went back or skyped Saroo's friends, family or the man himself- if he had any more questions.

The problem with this, is that it is a different experience for a foreigner, in India, (especially one with white skin) than it is for literally anyone else. The experience Davis (a grown white man) had in India was definitely much different than Saroo (a 5-year old brown boy). Aside from that, a 3 week visit!!??? How is that enough time to understand someone's entire life?? And then direct a movie about them?? ALSO, apparently Saroo has his own book. I'm pretty sure that he got some money and benefited off of the production of this movie but... really??? This white director is benefiting off of Saroo's sad story and the book that Saroo worked so hard to write is probably not going to be as successful as a movie. I kind of feel like this movie is hiding the book and overshadowing the hard work Saroo put in to share his own story.

Another thing that irritated me about the movie was the actors that were chosen to play in the movie. THE OLDER SAROO IS LIKE 3 SHADES LIGHTER THAN THE YOUNGER ONE! and he does not look like the real Saroo at all. I feel like the way Saroo looks was "whitified" to please white audiences. I find absolutely nothing wrong with the way the real Saroo looks.... but I guess he's just too "Indian looking" for the movie to make the Oscars (Yes im throwing shade). Last but not least, I could not help but cringe during the part of the movie when Saroo moved to Australia with his new parents. I don't even know what these white people are doing like are you dumb? If you want to help... why don't you just use all the money you would to raise him... to help him find his mom right then and there............??? Are you shook? BECAUSE I'M SHOOK.

Anyways, I got a whole lot more to say but this post is getting way too long so I'll just leave it at that. Hope you enjoyed this post and if you haven't watched the movie yet please do! It'll give you a better understanding of what I've been babbling about and most importantly you will be able to have your own opinion about it!

The street I grew up on is filled with south Asian people. You'll find mostly Tibetan, Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani people. There are also quite a few Jamaican, Trinidadian, Gambian and Somali people in the neighborhood. The area is known to consist of many homeless people (many of which are aboriginal peoples) and low-income families (majority of which are immigrants). We are the working class. The Labourers. The ones who break their backs for food & water, still smile through cold winters and gladly eat the cheap, non-organic, non-vegan, full-of-carbs dinner every evening.

There have been many issues concerning the maintenance of buildings in the South Parkdale area. Many meetings have been held so that people living in these buildings can have an opportunity to talk to their tenants about what they would like to see fixed in their homes. Often times in these buildings, necessary items will not be functioning properly- to a point where residents have to put in a lot of effort to do simple tasks. Examples of this would be flooded laundry rooms, non-functioning elevators, uncertainty of warm water as well as late night disturbances. The environment is noisy and depressing (to be frank) and not at all an appealing place to be living.

Now, all of this would be tolerable if something good came out of it but it rarely does. You see, when all a child sees, growing up, is crowded apartments, loud drug addicts and adults with barely enough money to keep food on the table..... their perspective on life begins to change. They no longer dream to be doctors, superstars or actors. They no longer strive to be highly successful people because- in their eyes -this is just not possible. So when they get to high school and the teachers are preaching about university options or college opportunities and when guidance Counselors start prompting kids to take "the right path to their future" - all they can think about is, what future? A future of drugs, poverty and unease?- Because that's all we will ever be, right? Because that's all we see on T.V.... That's all we have ever seen, and no matter how much you push us, that is all we will ever be. But that's wrong. The truth is, it is possible..for lower class children to become whatever they want! It is the lack of motivation and determination that is caused by the depressing environment these children are raised in which causes them to doubt themselves and doubt their future.

Lets face facts. Kids get kicked out of the house. It's a sad, sad reality but it happens, and when it does the city needs to be there to help out. From what I know, there are about 9 main homeless shelters located in downtown Toronto. But only 3-4 of these welcome youth (16 yrs +). Not only this, but the shelters are not very spread out. Unfortunately, there is nothing preventing parents from forcing their 16-year-old's out of the home. Even if laws are in place, they are not always being followed and strangely enough, when these same kids turn to drugs, alcohol and other criminal activities (in later years) they are POUNDED by the police. Where was the police when the kids needed help? Why does the government only care about ridding the city of parasites? Why don't they take the smarter approach and eliminate the source?

I personally believe that this issue is SO PROBLEMATIC with immigrant families. There is a huge contrast between Western and Eastern culture- or any other culture, for that matter. Many "less developed" countries have completely different concepts about what is considered "normal" for certain genders, children, adults, teachers etc. Because of these differences, children of immigrant families often clash with their parents when it comes to discussions about social gatherings. Something as simple as going to the movies with a few friends could spark an entire week of family drama.

It is most important to note that Every child is different. Some will listen. Some will retaliate - And those who do cannot be blamed! But sadly, those who do chose to fight back are often the ones who get kicked out because they are giving their parents a hard time.

It's been a while since I've written.. Partially because I'm lazy but mostly because I lost the motivation for a while. For the past few weeks, I've been having a lot of ideas but I haven't been sure how to put them into words. However, this morning I thought to write about an issue that has been nagging me for the past few years, as I'm sure it has many other teens.

When kids turn into young adults, It's hard for some parents to let go. I've found that this is particularly an issue with south Asian families and it is a lot worse for females. The issues that teens face, regarding how much control their parents have over them can have a long-lasting negative impact on an individual. It can stop them from landing their dream job or spending time with friends (which is necessary for keeping a healthy mind). Furthermore, young people who choose to fight back and resist their parents are constantly distracted from their work, studies and they have a harder time forming healthy relationships with others (because they are not even confident about their relationship with family members).

Apart from the negative impact on children, parents suffer as well. In their eyes, their little baby has grown into this terrible, horrific teenager who has no idea what he/she/other is doing... They want what is best for their child but they're quite sure what that is... So to be safe, they force their children to do what is considered to be "the norm" in most societies. They take the ideas spewed at them through television, politicians, co-workers, as well as pressuring friends, and they force their teens to mould their lives and shape their personalities to fit the descriptions and suggestions made by people who barely know them.

"University = smart"

"Smart = Successful"

"Drugs are bad"

"Girls shouldn't stay out late"

And the list goes on.

Some of the above things can be true.. but often times it's not 100% true and there are so many exceptions. If parents force these thoughts onto their kids they are reducing the chances of this kid growing up to be healthy, happy and successful.

Another thing that parents must be careful of is encouraging and nourishing materialistic thoughts. These days many young adults are spending their hard-earned money on expensive brand clothing, shoes, movies, drugs or other items that provide temporary happiness. Its so important for parents and other family members to understand that when children don't feel excepted my their family, many of them will seek happiness from other people or things. This becomes a problem when the child/teenager loses themselves (their identity) due to a detachment from those who raised them.

The thing is, at the end of the day, if you force a kid to chose between the people they love and their aspirations in life, they will end up pleasing neither themsleves nor the people they love.

Do you ever feel so helpless? Like all six-hundred and forty muscles in your body are useless. Like every bone within you is nothing but a tiny part of a skeleton. Do you ever feel like waking up in the morning is pointless? You open your eyes, brush your teeth, change your clothes and zombie-walk to school...

Well if you do, your not alone. This is a very common feeling amongst youth in North America, and the reason for it is the awful education system. CHANGE WILL START WITH EDUCATION. Its all about education. That's what they all say - but do they really mean it? Think about it. These teachers get paid for teaching what they've been taught. Would you sacrifice your job if you were them? Most people wouldn't. Therefore, school is not the answer- Proper education is.

I'm currently reading a book called "The Anthology of Rap" written an edited by several authors and advisors. For the past several year I have been heavily influenced by Hip hop, r&b and rap music. It has been a part of my personal, as well as, social life and has affected the way my personality is as well as my closet, my friends and my playlist. Recently (a few months ago) I was struck by this awful feeling that by rapping or trying to recreate hip hop music I would be culture appropriating... So I decided that I would do A LOT OF RESEARCH if I am to do such a thing (By this I mean making hip hop music like instrumental tracks or vocals).

I am Indian/Pakistani so am I am sure that hip hop did not originate from my culture/background. However, I moved to Canada when I was a year old and grew up hearing Usher, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Sean Paul, Rihanna, Ciara, Ne-Yo, Nas, Alicia Keys and much more. These are all African-American artists, whose music shaped me, changed me and made me who I am today. With absolutely no doubt, I can say that without these African-American artists (as well as many more African-american tv stars, musicians and sports players) I would not be who I am today.

That being said, now at 17 years old, I have graduated from high school and I have learned pretty much nothing about African culture. I have learned about Europe (ww1 and ww2), I have learned about ancient Egypt (which is one country out of the 54 countries in Africa) and about Martin Luther King and a bit about Malcolm X (who are just two social Justice figures out of many)..... so where is the education??? How can we just stomp around listening to Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj's "Flawless" without giving two shits about their culture, origin and history? Even while I am writing this, why is Beyoncé underlined in bright red?? Why is the name Beyoncé wrong but the name John correct????? They are both names and they are both valid...

If you can't already tell, this shit makes me super angry!!!! I hope for a better education system in the future and one that includes all groups of people... especially ones that influence our day to day lives... Additionally I wish there would be more discussion on Aboriginal peoples in North America because they face a lot of discrimination and are constantly humiliated as well as alienated for NO REASON. In soon time, I will most likely do a post on Aboriginal peoples, the issues they face and my personal views on the topic. Thanks for reading.:)

I'm so sick of white people telling me how much they love Parkdale.

"It's so unique!"

"Soooo artsy, love Parkdale.."

"Oh you live in Parkdale? I go there all the time for coffee!"

"Parkdale? have you ever been to *insert random coffee shop*".

No. Just no. Did u know Parkdale ranks #4 out of Toronto's 140 neighbourhoods for the most Drug Charges?? Did you know it ranks #9 for the most Assault charges?? Did you know that King west (Dufferin area right on the boundary of east Parkdale) is considered the most dangerous neighbourhood in Toronto? Of course not. You just like to show up around 10 am (when my mother's working labour and I'm still asleep) to the coffee shop I've never been to, even though its down my street.

Gentrification has been a huge issue in Parkdale for the past few years. More and more shops are opening up where people used to live. More and more bloggers are blogging about the amazing shops on queen street west. Nobody is talking about the many minorities (South Asians, African-Americans and East Asians) that are being forced to move out and relocate because of the high cost of residency these fancy, cute coffee shops are bringing with them...

Just last month I saw a man, who seemed ill, getting violently arrested behind my building.. I witnessed and filmed everything through my bedroom window, then went outside to take a look (when i saw a lot of people from the building next to min come out). When I got there I saw a middle aged black man on the ground, with 2 or 3 police officers surrounding him. I walked back and forth a few times until i saw many people crowding. That's when I began filming again.

When a younger looking, tall black male (well-dressed) came to the scene and became very emotional, saying the person arrested was his friend, one police officer in particular was awfully violent with him. After asking him to back up multiple time (EVEN THOUGH HE CLEARLY WAS NOT A THREAT) the police officer pushed him violently with his bare hands as well as with his bike later on.

I could not help but wonder what would have happened if that man who approached, was white. Regardless of police protocol, I could not even imagine a white man getting asked to leave in the first place, let alone be pushed and shoved by a cop. I strongly felt that this cop was being racist (maybe not on purpose but definitely subconsciously). The worst part of this, is that things like this don't make the news. They don't even make it to google... The coffee shops in Parkdale are talked about more than the shootings, drug dealings, assaults, arrests, rate of homeless people, mental illness rates and more. Next time you visit parkdale for the coffee shops, take a look around and see whats really going on. Don't ignore us ok??? Acknowledge the fact that we don't even have enough money to relax in the coffee shops IN OUR OWN HOOD.

Being brown does not mean you can say the n-word. It does not mean you are black. Maybe we brown people (South Asians) can relate more to black people than east Asians, and Europeans, but that does not give us a free pass to just use their culture or act like we don't need to show them any respect because "we have it just as bad"... We don't Alhumdulillah and we should accept that instead of trying to make excuses to take something that is not ours.

That being said, South Asian people face discrimination in western society everyday and instead of pretending like our moms don't work labour all day, then come home and feed our dads (and us)- we gotta own that too. I'm sick of all these "white-washed" south Asians acting all ASHAMED of their parents' accents and acting different when their with their friends vs. when their with their family. South Asia is a beautiful and diverse place that is plagued with poverty and because of this it is viewed as dirty and irrelevant. When immigrants come to North America hoping for a better life what they don't realise is they are leaving their homeland to rot under the rule of corrupt politics and bringing their children to a foreign country where they will face much discrimination and uncertainty while growing up.

productofsociety

I am just a Product of Society.

I aM nOT A TERRORIST

may 17th, 2017

christian based terrorist organizations/groups

majority white terrorist/supremacy groups

LION

JANUARY 13th, 2016

low key, i think he tried to make saroo look like him LOOOOLLL..

Is he some kind of animal in her eyes? WHy is she saying "AMAZING"??? why is she so fascinated by him.....

this little boy right here killed his performance!! But the fact that she keeps mentioning u.s. and australia as good places is pissing me off. why are english films any better than films in other languages? and why is this white woman feeding him these incorrect notions at such a young age?

What Future?

January 3rd, 2016

Homeless Youth

DECEMBER 15th, 2016

Power of Parents

November 29th, 2016

Social Justice class

November 1st, 2016

Hip hop, African Culture and Education

October 12th, 2016

THE HOOD

October 10th, 2016

SOUTH ASIAN VS. AFRICAN-aMERICAN

OCTOBER 10TH, 2016