GNED 1403 Final Blog

The world has changed quite a bit in the last century. I could go on about many of the technological and social advances we've achieved, but I find it most interesting to instead discuss how the nature of free speech has changed. Notably, it is not that we aren't expressing it. Rather, it's the way we choose to conduct ourselves in person, and most distinctly, online. For in my opinion, it's one thing to make comments, criticisms and hateful comments in physical form. It is an entirely different thing to sit over a keyboard and say things without a discernible face or identity. Some could even consider it cowardly to do the latter. But I digress. In this blog I will highlight examples of both online and physical acts of racism in person and online. I will display examples, discuss and play favor towards those seeking to bring out and openly denounce individuals who make such hateful and disgusting commentary.

http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/427559-on-the-internet-nobody-knows-youre-a-dog

I will begin with discussing the anonymity that now exists today contrasted with what would been available several years ago. As a notion I had previously mentioned, 20-30 years ago, when someone had something to say, the only way to do so would have been to talk in person. This would have been especially true if you wanted to get your point across to many people (say more than 1000 individuals). You'd need to get some serious air time. By that I mean radio, TV and newspaper as examples. From my acquired knowledge, these media outlets tend not to post information or articles from anonymous sources, but rather from a person's name. In a sense, there was no hiding behind anything. If you made controversial comments, people would know it was you who said it. Contrasted to today, where many can speak and say what they like without the need to truly divulge who they are. Do the new ways of today really drive change and evoke accountability like they used to?

This now leads into my first example. Although outdated, I feel that this fits my first area of discussion perfectly. Although I disagree with the existence of Neo-Nazi groups, I fully support their right to have the ability to express these opinions in a calm manner. A clash did occur, but this isn't the main story. Rather, what I interpret out of this is that these individuals on both sides hold opinions and were not afraid to step outside of the box to state and exercise their charter rights. I can respect the courage and character it takes to get involved on a human level. That being said, I support the Anti-Racism Action and their denunciation of these events. After all, freedom of speech and democracy will only continue to function so long as tolerance and acceptance are practiced as fundamental concepts.

Numerically speaking, this event did not really have that many participants. From what I can gather in the article, only about 450 people collectively came out to participate in the protest of or march in the rally. Compared to online, where the number of views, likes comments, etc on any post would clearly exceed 450 if it had enough attention (front page of reddit for example). Especially if the post deals with controversial content.

Demonstrations such as the one I have highlighted above are generally good. They incite discussion, and many lead to beneficial changes and recognition of how tolerant we really are as human beings of each other's existence. However, can online do the same thing as a physical rally in the streets of downtown?

This webpage is something I stumbled upon on a Google search. Interestingly enough, the page states it has over 4500 reads. Ten times the amount of participants in the streets of Calgary 3 years ago. But does this volume of readers and assumed activists represent a greater stand to racism than the protesters in the streets? I think not. Rather, I feel that online just doesn't have the same effect as a physical gathering. The people who posted, read and became active on this website surely exist, but who are they? I don't see any faces, names, or anything that helps me identify them as a person. Although it could be argued that this is a unified and collective stand against online racism, I just can't see it replacing a good old demonstration. Change is a physical act, and I can't see it being something that will occur behind a computer screen.
















In conclusion, I'm not entirely denouncing modern ways of conveying information and taking a stand against things. The benefits of increased interconnection are clear across the board in many ways.  Rather, I'm trying to encourage action instead than the passive commenting or liking in an online context. The world now has and is dependent upon technology in many ways, but no amount of internet involvement will ever replace a face to face confrontation.


Photo Credits from above:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=204&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1920&bih=912&tbm=isch&tbnid=toUM2iwMWRPOQM:&imgrefurl=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/15/russia-protesters-hope-huge-rallies-will-keep-anti-putin-movement-alive/&docid=0F-2vyCcK5Bs7M&imgurl=http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/russia-protest-3.jpg%253Fw%253D620%2526h%253D413&w=620&h=413&ei=6GXJUM3aIMThiwKrj4HoAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1285&vpy=451&dur=38&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=110&ty=79&sig=112164858874561191370&page=5&tbnh=151&tbnw=223&ndsp=58&ved=1t:429,r:38,s:200,i:118


http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1920&bih=912&tbm=isch&tbnid=VYRtKmU5ta3pOM:&imgrefurl=http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/2012/03/12/armchair-activism-wont-fix-the-worlds-problems/&docid=3_Ou8--1recyUM&imgurl=http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7051/6829335818_4898aa5df1.jpg&w=500&h=428&ei=hVzJUPbQCY3piwKGr4DIDg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=307&sig=112164858874561191370&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=51&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:88&tx=97&ty=70

Blog #6: What I've learned in GNED 1403

For my final blog entry, I will briefly discuss what I feel I have learned and will take away from my experience as a Student in GNED 1403. Most of all, I will discuss my new found familiarity with the usage of different social media outlets, blogging, and better understanding of meme and online culture.

Well, where else is there to begin but at the start of the semester? Fresh out of summer and starting off my second year. At this point in time, my understanding of web culture was certainly below average. The full extent of my awareness was basically my Facebook page. I rarely used my laptop for much else beyond You tube and researching academic papers for assignments. Although I was aware of blogs, social media (such as Twitter, Google+, etc) and some web culture (reddit, memebase), I had never taken the time to look at them. This changed with the start of this class, and I was soon familiarized.

Blog writing was my first challenge, as it is very different when contrasted with say, writing a formal essay, report or research paper. Blogs carry opinion, they carry thoughts and emotions from the writer onto the web. In addition to this, blogs are available to anybody who feels so inclined to read them. For example, if I so desired, I could take the time to find blogs written from perspectives all over the world and read them. Talk about a huge difference from traditional media! 30 years ago, quick and easy access for anyone to post their writing simply did not exist. The closest thing might have been a newspaper or magazine, but even then, multiple barriers existed (physical, financial, etc). The first thing I've learned and will take away from this course: Blogs are not traditional, they carry opinions, ideas and voices and they are available to all at any time without traditional barriers (except perhaps ownership of a computer and internet access).

The next thing I have taken away from GNED 1403 would be my ability to understand, acknowledge and ultimately contribute to online communities. GNED 1403 required me to join a community, and I selected the 4Runner Forum. It was a great experience to be on a website where I could share a common ground with individuals all around the world. This opened my eyes to the huge variety of different communities that exist. To me, the most astonishing thing about this is how the internet has allowed for people anywhere in the world to join groups and participate on websites regardless of physical boundaries. This new avenue of communication is no doubt highly beneficial to the spreading of information and ideas. In fact, my participation with the website allowed me to quickly contact someone and gain the right information to perform a small repair on my vehicle. After GNED 1403, I now have a better understanding of the power of the internet to bring like minded and similar individuals together.

The final item I will highlight as learning from GNED 1403 would be a better understanding of internet culture. Before taking this course, I had never visited memebase or reddit. However, after the first few days and than especially after the meme unit, I learned exactly what role they play in the analysis and communication of observations, ideas and opinions over a multitude of large issues and daily events. Topics for posts on these websites range from politics, news and extreme weather (hurricane sandy) all the way down to everyday life. It feels to me that basically anyone who lives in western culture would be able to relate to the material found here. Although I do not relate to all of the posts, I find myself laughing and enjoying the humorous approach that is taken when addressing basically everything. I will continue to frequent these sites into the future.

In conclusion, I believe that my enrolment in GNED 1403 has resulted in a beneficial learning experience for me in terms of communicating and understanding the online community. Although I had much going on this semester through my other core degree classes, GNED 1403 was by far a course to do assignments for. Writing blogs based upon my observations was much easier than I originally thought, with the hardest part just finding the time and getting started.