For the Love of the Job

Unusual workplaces, job insecurity and finding a career that’s right for you

Amanda Cupido

We spend years in school, studying and agonizing about papers and exams. But why? In the end, it all comes down to wanting to get a good job.

But define “good job.” Is it something you have a passion for? Something you’re skilled at? Something that pays a lot of money?

Or is it about the hours? The benefits? The potential to advance within the company?

There are so many aspects to job hunting, and according to a Maclean’s poll, only 52 per cent of Canadians are happy with their jobs. Considering Canadians spend an average of 36.2 hours a week at work (as of 2010), that’s a large part of life that more people deserve to feel happy about.

While hunting for the perfect job, I’ve decided to profile two people with not-so-average jobs and a career coach who helps others figure out just when it’s time to call it quits.

Working as a knight in shining armour

Sean Delaney has spent the last eight years working inside a castle. The Medieval Times castle in Toronto, that is.

As the head knight, Delaney is in charge of managing and training all the knights, as well as performing as the knight with the more difficult fight scenes.

Delaney, who loves his job, considers himself fortunate: “I really enjoy performing in front of an audience.”
Delaney went to school for theatre and stumbled upon a job posting for Medieval Times. With a background in martial arts, he thought he’d have a good chance at the gig.

“It was a nice mix of both of my passions,” said Delaney.

Before becoming a knight, all new hires start off as a squire – just as they would in real medieval times. Squires are in charge of grooming and feeding the horses along with caring for the weapons used in each performance.

After six months in that position, Delaney was promoted to knighthood. He progressed quickly through the hierarchy, and learned how to do stunts and ride horses – both of which he had never done before.
“At first I found riding very difficult,” he said. “But now I enjoy working with the horses. I find it challenging and rewarding.”

The job is also physically demanding. “You have to be in shape,” he said. “Most of us are highly skilled athletically.”

The knights go through intensive fight training and have access to a gym that’s in the castle. It’s common for knights to get injured if they don’t fall correctly and end up with broken bones or muscle strains. Because of this, they are seen regularly by chiropractors and registered massage therapists.

“You have to be tough to do this job,” said Delaney.

Although Delaney has endured several injuries, he still has a passion for his job and hopes to stay with Medieval Times and move up to being a horse trainer or the director of stunts and choreography.

Working at a candy factory isn’t such a sweet deal

This was no Willy Wonka experience for Amanda Cordner.

The 22-year-old spent last summer working in an assembly line for Concord Confections Inc., which is best known for making Hubba Bubba. Cordner worked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days per week.

“I imagined myself swimming in gumballs,” said Cordner. “I thought it would be super cool.”
But things soon took a turn for the worst: She was placed in the wax room where the candy lips are made and packaged. Her duties included finding any lips that were deformed and taking the individually wrapped lips and putting them in boxes.

“I was yelled at for not sifting fast enough, and I was yelled at for not filling boxes fast enough,” said Cordner.

She said her job became increasingly annoying, and she wanted a way out.

“I contemplated ways to induce faint so I could be rushed to the hospital,” said Cordner. “I even tried eating a lot of wax so I’d get sick.”

Cordner admitted to tearing up on the job because she’d look at the time and know there were several hours left before the end of her shift. “I hated my job so everything would make me cry.”

Out of the 10 students hired along with Cordner at the beginning of summer, only two lasted in the position until the end of their contracts. Cordner was one of them.

“I will never forget that job because I had a summer of thinking,” she said. “I had a lot of time for self reflection.”

The York University theatre student realized her true passion was theatre and she couldn’t pursue a career in anything other than that.

The advice

Francoise Soria works as a career coach and consultant. She helps people take action when they are reconsidering their career path.
“I know how it feels to hate your job,” said Soria. “People need to give themselves permission to be happy at work.”

Soria has worked in individual development for 20 years and has noticed that most people pursue a career based on their skills and not their passion.

“Just because you’re skilled at something doesn’t mean you’re going to enjoy doing it all day long,” she said.

Soria said a common sign of discomfort in the work place is boredom and stress. In the worst cases, this can also lead to depression and take a toll on relationships and life outside of work.

“Our career is an extension of ourselves,” said Soria. “And a huge part of it is knowing that you’re making a difference in the world.”

People like Soria help individuals by offering advice and support in making decisions regarding their careers. She said many people don’t realize that finding the right job takes time. And quitting a current job takes courage.

If you feel like you might be needing career advice, you can visit FindingMyCareer.ca.

Students tepid on Post-secondary education election promises

Marie Alcober

More emphasis on containing post-secondary education costs has been made by the different political parties since the provincial campaign kicked off in preparation for election day on Oct. 6.

“We’ve called for more affordable tuition from all the parties,” Ryerson Student Union’s Vice-President of Education, Melissa Palermo said.

Toronto Centre’s incumbent Liberal candidate Glen Murray said the Ontario Liberal Party has received considerable cooperation from groups such as the RSU to develop their education platform.

“Although they lobbied for lower fees, we can’t freeze tuition because this reduces the funding that goes into universities,” he said, referring to the Liberal party’s platform delivered by Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty on Sept. 6.

McGuinty promised a 30 per cent tuition grant which would be up to $1,600 for university students and $730 for college students. Only students in families with a gross household income of $160,000 or less are eligible to receive the reduction. Students no longer dependents of their parents will be ineligible for the grant, which will be in effect by Jan. 1 if the Ontario Liberal Party is re-elected. This tuition fee grant is estimated to cost $400 million in the first year. Every year after that, the estimated annual cost of the proposal could go up to $1.5 billion.

Ani Dergalstanian, a second-year politics and governance student is skeptical. “You have to look at the fine print. You have to analyze these platforms. Where is the money paying for the tuition break going to come from?” she said.

Murray said the Liberal party has a total education funding of $1.2 billion, which covers the cost of the first year.

Instead of promising any tuition cuts, the Ontario PC party promised to raise the threshold for financial support so more students can qualify for aid. Their platform includes adding 60,000 post-secondary spots and intentions of improving OSAP.

“We don’t think it’s responsible to cut tuition. It only acts as short-term relief,” Ontario PC candidate Martin Abell said. “It only punishes younger generations because it can double provincial debt.”

Kevin Nguyen, a business technology student, was worried that the Liberals’ proposal would cost too much tax dollars. He preferred Ontario PC’s platform just like Santosh Inigo, an aerospace engineering student, who thought that an improved OSAP system would be best for him.

But one assistant professor for politics and public administration at Ryerson disagrees. “If you’re going to get a tuition break, someone’s going to pay for it, obviously taxpayers. There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Tuna Baskoy said. If a measly $50 were to be pooled from taxpayers, he said it would go a long way in creating a public fund so students wouldn’t have to pay such high fees.

The Liberals have come under fire for their promises but they are banking on the investments already made at Ryerson, such as the development of the Student Learning Centre on Yonge Street, in hopes of keep a firm hold on the school community.

“I don’t think Ryerson has seen the kind of expansion that the Liberals have supported them with,” Murray said. “If you don’t believe we’re serious, walk around Ryerson and look at the new buildings going up.”

Ontario NDP revealed their education platform at Ryerson on Sept. 15 promising interest free loans. Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath said they will freeze tuition fees, which has an estimated cost of $100 million in the first year.

Dergalstanian was not impressed with any of the platforms. She knows that Ryerson is located in a province that pays the highest tuition fees in Canada. And like many Ryerson students, she wants change.

Youth are more engaged in erections than elections

“There’s an election? Since when?” – Canadian Youth Everywhere

Sarah Hahn

For as long as I have been old enough to vote, I’ve heard the challenge with getting youth to vote during elections. Youth are categorized as anyone between the ages of 18 and 24.

As an eligible voter, I can say with confidence that the only reason why I exercise my right and have since I became legal, is for the simple fact that I CAN.

But for the majority of people in this age group, participating in elections tends to not make their to-do list.
Their lack of participation can be explained by several reasons. According to a report that was published by Elections Canada in 2003 called, Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections: A New Survey of Non-voters, some of the main reasons why youth don’t vote are: they are simply not interested; they think that their vote would not matter; they don’t like the parties/candidates; they are busy at work or they don’t care about the issues.

While I believe that voting is part an integral part of being an active citizen, I agree with many of the reasons listed above and would adopt them as my own should I ever choose not to vote. But even as a voter, I am still not very knowledgeable about the different parties’ platforms.

If you were to quiz me on each candidate’s viewpoints on different issues, I would without a doubt fail. I blame this on our education system and for its inability to properly teach students about politics from a young age.

Apathyisboring.com published some interesting results taken from The Democracy Project, a large study prepared by the Innovative Research Group in which was included that 82 per cent of youth feel that they would be more likely to vote if schools taught more about the government.

Youth are disengaged because politics are not discussed at a young age in school.

The only memory I have about learning about politics is during the mandatory Civics course we were required to take in Grade 10. If you’ve ever taken Civics, you will know that the Canadian electoral system isn’t exactly presented a way that’s the most engaging or exciting, if at all. I remember learning about “left” and “right,” the branches of government and how to pass a bill, but I didn’t learn anything about what each place on the political spectrum represents on a tangible level, nor was I convinced that I should care.

I learned to read and write at a young age not just because it’s a good skill to have, but because these are important things for me to know how to do in order for me to fully engage with and operate in this world.

Similarly, had I been taught the importance of voting and the impact this could have on me in relation to the city, province or country in which I live, I might have dedicated more of my spare time internalizing each party’s views on different issues that affect Canadians.

While certain activities can be quite stimulating for youth, voting is not one of them.

These days, everything around us seems to be sexed up as a way of engaging younger generations.
Clothes are a lot more revealing and have a tighter fit. In addition, it’s almost impossible to come across a television show today that does not deal with, involve or show scenes of people having sex.

Maybe if elections had more of a sex appeal, there would be a higher chance of young electors voting.
When people have sex, they feel connected to each other in some way. This is the very reason why many youth did not vote in the 2006 general election according to an article that was published by apathyisboring.com in 2007.

Research showed that many young people felt they couldn’t connect with politics so they chose to ignore it.

I once had the opportunity to hear Dalton McGuinty speak at Ryerson. For someone with very little interest in politics, this proved to be a lot more informative and made politics more exciting for me.

In general, there should be more opportunities like this as a way of engaging students in elections and encouraging youth to vote.

Moreover, when engaging in sex, all parties consent because they feel that the other person can satisfy certain needs.

In contrast, many youth feel that today’s candidates have nothing to offer them. As a result, they stray from voting because they feel that politicians fail to address what is important and relevant to them.

While maintaining free health care and lowering taxes are both issues that are vital to Canadians, what about promising to lower tuition fees and creating more entry level jobs, which students can secure upon graduation?

Now that’s sexy.

In the meantime, are youth engaged enough in politics to vote?

No.

Were they ever?

Not really.

Will they ever be?

Not unless the provincial education system decides to turn the Civics course into more than merely half a credit (but that speaks to a whole other issue) or if CTV decides to air some hot melodrama about politicians.

Elections Canada conducted a study several years ago to find out how many people were voting in each age group. The results showed that approximately 37 per cent of electors aged 18 to 24 voted in the 2004 general election.

Two years later, a similar study showed that approximately 44 per cent of electors in this age group voted.
I don’t expect the results to be much different for the provincial election on October 6.

Veteran journalist Tony Burman joins the Ryerson community

Kelsey Rolfe

Against the suitable backdrop of the bustling Starbucks on Church and Gerrard, Tony Burman can’t sit still. For the duration of a 45-minute interview he remains, remarkably, in motion — gesturing wildly, as if to assist him with his point and, to drive something home, smacking the table with the side of his palm. And for someone who has spent the majority of his life in an “intense, 24-7 pace,” that isn’t the least bit out of character.

But the king of speed himself is planning to slow down. As Ryerson’s newly-appointed Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair, Burman said he’s looking forward to “us[ing] my brain as much as I’m using my legs” come September, when he joins the school.
It certainly will be a change of pace.

Burman, 63, got his start in journalism working as the editor of Loyola College’s newspaper, Loyola News, for two years, though his subjects of study were actually political science and history. After he graduated he moved onto the Montreal Star, where his father worked as an editor. Burman remained there for “about four or five years.”

Montreal in the late 60s and 70s was the perfect place to be for an up-and-coming journalist. With the political tension, FLQ crisis, and talk of separation, the country was in constant distress. Because of his position as an education reporter, Burman said he was required to cover a lot of the main events, as it was “really the schooling sector in Quebec that was most in turmoil.”

“For somebody in my early twenties, it was a fascinating period,” he said. “I had a sense that I was in the middle of a historic period in Quebec, which turned out to be the case. And the fact that I was able to write and try to interpret that for a wider audience in Montreal was really quite exciting.”

After his stint at the Star, and a year and a half traveling through South America, Burman moved to Toronto and took a job at the CBC. He worked his way up through the corporate ladder, as a writer, editor, executive producer of The National, and by the 1980s was the CBC News European producer. In that position he was able to report on the Lebanon Civil War, the fall of the Soviet Empire, and the imprisonment and release of Nelson Mandela.

The latter, he said, was a story that has a special meaning to him. Prior to Mandela’s 1991 release, Burman produced a documentary on the man, which included a reenactment of the trial that unjustly put him in prison. Winnie Mandela had seen the footage, and gotten it into the prison so her husband could view it as well. Because of that documentary, the CBC was chosen as one of the three networks to interview Mandela on the day of his release.

“I have a photograph of Barbara Frum, Nelson Mandela, and myself [from that day], and it’s one that I totally cherish,” he shared.

Burman continued his rise through the CBC, doing current affairs and international documentaries for The Journal, and then entered management, spending seven and a half years as Editor-in-Chief. When he left, he said, it was “getting repetitive, so it was really time to leave, and it was a very natural thing.”

Though his plan at that point was to do consulting work for international networks, that wasn’t what fate had in mind. Around a year after leaving the CBC, Burman was invited by Al Jazeera to come to Qatar. Thinking he would be involved in the network in a “part-time, consultative way,” Burman hopped on a plane, only to be presented with a job offer: the Managing Director position.

“I fell backwards,” Burman said, “And said ‘obviously I can do that from Toronto, can’t I?’ They said ‘no, you can’t.’ So the issue of moving to Qatar became very serious for me, but it was an opportunity that I was given.”

Burman spent the next two and a half years in Qatar, flying back and forth to Toronto to see his family. Around the time he planned to return to North America, Western interest in Al Jazeera piqued so the move to Washington, to take over as Chief Strategic Advisor, seemed only natural. During his time in that role, Burman brought Al Jazeera to Washington and all of Canada.

In September Burman’s role will change drastically. At the university he’ll be teaching Journalism and Politics in the winter semester, as well as doing research into privacy and censorship issues, and the role of emerging technologies on the practice of journalism.

Burman cited the Arab Spring as an example of that growing trend. “When Tunisia [and] Egypt started exploding, there was a real inability for journalists to be able to do their work publicly,” he said. “There had to be a reliance on people, collectively, to contribute. There’s a serious dimension to emerging technologies, [and] social media…that’s well beyond whether Charlie Sheen should be hired by CBS.”

“[Emerging technologies are] the way the next ten years will be defined,” he said. “The fact that the journalists who are students now will eventually replace people like me in the wider world, it’s important that they understand as much as possible what’s coming around the corner.”

Ryerson may halt conflict of interest allegations

Kelsey Rolfe

On August 5, in a Notice of Motion filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ryerson University acknowledged there is “insufficient evidence” to continue with their conflict of interest allegations against Dr. James Norrie.

James Norrie, frequent media persona on behalf of Ryerson and well known in the information technology (IT) world, sued the university after he was suspended on March 31 over vague allegations of conflict of interest and harassment.

In his statement of claim against the university, Norrie said he was presented with a suspension letter that indicated he was placed on “paid leave pending the outcome of two investigations” and that he was being removed “immediately from the workplace.”

Norrie claimed he was not given “any particulars of the allegations against him,” and only after “multiple written requests” did the university disclose that there was a “potential conflict between [Norrie’s] involvement as a university representative and also as a paid member of the CIO Summit.”
Norrie’s statement of claim states that he was given written permission from the university to take part in the summit, which provides professional development for executives.

In their Notice of Motion Ryerson said, “It appears that the conflict of interest issue may not be dealt with by way of an investigation since at this time there is insufficient evidence to support a claim of conflict of interest.”

When asked for comment, Norrie’s lawyer, Laughlin Campbell, said, “Ryerson did not, and never did, have any evidence to suggest that Dr. Norrie was [engaged in] a conflict of interest of any kind.”

“The university is now, in my view, trying to retroactively ignore that issue per chance that [the] civility complaint…justified the suspension,” he added. “They’ve now acknowledged — been forced to acknowledge — that they shot first and asked questions later.”

Representatives at Ryerson declined to comment and their lawyer, Stephen Gleave, could not be reached.
Norrie is seeking $575,000-plus in the case, for damages incurred, and a written apology to be published in a national newspaper of his choosing. He is also claiming defamation of his professional reputation.
Apart from teaching one course in the Winter 2010 semester, for which a replacement could not be found, Norrie is not allowed on campus, the court filing stated.

On June 13, Norrie was granted an injunction that allowed him to attend convocation later in the week.
Norrie was involved in the precursor to what became Lavalife. He was on an episode of Dragons’ Den in 2006, an appearance for which he is well known, when his interruption prompted the Dragons to rip up a $200,000 cheque for a group of Ryerson entrepreneurs. Norrie became a tenured professor at Ryerson in 2007, and in 2008 he took on the position of associate dean, a contract that is in effect until 2013. He regularly speaks with audiences outside of the university, and is the author of four books. Along with Ryan Chong and Ken Killin, Norrie founded Speechbobble, an enterprise social networking company.

Norrie’s claim also states that the university did not follow proper processes when dealing with the allegations against him, specifically that he was not “provided with an opportunity to provide any input.” Despite being told he would hear from an independent investigator regarding the conflict of interest issue, Norrie’s statement says he did not.

Ryerson claims the harassment allegations against Norrie are being investigated under a Ryerson human resources policy called A Guide to Civility, and include “profanity directed at persons, ridiculing or belittling persons, and other inappropriate action.” The procedures outlined in the guide have not been followed, according to the court documents.

Ryerson’s actions have, according to the statement of claim, “materially breached” Norrie’s contract of appointment, and have caused him mental distress. He is seeking a statement from the university of this, as well as an admittance that he is no longer associate dean. He wishes to return to teaching, and to be allowed to take part in student and school-run events.

The university has yet to file a Statement of Defense.

Thailand’s National Sport surprises many newcomers

Mai Habib

Thailand is best known for its beautiful coral beaches, luscious forests and seemingly endless parties. The country attracts thousands of tourists a year looking for adventure and a way to disconnect from reality. People from all walks of life come to enjoy the Thai culture and country, whether to vacation or to do some soul searching.

I spent just over two weeks traveling here. From food to Elephant riding, Thailand never seems to disappoint the eager traveler.

An unknown hidden treasure of Thailand is the country’s deep rooted martial arts scene, mainly, its national sport, Muay Thai. Unknowingly to most, hundreds of Westerners flood the country to train in the fighting sport.  Most describe it as not only a physical strain but a mental and soulful one as well.

Muay Thai is a mixed hybrid of traditional regional Muays or “ancient boxing”. It is practiced in many countries and there are different rules depending on which country the fight is in and under what organization the fight is arranged.

Muay Thai is a combat sport  that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. Muay Thai is often referred to as the, “Art of Eight Limbs” because it uses punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight “points of contact.”

Thailand is the Mecca for Muay Thai and harbours traditional training camps. It attracts trainers from all around the world and bridges a gap between the Western world and the Eastern one.
Adam Siddiqui is a high school teacher in Toronto, Canada who decided to take some time off and head east to train. He was sold on a Muay Thai training camp in Pukhet, Thailand and although he did some training at gyms in Toronto, Adam was not prepared for the intensity to come.

Fighters and trainees practice twice a day for six days a week. Although tough on the body Adam says, “if there were parts of training that you didn’t want to do, one did not have to participate. Also, no one was penalized for taking rest days off.” This is a direct reflection of the common Thai philosophy, “the more you put in the more you get out.”

People training for Muay Thai come from every country around the world. The sport attracts the most number of foreign athletes to a single country. Why? “It’s a lot of fun and so different,” declares Adam. “I also know that Muay Thai is a sport with much culture, language and many ideas behind it.”

When I was in Thailand I went to watch a Muay Thai fight in Chiang Mai, a city in the north. I was very hesitant and tried to resist the idea of going and watching a fight because of the fighting and aggression. To my surprise, Muay Thai was not what I had thought it would be.

“It’s not as aggressive as everyone thinks. It’s more of a game and wins are more often on point basis than
the standard North American knock out style,” says Adam whose respect for the sport grew as he learned
about its history and culture.

There is a profound respect for the ring the fighter is in and they ask for wisdom at every one of the four corners. There is also a huge respect for the opponent and no fighting is out of aggression or excess.
When asked what he hoped to gain from his experience, Adam replied, “I hoped to learn some amazing technique, a new language and eat amazing food…The main reason for coming here is to escape North America. I also wanted to see how this sport is practiced in its home country and of course, learn from the best. All of these goals were accomplished.”

As with experience in a foreign country, one gains as much as they put in. Adam says, he was “actually fortunate enough to be able to lead the warm-ups and teach some beginner students.” At the gym, “many people would stop by and take pictures…I eventually became the un-official greeter.”

Adam describes Muay Thai as a humbling and strengthening - not just physically - experience. Although his training period is almost up, he hopes to “come home and teach Muay Thai to beginners” now that he has the highest quality training.

Toronto by Bixi

A review of the city’s new bike rental program

Kate Mills

Bixi, a bike rental program, was introduced to Toronto on May 3. It takes its name from the first two letters of bike (bi) and the last two letters of taxi (xi). It’s meant to be like a taxi but on bike. I recently set out on a day trip with my boyfriend to see what all the rage was about.

My first experience with Bixi was actually last year in Montreal, where Bixi was launched. Before even getting on the bike I got so confused with the fare payment machine (and freaked out that it was taking money from my credit card) that I got my credit card out of that machine and made my way to the nearest ‘actual’ bike rental company. But a year later I was ready to give Bixi another try.

Bixi, as I later concluded, is meant for people wanting to get from point A to B quickly rather than day trippers. The reason is you have to check into one of their docks every half hour or the $5 per 24 hour charge becomes much more than that very quickly. Not exactly the terms for a leisurely day trip.
We began our Bixi adventure at Bay and Bloor. The machine was much easier to use this time—I’m guessing because it was in English, not in French. Our first challenge was getting the bike out of the dock. During the day, this would continue to be a challenge and my boyfriend would revel in making a public spectacle out of shaking the bike in an effort to get it out of the dock. By the end of the day we realized you just have to push down on the bike handle bars and then out of the dock—one thing at a time. Getting the bike out of the dock is probably some kind of honed art with Bixi riders having their own secret method.

Anyway, before we left the first dock I checked my BlackBerry for the time to make sure we would not go over a half hour to get to the next dock, so as not to be charged beyond the $5. The next Bixi dock was very close at the University of Toronto. We clicked our bikes into the dock waiting for the green light to appear than sat down on some steps near the ROM and took a break before embarking again. You have to wait at least two minutes between each dock before unlocking again.

Before we left U of T I encountered my next learning experience. I tried to use the same unlocking code I was given when I paid to unlock the second time. The bike wouldn’t unlock. I then read the machine instructions over again and saw that when unlocking the second time I have to insert my credit card again and I will be given a new unlocking number. I guess this is so people can’t steal the bikes. It doesn’t charge your credit card again; it just recognizes your card and gives you a new code. After that and some more shaking and tampering to get the bike out of the damn dock we moved along to our next stop—Kensington Market.
In order to make it somewhat of a relaxing day trip, we decided to stop at places where it’s fun to hang out.

After all the bikes are yours for 24 hours for just $5, as long as you don’t bike longer than 30 minutes without checking into a dock. So we walked around Kensington, tried on some second-hand clothes, got some lunch, and relaxed in the park. The day was becoming progressively more fun.

After that we, of course, had trouble getting the bikes out of the rack again even right after watching a pro—a petite, twenty-something woman who uses it to get to work and get groceries—smoothly and seamlessly take hers out of the dock.

The next stop was King and Spadina. After waiting the two minutes, this was my first time getting the bike out of the dock myself—definitely a high-five moment. Then we took off again to the waterfront. We went to a couple of Bixi docks nearby. The nicest one was beside Redpath Sugar. We sat by the water behind the Corus Entertainment building where there were benches and a big ship from Sault St. Marie was either dropping stuff off or picking stuff up.

Then the rain started to fall.

So we made our way to Union Station, where there were a lot more bikes than at any other spot, I guess because it’s a popular spot for commuters to get to and from work in. Then we decided since the rain calmed down to bike over to St. Lawrence Market to pick something up for dinner, but alas it’s closed on Mondays. So then we took the bikes back to Union Station and made our way home.

Overall rating: The Bixi bikes are great for getting to and from work and for running quick errands—if you live and work downtown. Although I must say: I wouldn’t want to bike in the winter months. Also, it’s important to note that if you ride with Bixi you don’t mind hitting the streets with cars. It is illegal unless you have a tire size less than 61 cm (basically a child) to bike on the sidewalks in Toronto.

Biking alongside cars is not very relaxing for me—which brings me to my next point. If the city wants to make better use of Bixi I think we need more bike lanes, because when I was on the bikes lanes along the waterfront and near U of T I felt much more safe than when I wasn’t on one. If there were bikes lanes everywhere there would be more bikers out there. More bikers mean less traffic congestion and less congestion on the TTC. Less traffic congestion means less air pollution.

The bikes themselves were sturdy and easy enough to ride. The seats were a little uncomfortable, but most bike seats are. Out of 10, I would give the service a 7.

Bixi is good for…
People who don’t mind riding their bike on the streets
People who live and/or work downtown
Getting to and from work and running errands (within the confines of anything south of Bloor but not west of Kensington and not east of Jarvis)
People who don’t have the space to store a bike
People who don’t have a car and depend on a bike and/or the TTC for transportation

Bixi is not good for…
People who don’t live and/or work downtown (unless you are coming downtown for a day doing quick trips) Leisurely day trips
People who don’t like riding the streets (depending on the route)

Ten steps to a 24-hour Bixi rental
The 24-hour rental is best suited for sporadic quick trips downtown. Otherwise I would recommend getting the yearly membership for $95 or a 30-day membership for $40.
Insert credit card into fare machine.
Touch ‘Rent a bike’.
The machine will ask if you want one or two bikes. Two bikes is the maximum you can rent out per credit card. The machine will print out your unlocking code(s).
Choose any bike(s) and enter the code on the part of the dock where you take the bike out.
First, push down on the bike handle bars; second, take out the bike.
The countdown begins: You have 30 minutes to get to the next bike dock or you will be charged beyond the $5 per 24 hours.
When you check back into another dock wait to hear a ‘click’ and see the green light.
Wait two minutes before taking out another bike.
Insert your credit card into the machine. The machine will recognize it and not charge you again. It will give you a new unlocking code(s).

Usage fees:
What you want to avoid (applies to all Bixi users)
1st 30-minute period included
2nd 30-minute period is the $5 (system access fee) plus $1.50
3rd 30-minute period is $5 plus $1.50 plus $4
4th 30-minute period is $5 plus $1.50 plus $4 plus $8

Bringing burlesque back

Katie Toth

The fourth international Toronto Burlesque Festival will be showcasing the best of Canadian exotic dance this month, giving newbies to the art form a chance to see hot ass and tassles.

“The festival is four years running and we are in our biggest year yet,” says Chris Mysterion, co-founder and producer. The event runs from July 22 to 24, 2011 at Mitzi’s Sister, the Gladstone Ballroom, the Mod Club and the Academy of Spherical Arts.

Dancers say their art is about more than a chance to check out babes; their shows—which combine dance, theatre and storytelling—are feminist acts.

Coco Framboise is a dancer, writer and teacher who performs professionally. “I think that what people love about these shows is that … they don’t feel like they’re being lecherous in an ugly sort of a way,” she says.

“You would never catcall your neighbour. You would never say, ‘hey, Mrs. MacGregor, looking good girl! Ow!’ …but here you would, the dancers would be hurt if you didn’t.”

For Framboise, the world of burlesque is a place where people are free to express their sexuality through catcalls or exhibitionism, knowing that they’re kept safe by the firm limits imposed by the art form. “There’s no champagne room. The performers are in this complicit dynamic where the audience is supposed to be vocal and the performers are supposed to be naked … [but] there’s no next level of that interaction,” she says. “It’s kind of an interesting opportunity both for the performers to try on a different personality and for the audience members to let themselves go as well.”

Kinky LaFemme is a dancer with Glamourpuss Burlesque. She says that for her, burlesque is a way of “taking back control.”

“We’re subjected to the gaze—be it male or female—like on the street, right? It’s going to happen no matter what, and this way … you’re actually drawing attention to it,” she says. “Yes, I’m aware that you’re looking at me, and I’m playing with that and having fun with it, and turning it into a performance, and enjoying it. It’s not about being vulnerable or being taken advantage of or anything like that.

“Realistically, if somebody comes to a show and they want to … leer at me and make me an object, they can go to town! I don’t really care. Because when I’m dancing, I’ve got the power. So I don’t really care what they think at all. It’s about how I feel when I’m dancing.”

LaFemme adds that one of the most powerful elements of burlesque is that it offers a “chance for people to see bodies that aren’t normally seen in other mediums.”

For St. Stella of the Atomic Cherries, this opportunity was about more than feminist theory. After 13 years of ballet training, she had been told to give up because she had the wrong body shape. “Basically, I was told, ‘you might as well give up now.’”

At first, she says, she was devastated. “I was that girl who had ballet shoes on her wall and hailed Karen Kane, you know?”

Burlesque gave St. Stella a space to dance again. “In burlesque, I’m sort of average size. There’s women way smaller than me, there’s women way bigger than me and it doesn’t matter,” she says.

She says she’s drawn to the way that creativity and ideas are prioritized, rather than maintaining the same form. “You can be a sea monkey. You can be a sexy cabaret performer. You can bleed on stage … It’s not about your body type, it’s about how good you can entertain—which to me is so refreshing.”
Honey B Hind also came to burlesque after training in classical dance. She says she wants her dance to support young women. “I wanted to do something for them that’s not something they see all the time,” she says.

“I grew up with eating disorders and I grew up in the classical ballet world,” says B Hind. Burlesque helped her feel comfortable in her skin. “You put the makeup on and you put the wig on and you put the image on and you kind of feel like you’re a little bit more confident version of yourself.”

B Hind says her favourite part about dancing is sharing that energy with other women who aren’t always secure about their bodies. “I also do a gig at the painted lady every Friday, and I’m constantly surprised that the women will come up to me and say ‘you were awesome, you are great because you’re showing me something that we don’t see every day, you look like me,’ so that makes me feel very proud,” says the slender 39-year old. “I feel like I’m showing you, this is you, this is what you are, it’s okay to look this way.”

But the scene doesn’t come without its challenges. In an intimate community like Toronto burlesque, the internal competition can be intense.

“In the beginning it was a very grassroots, do it yourself attitude … it was more of a punk-rock background, so we were scratching each other’s backs. Now that it’s become a little bit more mainstream there’s been a shift in the mentality,” says Chris Mysterion. “I like to, when I notice people becoming competitive, sit them down and say listen, this isn’t about money—because really, there isn’t money in this industry—it’s about going and getting the art form on stage and doing a good job.”

Contrary to popular belief, says Mysterion, burlesque is “not lucrative.” But that hasn’t stopped the scene from growing at a rapid pace, which has led to some concerns.

“The scene as a whole is expanding, and if there’s room to expand and the bottom doesn’t fall out, then great,” says Mysterion.

For a while, he saw new dancers without experience in Toronto putting themselves on stage to flop. Dancers were left unsupported, and new viewers of burlesque didn’t know if these novices were representative of the craft in Toronto. He says that people were “coming out and going, uh, I paid twenty bucks to see that and it wasn’t so great, I may not go back again.”

So Mysterion decided to do something about it. He created a pay-what-you-can Burlesque ‘Open Mic’ for new talent. “People can come out and see the newer acts and get a feel for what burlesque is all about,” Mysterion says. “And this is where people get good at what they do … as an entertainer, I took every opportunity at the beginning to do what I do.”

There’s a method to his madness. Ontario is producing award winning burlesque, including Miss Roxi Delite, a burlesque and feature dancer who won the title of Miss Exotic World this year in Las Vegas.

As a teacher, Framboise sees a more intimate side to the community. She says that when dancers begin, the emotions can run high.

“I have the Coco Framboise School of Burlesque. [My students], they’re engaging some of this energy for the first time,” she says. “Sometimes they’re angry for a little while. And I think it’s because they find that their lives don’t fit them. They want something bigger … they can no longer buy that job at the bank or the partner who restricts them.”

Framboise says that many dancers and students create characters that are “heightened versions of themselves,” who can allow them to do things they’re normally afraid to. “It’s really exciting to see how just having an opportunity to play, having permission to try on different energy, having permission to literally and figuratively shed layers. I think it’s really gorgeous and exciting to see what that does to human souls,” she says.

“Burlesque has shown me that sexual energy … is not just for sex,” says Framboise. “You can use it to find more bravado to ask for all sorts of things. You could use that power and gusto to leave a partner, or move across the country, or take off your bra in front of hundreds of adoring strangers … you can be more brave if you want to.”

Check out the Toronto Burlesque Festival online:
www.torontoburlesque.com

The origins of racism

Racism is so embedded in our society that many people assume it has always existed. But, says Yuri Prasad, it is really a modern phenomenon that developed with capitalism

Yuri Prasad

The plague of racism continues to scar the world that we live in, even though there is no scientific basis whatsoever for the division of society into races. Race is a social construct that benefits our rulers.

The idea that people with different skin colours have different ideas and interests is a “common sense” one. The implication of this for many people is that prejudice is natural, and that any attempt to get rid of it is doomed. If this were true, racism would be a feature of all human societies in history. But this was not the case.

People in the ancient world did not regard skin colour as any more important than hair colour. Tomb paintings from ancient Egypt depict light, brown and black figures in a fairly random way. The Greeks and Romans did not believe that white skins were inherently superior. In fact, we can be almost certain that the Roman emperor Septimius Severus was black.

As the Trinidadian Marxist scholar CLR James put it, “Historically it is pretty well proved now that the ancient Greeks and Romans knew nothing about race. They had another standard—civilized and barbarian—and you could have white skin and be a barbarian and be black and civilized.”

And early explorers from medieval Europe did not believe their societies were necessarily superior to those that they visited. In 1600 a Dutch trader entering the city of Benin in west Africa wrote, “The city looks very big when you go into it. The houses in the town stand in good order as our Dutch houses are. These people are in no way inferior to the Dutch in cleanliness. They wash and scrub their houses so well that these are as polished as a looking glass.”

All sorts of prejudices thrived in pre-capitalist societies, such as the ignorance and suspicion of strangers. But racism differs from these. Racism exists where an entire group of people is systematically discriminated against on the basis of characteristics they are said to share. In some, but not all, circumstances the group is defined by certain physical characteristics, like skin colour.

The development of such a structured prejudice did not exist prior to capitalism, and a key phase within it—the transatlantic slave trade. Forms of slavery had existed in medieval societies all over the world. Between the tenth and sixteenth centuries, the chief source of slaves in western Europe was eastern Europe—the word “slave” comes from the word “Slav.”

But the slave trade took off on a massive scale when Portugal, Holland, England and France began growing sugar and tobacco in their colonies in the seventeenth century. These crops required an enormous amount of labour. At first plantation owners used “indentured servants” from Europe to provide it. These white-skinned debt-slaves were contracted to work for no wages for three to five years. Few survived that long. Soon the demand for labour was such that owners looked to Africa to supplement their numbers.

By 1653 African slaves in Barbados outnumbered white labourers by almost three to one. And while there were only 22,400 black people in the southern colonies of North America in 1700, there were 409,500 by 1770.

It is a common argument that slavery was the result of a racist worldview. Black historian Eric Williams challenged this. He wrote, “Slavery was not born of racism—rather, racism was the consequence of slavery.”
The slave traders and owners had previously looked to ancient Greek and Roman texts to justify their actions. These had suggested that the enslavement of those captured in “just wars”  was legitimate. But it was difficult to stretch that definition to the hundreds of thousands now being transported in the most horrific of conditions from Africa.

The thinkers of the European Enlightenment, who held that all men were created equal, were in a quandary. How could they explain away the fact that their prosperity was based on the enslavement of millions of people—and that those slaves were worked to death? In addition there was the problem of white indentured labourers making common cause with slaves and idigenous peoples to run away or attack their masters.
In response the plantation owners developed laws that outlawed association between white and black people. A new theory—that black people were not human beings, but were a sub-species more akin to animals—was developed to justify slavery. In 1771, the English philosopher David Hume wrote, “I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white. No ingenious manufacturers among them, no arts, no sciences.”

He was one of many who gave racism a “scientific” gloss. Soon theories abounded in which all peoples of the earth could be described as “white,” “black,” “brown,” “red” or “yellow.” These arbitrary categories were then placed in hierarchical order, with whites at the top.

Nevertheless, a powerful movement against slavery grew. On the plantations rebellions increasingly took on an insurrectionary character. In slave-holding nations, such as England and France, working-class opposition to the trade became increasingly militant.

The planters used the most barbaric repression to deter resistance. Slaves in Barbados who rebelled were punished by “nailing them down on the ground with crooked sticks on every limb, and then applying fire by degrees from feet and hands, burning them gradually up the head, whereby their pains are extravagant.” Those whose profits depended on slavery resorted to all manner of slurs in a vain attempt to resist abolition.
Racism did more than justify the oppression of black slaves. It also served as a means of dividing the poor by tying the interests of impoverished white farmers to those of the slave‑owning white elite. Racism offered destitute whites the idea that they were supposedly superior to slaves, even if their conditions were not all that different. This reduced the chances of class conflict.

Frederick Douglass, the great anti-slavery campaigner, noted, “The hostility between the whites and blacks of the [U.S.] South is easily explained. It has its root and sap in the relation of slavery, and was incited on both sides by the poor whites and blacks by putting enmity between them. They divided both to conquer each.”

The “usefulness” of racism to the capitalist class is the chief reason why the ideology survived the end of the slave trade in the nineteenth century. It is a means to divide the poor and to divert their attention away from the real causes of their misery.

Now the domination of the world by a handful of European powers, or “Europeanized” powers such as the U.S., was justified by a racist assumption that whites should “civilize” colonial nations. According to Rudyard Kipling, the poet of British Empire, this was the “White Man’s Burden.”

Racism got a further theoretical boost from a form of “science” that distorted Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Now the different races were said to be suited to differing roles in society because of a difference in their biologies.

While the forms of racism have changed over the centuries, it remains a fundamental part of capitalist society today. Despite the great efforts of the bosses, racism was never automatically accepted by the working class—neither in days of slavery nor in much more recent times. Peter Fryer documents hundreds of acts of resistance to racism in his outstanding book, Staying Power: The history of black people in Britain.
One such episode is a mass meeting organized by radicals in Sheffield in 1794. Thousands of artisans unanimously passed a resolution calling for emancipation of black slaves. “Wishing to be rid of the weight of oppression under which we groan, we are induced to compassionate those who groan also,” declared the Yorkshiremen, before pledging to “avenge peacefully ages of wrongs done to our Negro Bretheren.” Since the days of slavery, the battle to “avenge the wrongs” of racism has been a continual theme in British working-class politics.

The long tradition of militant resistance to racism remains the best answer to those who try to excuse prejudice by claiming that it is just part of human nature.

This article originally appeared in Socialist Worker (UK) on July 9, 2011:
www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=25296

The Egyptian Revolution: What’s next?

After the fall of Mubarak, the movement enters its second phase

Jesse McLaren

Despite the removal of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, his regime is still intact: the emergency laws and military trials of civilians are still in effect; police cracked down on demonstrators on Nakba Day and beat a bus driver to death in June; the regime recently arrested journalist Rasha Azab and interrogated journalist and activist Hossam el-Hamalawy; the regime censored murals commemorating martyrs and arrested the street artist Ganzeer for producing an image that criticizes Egypt’s military dictatorship.

Like the decade of struggle leading up the revolution, these political questions are part and parcel of social and economic demands. Workers are demanding a monthly minimum wage of 1,200 Egyptian pounds ($200). Women demonstrated in Tahrir on International Women’s Day for government-funded childcare, an end to discrimination in hiring and promotions, and an end to sexual harassment and violence against women. Peasants have begun reclaiming the land. In early June families of martyrs demanding justice joined a sit-in by homeless people demanding housing.

But these demands challenge the military regime and the corporations that support them, which persist despite Mubarak’s overthrow. As a striking doctor said, “Every percentage point for increasing health care will come from the budget of the Ministry of Interior and other parts of the oppressive machine.” The same economic crisis that contributed to the revolution is driving a deeper wedge between political reforms gained and the social and economic demands that have yet to be met. The stock market even panicked at a raise in the minimum wage to 700 pounds.

The Arab Spring is a huge threat to Western imperialism in the region, and the counter-revolution is taking a variety of forms: direct military intervention in Libya, indirect intervention through Saudi Arabia in Bahrain, and a combination of weapons sales and “financial aid” in Egypt. But with the Eurozone in crisis, the funds are relatively small for such a large and strategic country as Egypt, and the government was just forced to reject the loan, citing the “pressure of public opinion.” Meanwhile the internal counter-revolution in Egypt is based on a combination of co-opting and attacking the revolution.

While corporations and the regime are claiming the mantle of the revolution—on murals and posters—they are attacking the strength and unity on which the revolution depends. One of the first acts of the military regime after the fall of Mubarak was to ban strikes that helped drive him from power, and since then it has broken up sit-ins and harassed union activists in education and transportation. It has also overseen attacks on the International Women’s Day March—including subjecting women to virginity tests—and the burning of a Coptic church.

The regime has accused striking doctors (who earn less than $3 per day) of being traitors to the revolution, while the state-controlled trade unions have accused the independent trade unions of being “counter-revolutionary among the workers.” Just as Stalin’s counter-revolution used the language of socialism, so the military regime in Egypt is using the language of revolution in an attempt to undermine the movement for change.
The leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is complicit with the military regime in its quest for power, using religious language to call off demonstrations. But many of its membership, particularly the youth, were radicalized by the revolution and continue to demonstrate.

In this context workers’ struggles are key to counter divisions and push the revolution forward. As Hossam el-Hamalawy wrote in the Guardian:

“Many are disappointed with Egypt’s progress—me less so because I never had high expectations from an army takeover. But two things have changed in Egypt in the past 100 days which give me hope, and both relate to the fact that the revolution is unfinished.

“The first is that mass strikes are continuing. The second is that workers have taken the step of establishing independent trade unions, which I believe are the silver bullet for any dictatorship.
“Attempts are already under way by middle-class activists to place limits on this revolution and ensure it remains only within the realm of formal political institutions. But the main part of any revolution has to be socio-economic emancipation for the citizens of a country.

“So this is phase two of the revolution, the phase of socio-economic change. What we need to do now is take Tahrir to the factories, the universities, the workplaces. In every single institution in this country there is a mini-Mubarak who needs to be overthrown. In every institution there are figures from the old state security regime who need to be overthrown.”

In neighbourhoods the Popular Committees to Defend the Revolution have continued to advocate for better services and to remove corrupt officials. In workplaces more than 150 independent unions have formed since the fall of Mubarak—from textile and aluminum workers, to postal and hospital workers, and even workers who issue marriage licenses. In March doctors organized national strikes demanding better wages for all workers, the removal of corrupt officials, and an increase in the health budget from 3 to 15 per cent of GDP. On March 25 an independent union uniting all hospital workers was launched in Cairo, and three days later the hospital director resigned. In April postal workers from across Egypt met to organize an independent union.

According to Adil Hisham, a postal worker: “Alongside supporting workers’ demands, we’ll be working on setting up our independent union as quickly as possible. … Now is the time for workers in Egypt to set up independent organizations to defend themselves from the bosses’ attacks, and to unite their demands in the wake of the victory of the revolution which opened the door to all workers to get organized and speak with one voice.”

On May Day, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Unions mobilized the first national public demonstration for workers in over 60 years, and the Democratic Workers’ Party was launched to represent workers demands: raise the minimum wage, remove corrupt managers, renationalize privatized industries, and end Egypt’s ties with Israel.

In the first week of June there were strikes or protests by flight attendants, petrol workers, subway workers, and Parliament workers, while a pharmacists’ union formed. Meanwhile protesters marked the anniversary of the death of Khaled Said by chanting outside the Interior Ministry and spray-painting his face all over the notorious building—while vans full of riot police watched passively. Suez Canal workers went on strike for two weeks. In mid-June hundreds of British trade unionists sent a solidarity message, demanding the Egyptian regime respect the right to strike and protest, and the British government stop selling weapons used to suppress strikes and protests.

The Egyptian Revolution is inspiring people all over the world. Shortly after the fall of Mubarak workers in Wisconsin occupied the Capitol Building, inspired by the revolution and received solidarity messages from Egypt. Then Tahrir arrived in Madrid as tens of thousands occupied the main square against austerity. In Canada Parliamentary page Brigette DePape interrupted the Throne Speech calling for an Arab Spring in Canada.

Though our conditions are different, we too have been inspired by Palestinian resistance and mobilized against the Iraq War; we too are mobilizing against police indifference and injustice, from the missing and murdered Aboriginal women to the mass arrests at the G20; we too have lived through a generation of neoliberal policies, and are facing an austerity agenda; we too are facing attacks on our trade unions, but are starting to fight back.

That’s why we need to learn more from the Egyptian Revolution. As an Egyptian activist said recently, “If you’re inspired by our Arab revolutions, do as we did. You need one. I know you need one. And we need you to do one. It’s not just an Arab Spring, it’s a world spring.”

Jesse McLaren recently spent one week in Cairo for a conference about the Arab revolutions. This article originally appeared on Your Heart’s on the Left on June 26, 2011: yourheartsontheleft.blogspot.com

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