Go flick yourself
Dear editor,
Is this a solid argument for apathy? The other day I saw a father holding down his five-year-old daughter and beating the crap out of her. They were obviously of an ethnic background, so instead of being all ‘westerny-judgy’ and getting involved, I decided to walk away, remembering that in our culture many grown women participate in violent competitive sports, which is pretty much the same thing as this dude beating the crap out of his little girl. I mean, “Where the fuck do we get off . . . judging these people?”
That scenario did not really happen. If I saw a parent abusing his little girl, I would like to think I would step up. Not because I am a judgmental westerner, but because I am a human being. Abuse is not cultural, it is part of the human condition, and it is rampant any place where the balance of power is distorted and where human rights have little meaning.
If you are totally confused right now, join the club. Last week, The Peak ran a piece by the opinions editor who ranted about how female circumcision is similar to anal bleaching and vaginal rejuvenation “in the West,” and that westerners should not judge. I am trying to understand if she is just sensationalizing and trivializing misogyny and violence through silly euphemisms and inflammatory statements for the sake of cheap journalism, or if this is her true opinion. I will take the optimistic road and believe the first is true, but behave as though this is her opinion. I will attempt to educate her and anyone else who claims to not condone genital mutilation, but thinks it is kinda the same thing as cosmetic surgery for wealthy Canadian women.
As a woman who comes from a region where female circumcision is done in remote villages, I understand clearly that a 36-year-old woman (average age for vaginal rejuvenation) having cosmetic surgery on her vagina after multiple childbirths is not comparable to holding down a seven-year-old and mutilating her genitals with primitive surgical tools so that she can remain pure for her future husband.
I know we live in an age where we think everything we want to say has value, but this is simply not true. Your opinions reflect on your publication and influence your readers. State your opinion, but make sure you can back it up with a solid argument; is that not what we are supposed to be learning in university?
Here are some facts from the World Health Organization to consider:
-The average age for female circumcision is 3–5 years old.
– Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
– The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
– Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility, complications in childbirth, and increased risk of newborn deaths.
– About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
– FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.
– In Africa an estimated 92 million girls 10 years old and above have undergone FGM.
– FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
In your attempt to sound critical of western culture, you have revealed the hegemonic view you are trying to debunk. You have painted us as “westerners,” and assigned genital mutilation to distant exotic cultures. Remove your western bias and analyze this from a human perspective instead of a “West versus the rest” view. Would you have an issue with all Canadian girls having their genitals mutilated before the age of 15, so that they can be presented for marriage?
As a Canadian woman who has the luxury to analyze FGM from a relatively safe distance, one should judge, but mostly, one should care, not trivialize their suffering and compare our cosmetic consumerism to human atrocities so that we can turn a blind eye and go back to flicking the bean!
Sincerely,
Sheila Bissonnette
SFU student
Failing grade
Dear editor,
I am writing to you in regards to an e-mail sent out to anyone with a TA or sessional instructor this term about the job action and how it will affect our education.
While there were a number of questionable comments made, one in particular stood out: “during the withholding of marks teaching work will carry on, students will continue to learn, feedback will be provided, and I hope that our relationship can actually be strengthened by the potential for increased interaction.”
Just so I am clear — the TSSU expects us to be grateful that the teachers are spending less time on marking our assignments, since they are not supposed to spend any more time than necessary, thus they are going to get remarks back that are less meaningful. And we are supposed to thank the TSSU for a significant disruption to our learning and to our education? The way that scholarships, grad school, parents, and our peers measure our academic success is not through a “good job!” written on the side of an academic paper, but rather through our GPA and through the letter grades we receive on any given assignment.
I will not “grow closer” to my TAs, TMs, and sessional instructors because of this. The TSSU is creating a divide between the students and these individuals. I bore no ill will towards any of my sessional instructors or any other people caught in the midst of this struggle. Now, however, I dislike the TSSU for creating a problem in the pursuit of my education and the pursuit of the best grades I can possibly get.
This harms the students, not the institution. Think and take job action that actually pressures who you want to pressure. You are attempting to force the students’ hand here, by making this the “only option” available to you, so students will support the signing of a new contract. The members of the SFU TSSU are some of the best paid of their profession; and yet they still argue over their contract dispute. This is the wrong way to go about it.
One disappointed and frustrated student who plans on graduating in spring 2013,
Sincerely,
Greg von Euw
Simon Fraser University
Political Sciences undergraduate student
SFU Debate Society VP finance
SFU Vocal Jazz Club co-president and VP finance
