Bullying.

Life is not fair. Get over it!

Some people are born stronger, smarter and better. Some aren't. Some are privileged from birth to live in a stable family environment where money is not an object. Some, are subjected to abuse from a young age. The harsh reality is life can suck, and sometimes we can't do much to fix it. Emily Goldin, was a child who was subjected to pain and victimized almost her entire youth. Her coping mechanism to this was to get away as fast as possible. Upon reading Emily's blog i realized that she runs away from her problems, she never tackles them head on.

“I have learned how to cry silently in a bathroom, and how to run really fast.” These are some sad words, but many teens are targeted by bullies. These leads us to wonder, why do bullies feel the need to victimize others? A majority of people bully due to their mental state. They either have some problem in their way of thinking or mindset, or have some social insecurity.

I'm glad that many school boards are taking a stand against bullying and fighting along side the victims so everyone feels safe and secure at a public sanction.

Freedom Of Speech

Canada is a democratic country, and in the Canadian charter of rights and constitutions, it is stated that everyone has the right to express the fundamental freedoms under reasonable limits. In the Canadian charter everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; freedom of peaceful assembly; and freedom of association. I personally believe that the charter of rights is correct and there should be limits on freedom of speech.

First off, the general public is often very persuadable and passive. When people are passive they let others influence and make decisions for them. They are indecisive when it comes to making decisions and let others make decisions for them. When a negative power comes into place they are forced to go along with the decisions made. For example, in Nazi Germany, Hitler was ruler. He came into power by convincing the passive people of Germany that he would bring change to society. The Germans at this point were down because of the post war life and economic depression that plagued the country. They believed everything he said, and that was what lead to World War 2. Although, this is an extreme example, many smaller ones can be found in today’s society. A woman by the name of Ann Coulter is paid to give her opinion on various topics worldwide. Her opinion can be placed on the far right wing of the political spectrum. She is very racist, sexist and prejudice! She spews out hate at press conferences, in her books and at her lectures. She often holds speeches at large, well known universities. These universities are full of young adults who are impressionable and easily persuaded. By giving hate speeches she encourages the public to hate a specific race, gender or culture. Some people are persuaded by her and end up supporting her, and believing in what she says. People, who completely disagree with her, hold riots and protests to stop her from giving speeches.

Second, I believe people should be allowed to speak their minds but in some countries people aren’t even allowed to do practice this basic human right! In third world countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq, citizens are not allowed to speak harshly of the government or religion or else they will be punished. In Afghanistan, a young journalist wrote an article questioning the authenticity of the Islamic prophet Mohammad. Upon reading this article many afghans were outraged at the idea of someone of their own ethnicity was questioning the countries ideology. The journalist was summoned by the government and executed. This is one example of why freedom of speech should not be limited; it helps give more insight and perspective on ideas. But, uncontrolled freedom of speech can also be used to harass people and create hate groups such as the KKK.

Accordingly, Canada is a developed country and has its own laws and sovereignty. It can choose how to limit freedom of speech and how to enforce its laws. Thanks in large, to these limits, Canada is a much safer country then America. There are much less hate crimes and people are quite often impartial to race or sex. If people were allowed to speak their minds, the younger generation would be influenced and persuaded by their elder counter parts to believe whatever they believe. For example, if a teacher believed that woman should just be kept as housewives and taught this to his students; he could be giving the male students the impression that males are superior and in control of woman. He may also convince the female students that they are not worthy of an education or opportunity. This type of situation is common in countries where citizens are allowed to say anything, at anytime.

On a slightly different note, if someone has a rude opinion they can change their dialect to sound more positive. For example, when you ask a friend how you look and they respond with “you look ugly, eww go shave your unibrow and stop wearing those pants, there ugly.” You are immediately hurt, and begin to attack back by telling them how ugly they are….This may even lead to physical violence. It would have been easier if the friend just said “ you look okay, those jeans aren’t my favorite, there are other pairs that can be more flattering.” In this case it is easier to respond and everyone is left happy.

In conclusion, freedom of speech is a great thing, a basic human right but I do believe there should be limits on what we are allowed to say. It is a right that can be revoked and taken away, and one that should be used in a positive way.

Journal 3. Was it the mothers responsibility to intervene in her daughters life as she did ?

No, it was not the mother’s responsibility to intervene in her daughter’s life as she did. I do believe that often in a Childs life often the parents have the right and responsibility to intervene. Parents often simply want to protect their children from the unknown and often their intentions are to keep their kids safe and happy specifically their daughters because they believe they are more fragile than their sons. It is generally accepted that parents do not own their children; rather they have guardian ship and are given temporary rights to direct their children onto the correct path of living and make decisions which will impact their life positively. In Gabrielle Roy’s Wilhelm, the protagonists mother was not right to intervene in her daughter’s life as she did because she was being unjust and prejudiced, did not allowed her daughter to make decisions on her own and she limited her daughters freedom.

First off, the reasoning as to why the narrator’s mother is so against her daughter being courted because she is prejudice and intolerant towards immigrants. There was no real reason for the mother to fear her daughter’s safety around Wilhelm, as we later learn she knows that Wilhelm is a nice, bright young man. It was obvious that the mother disapproved of Wilhelm because once she learned of his involvement in the O’Neill’s house, as her daughter stated "My mother at once forbade me to return to the O’Neill’s, so long, said she, as I had not got over the idea of Wilhelm." Also, through the discriminatory terms she used to refer to Wilhelm such as “the beanstalk”, “the Netherlander” and “the Hollander”. The mother never gave a direct reason to her daughter as to why she should not be near Wilhelm. The need to protect the protagonist was misplaced as she was never in danger. The setting of the story is in Canada, presumably the early 1900’s. Although, today Canada is a multicultural country and accepts all cultures and people of different nationalities before it was quite different as many British descendents hated immigrants from smaller European nations such as Germany and Poland. A specific case of this was when in the early 1900’s the Canadian government imposed a law to detain all immigrants and citizens from foreign countries such as Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Secondly, the protagonist appeared to be old enough to make decisions herself or at least have some involvement in the decisions that can affect her future. Often when parents restrict their children and have a lot of rules enforced in their household, their children rebel and will do anything to try and be independent. This is evident in this piece of literature when the protagonist found loop holes to meet Wilhelm without her knowledge. Also, a child may need an adult to make choices for them because they are not fully mentally developed yet but this is not the case for teenagers. Teenagers in general have the brain capacity to realize the consequences of their choices and actions. Besides if teenagers don’t get choices or don’t make decisions for them they will become dependent on their guardian for a very long time, which will result in long term complications. Another complication of not allowing teens from making decisions is your holding them back from learning new things and understanding new cultures. It could be possible that through Wilhelm the protagonist may have learned new facts or history.

Lastly, the parents imposed limitations on their daughter and took unreasonable protective measures. When the protagonist stopped visiting Wilhelm at the O’Neill’s residence, they began seeing each other in public after her school, when she was told that she should stop doing that, she walked on the opposite side of the street as Wilhelm. Her parents furious said she must stop seeing Wilhelm, this did not stop her from writing to him, and when they found out about the letters they banned writing but she found a way to communicate through telephones. She was clever, as were her parents but their reasoning was unjust. They had nothing to protect her from; she was in no grave danger.

In conclusion, in Gabrielle Roy’s short story Wilhelm, it was not the mother’s responsibility to intervene in her daughters affairs because she was in no danger and her reaction was unreasonable as she imposed limitations on her daughter, made decisions for her daughter and lastly was biased and unjust in forcing her opinion. There really was no need for her involvement as later on in the story we learn the protagonist loses interest in Wilhelm and stops her relationship with him. “I hung up before the end of the performance. Thereafter, Wilhelm scarcely crossed my path again." With or without her mother’s intervention the protagonist would have realized she never really liked Wilhelm. So although a parent has guardianship and responsibility of their children, unless their kids are doing illegal activities such as doing drugs or joining gangs then there is no reason to be overly active in their life so much as to run their life.

New obstacles For A New Generation

In present day Canada and all over the world, there is a generation of young adults facing new problems and overcoming new obstacles that previous generations never had to worry about such as the effects of global warming, the use and abuse of drugs, sex and even obesity.

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans due to the increase in greenhouses gases. Although global warming is not a relatively new idea but it is being focused on more in this generation then any before. Due to global warming there are heat waves and patterns of unusually warm weather and the rising of sea levels. This warm weather causes the melting of arctic and Antarctic glaciers and ice caps which well later result in increased sea levels worldwide causing in the flooding of many countries and coast lines! Also, this can be deadly for our generation because ultra violet rays are being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and this can result in many of us getting skin cancer. The changing in weather patterns can also end up causing dramatic and horrendous hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts and heat waves. Furthermore, the change in climate causes changes in ecosystems and animal migration. Insects and animals that prefer heat will move to warmer climates and vice versa. This can and will cause the spread of deadly disease such as malaria. Previous generations did not have to worry about this but we do because our generation has to take preventative actions to prevent the speed at which the earth warms.

With the advances in technology that are being made daily, it is easy for many teens to succumb to the use of this technology. Usually this technology was made to be beneficial but placed in the hands of a young adult who may not know well it can also be a distraction or used inappropriately. In this generation, many teens and young adults experiment with drugs although many deny this allegation we must also take into consideration that alcohol and cigarettes are considered drugs until someone reaches the legal age limit. So for many of us, who attend those Friday or Saturday night parties and drink underage, you are breaking the law and that is substance abuse! There are reasons as to why alcohol is illegal, some statistics prove that 40 percent of those who started drinking at age 13 or younger developed alcohol dependence later in life. Besides alcohol and cigarettes other drugs that teens do are street drugs which are very dangerous. Street drugs come in many varieties and forms and can be cheap or expensive. It is reported that 20% of 8^th graders have tried marijuana and 28 percent of teens know a classmate or friend who has used ecstasy. This is a staggering rate considering the fact that in 1979 only 31% of the population tried drugs compared to 2001 with 41%. The problem leading to drug use is many parents don’t know the warning signs or are unaware of the fact that their child does drugs. Breakdown in communications causes our generation to act rash and act immaturely.

Also, in previous generations the bond between parent and child was strong and many previous generations could relate to their parents, although our generation cannot because we are the generation in which there were many technological breakthroughs and we learn to depend on those as opposed to our family. Because of the lack of communication many teens learn to depend on the media and societal standards. Often the media today over exposes the issue of sex! Sex is plastered everywhere nowadays! On TV, news, and even at schools. Often, we can’t rely on our parents for advice about societal standards because they did not face the same pressures as we do today. Because of this many teens have sex; statistics prove nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year. That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day. Also, for every 1000 live births there are 30 abortions for teens age 15-17. In previous generations, many parents could talk to their children about sex and instill many morals and values into the children while in this generation many teens rebel and consider the media as more of a role model then their parents. Sadly, our generation must learn about the reality of sex, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.

Lastly, a MAJOR battle that this generation is fighting is the one against obesity! Because of the technological advances in society many teens spend much of their time in front of the TV or computer screens. Back in previous generations many kids spent their free times running outside and playing sports while our generation is on facebook or msn. According to Canadian statistics in 1979 15% of kids were overweight or obese while in 2004 26% of children were overweight or obese. This shows the dramatic increase in obesity in children and this is a new obstacle our generation has to handle.

In conclusion, our generation faces many obstacles which previous generations never faced such as childhood obesity, teen pregnancy, sex and sexually transmitted diseases, the use of drugs and finally the phenomena of global warming. All of these obstacles we must work hard to overcome in the forth coming years.