This CBC news article focuses on the importance of living and working with others to find hope during this time of crisis. In the article, Rabbi Rose talks about the Synagogues opening up to all types of people as a ray of light and hope during the pandemic. Even though 2020 has been full of terrible events Rabbi tells the readers to continue life and to live consciously for the sake of life and the ones who passed due to the pandemic as people can work with each other in times of need. Right now in the world, everyone is going through this crisis together which allows people to set aside their differences and work together with compassion and understanding as a society today. In the end, I think that just being able to understand the important things is what brings us closer together as humans.

I chose this article on how the global pandemic could impact the future social skills of children. I chose it because I have a job where I teach children and I have seen first hand the difference of before and after covid. I find them to be a lot quieter or with more of a tendency to act out, or otherwise act a little more “off” than usual. The article's main point is that many children who are at crucial points in their social development are lacking that due to covid. And that there is some concern about their development. It also goes on to say that this could be remedied via facetime with family or other virtual hangouts.

I think it would be very interesting to track their development (ethographically!) and how it impacts them. Speaking as someone who was homeschooled until highschool, I believe I did eventually develop close to normal social skills. Though there are times I am socially anxious or do things that others perceive as not normal.

Good read, and something to think about!

This article is about how the wildfires and their smoke are affecting homeless people around Vancouver. The article states that homeless are more likely to have pre-existing medical conditions that make inhaling such particles more dangerous. Coupled with the fact that the city does not have adequate resources to provide such people shelter from the smoke.

I think this is an interesting topic as I do not often think about how something I take for granted, like the ability to have access to safe housing, or the ability to enter a shared public space without judgement, could be something others do not have.

I think that this situation is merely a symptom of a system that needs to be improved in our society towards helping people get back on their feet. It is a very complex issue, as sometimes people in these situations can do things that are seemingly unpredictable, and that scares people. Or they are dehumanized as drug addicts, or mentally ill. Though I believe if you treat everyone as a human, most of the time you can work together and increase quality of life.

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Surprise surprise, facebook is spying on us again! This article talks about how the social network giant Facebook may be accessing people’s cameras through the app Instagram when they are not aware of it in order to gather data to sell. 

This has become more and more of an issue over the years as the internet has developed. Though most people have only learnt the extent of it in the last ten years or so. Facebook denies these claims as being a bug in the application, but others contest that they are simply playing dumb.

Usually when tech companies are caught in situations like this they either play dumb or quickly change back in an attempt to avoid official legislation. Making it very tricky to make laws against it, especially as everyone on Earth uses such applications and websites.

It will be interesting to see in the future how much this stuff affects our lives even more. Will we even care anymore? Will it just be normalized to see your baby pictures in an advertisement? Where do we draw the line?

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This article primarily focuses on the death of the Black man George Floyd on May 5,2020.As the above mentioned person was brutally killed  by the white policeman.In the Article it is clearly discussed that Black lives matter movement is of certain importance and the also that Police reform is very essential in the present time..Black Lives matter movement is described as the movement which is held to protest against the ill behavior of the police towards the black people and also to stand against the methods of violence used by them. According to me everyone is equal and the government has provided same rights to each and every person. Although,The police has the power to do certain things on their own that doesn't mean that they can do whatever they want.Every person whether of any caste or creed has to be treated equally.
 

The number each year is documented at 30,000 new cases but is estimated to be closer to about 400,000 per year, this is actually resulted in the actions of our own doing; global warming. Cases are rising dramatically since the 80’s and due to global warming, the ticks who carry this disease are  provided a warm environment to grow and reproduce. The lack of people who remain unbothered is concerning considering the serious health issues that accompany this disease. Though there has been a slight increase in funding in Canada for Lyme research, the education surrounding this disease still remains at a minimum level of awareness and symptoms are often overlooked or misdiagnosed because of this. 

What I learned from this is how severe this disease is, it has me wondering why there isn't more education considering it can be contracted to anyone through common activities such as hikes. It is important to be aware of this and know how to prevent it, especially if you are a person who enjoys wilderness activities like I do.

Popular rice brand Uncle Ben’s is renaming it’s rice brand to Ben’s Originals as well as getting a new mascot after outrage over its use of “Uncle” referring to a black man. Which what I have learned is what slave owners/racists used to call black men to make them lesser than a white Mr.

Some people have called this a cheap ploy to appeal to a demographic, while others believe this is something that has had to be done for a long time. I personally think that it is good that it is changing if it has racist roots. Although I have a hard time believing a corporation does any good without a financial incentive.

I do not think it is my place to say what can be considered offensive to a people of which I do not belong to. But it is interesting to see the recent BLM protests have some sort of apparent effect on society. Though I have read many of those involved in BLM merely see moves like these as weak compromises to racial reform.

Our world, culture, and taboos are forever changing. Something that is acceptable in one time period would be inexcusable in the other. Such as the ethnocentric anthropologists of the past. It is our job to try and fix our past mistakes. 

Without Uncle Ben’s rice: 7/10

With Ben’s Originals: 10/10

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As we know, culture is an essential factor in the way that we live our lives and is very important for one's identity and without it we can become lost. I have family members who who attended these schools and never spoke our language again, and many of which have passed away leaving hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (musqueam language) behind and endangered. 

This article made me happy to see the resilient indigenous women continue to thrive after all they've endured, I think this can be a learning experience for us all, no matter how hard life treats you there is always room for growth and it is never too late to start on the road to healing. 

The Michigan town of Ann Arbor has become the third city in the United States to decriminalize the use and growth of psychedelic (also called entheogenic) plants and fungi. This does not at all mean it is fully legal at the federal level, but it does mean that the legal system is told to not put any resources towards fighting use/growth/distribution of such substances.

The proposal came to pass as a viable solution for use in therapy to help those with trauma, addiction problems, and other illnesses that are hard to cure with other methods. Where as these substances have been shown to help in the right setting.

I think this is a great step forward because I personally do not believe the government should have a choice for what someone is able to put into their own body. I think that we should be offering services to help those affected by addiction instead of criminalizing their existence. And also providing a more realistic approach to drug education.

From an anthropological perspective I find it really interesting how different cultures approach the use of drugs. With many using them in rituals in the past. Even our modern western culture has really gotten its current attitude in the last one hundred years or so. With heroin and cocaine formally being used in everything from cold medicine to soft drinks. I would be interested to learn more about past cultures' thoughts on them, I am sure many thought they were brought from gods. Could be an interesting read.

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This article was the personal story of Kenny Cervantes, a man who attended the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. This event is now being called one of the biggest superspreading events for Covid-19 in America. With over 500’000 attendees and flare ups in many states around the area it is said to be almost impossible to fully determine the amount of cases caused by it.

The article talks about how his girlfriend had warned him not to go, but he had decided to go anyway. Now regretting it as he had to be hospitalized and he also infected family members.

It goes onto say the event was also very dangerous, with very few people wearing masks and some people actively refusing testing.

To me this is a great representation for the ignorance of some people during this pandemic. With a huge divide between what to me are rational people vs covid-denying Trump supporters. I recognize this however may not be the most culturally relative way to think about this situation. Though to me this is a situation that begs the question of how objective should one be? If you are the only person trying to see something from another person’s side is it even worth it? It is very frustrating. And something I do not know the answer to.

Should you try and be understanding even if someone else’s actions are affecting almost everyone around them negatively?

I think the most interesting thing will definitely be seeing who owns up to being this type of person in twenty years. Will people be embarrassed? Proud? I guess only time will tell.

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I wanted to lighten the mood a bit with my last article. So this article is about an interesting yearly tradition from Calgary, AB. The tradition is that fans of the football team the Calgary Stampeders bring a horse into a hotel in the town that the team is playing in. This started in 1948 as a kooky prank pulled by fans, where they brought a horse named Tuffy into a Toronto hotel. Since then those fans have evolved into the Calgary Grey Cup Committee. Every year they “[have] made a yearly event of parading a horse through a host city hotel.”

They say that in the past seven years the tradition has gained new life thanks to social media following the 100th Grey Cup.

I think this is a very wholesome tradition, and it is cool being able to see these traditions like these evolve in relatively recent history. It would be funny if in 400 years this was still going on, but in a radically different way, like it evolves into people dressing up in horse costumes running around town every year? I think it is very fun to think about how small events in the past may have contributed to the traditions we have today. And this is an excellent modern example.

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Thanksgiving is also the day to celebrate food for majority of families. While the connection of society and food decreases, it is also important to acknowledge that our societies subsistence systems in family cultures could have been affected by the pandemic. Not everyone will react the way they would during Thanksgiving this year, and I as well find it difficult to believe celebrating Thanksgiving without a group of friends and piles of food on the table because Thanksgiving is known to have the community all together.

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Without species living on our earth’s environment, such as caribous, it is challenging for environmental anthropologists and researchers to collect data and information from their fieldwork due to the decrease in the wildlife. Although anthropologists interact and study other individuals daily, losing a factor in the environment of the studied society can affect the understanding of their culture and their purpose of survival. 

I believe wildlife in our environment is essential for our relationship between humans and animals. Caribous not only provide beneficial needs, but they can teach different views and cultures just like every other living organism.

The article grabbed my attention because we had a similar case last year in Korea. The creator of the biggest online adult platform called “Room number N” has arrested who released illegal videos containing sexual exploitation of women and children and made a huge profit by selling them. 

It is a shame that we had this case in Korea too but I am also glad that finally the sexual exploitation or illegal online platform issues has been risen up and contribute the public to have a criticism against them. Through this, I hope that many people including governments notice there are growing calls for legislation making and investigation regarding photo taking and trading illegally on the online.

I choose this article because I would like to bring awareness and acknowledge about relationship of Canada and Indigenous people. We are often reminded to be kind towards one another, but often time, Indigenous people are left out of the conversation. Through this article, I learned that not only Indigenous people are still treated with racism, but they also have an inadequate health care system. Although there are programs and monetary support provided from federal government, Indigenous people should also be treated with respect and dignity just like any people from other races in Canada. And one of the first step that the government can provide them the respect and dignity they deserve is to make Indigenous health centre become a reality. Ultimately, the public should also be educated more about the lives of Indigenous people so that racism can hopefully to an end. 

One of my favorite reports was reading an article about a joined community in a neighborhood who supported a teacher that was diagnosed with colon cancer. Since humans have been developing mentally and physically over the centuries, it is clear we have changed so much through activities and traits in societies that involve cultural relationships. Humans have wonderful values that care and benefit others whenever or wherever. And this is thanks to our growth in cultures, advanced technology, and behaviors. 

Having to read through articles each week has been an eye opener for me because I used to rarely care about other cultures and differences for I did not need to know their point of view, since I was living through my own tradition and culture. However, being able to choose an article meant I was able to write what I enjoy and this made me believe the significance of societies' cultures and people.