You Don't Say... March 19, 2012

I'm not saying my generation is all talk and a badge, but according to a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Generation Y (people born between 1982 and 2000) talk about politics ad nauseum without actually getting involved. Let this be a lesson to all you bloggers out there who never get off...oh wait...

Here's a link to a Toronto Star article about the study:


http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1148370--gen-y-s-reputation-takes-a-thumping-in-a-new-study?bn=1

I'm not saying that the same study, co-authored by Jean Twenge and others, is essential reading for young people today, but it does make a few more interesting points. It suggests that people are less likely to get involved in environmental causes than Generation X and there is a greater possibility of us being selfishly relativistic: we won't bother others about their race or sexuality like previous generations, but we won't go out of our way to help fellow our fellow person either. We are also more willing to bully people about their weight. I say time to prove these results wrong by being compassionate, involved, selfless people and getting off the couch to get involved out their in the real world.

I'm not saying France is becoming a more racist nation, but recent shootings around a Jewish school in Toulouse are not helping the country's reputation. 3 students and 1 teacher were killed at Ozar Hatorah school today, just days after 3 paratroopers of African decent were also shot down in France with the same type of gun. Again, time to stand up tell these criminals that racism just doesn't fly any more, especially in a country that has a history of revolution and fighting for individual rights and freedoms. Vive a peaceful, multicultural France. The video below is a Euro News report on the fatal attack. R.I.P. the victims of these and other horrible atrocities that have taken place in recent days.




I'm not saying that the proverbial feces is about to hit the turbine-driven-air-cooling-device in Toronto, but the growing labour unrest is definitely a ticking time bomb whose fuse is about to run out. Toronto library workers have begun a strike today and the union representing the mega-city's 23,000 inside workers has set a strike vote for tomorrow. The city, it seems, is not willing to offer any protection to part-time employees, who receive no benefits already and have very little protection against job cuts or privatization. Good for the unions for sticking up for what is fair and just for their members. Workers have a right to know that their job will be safe from outsourcing and shouldn't live in the fear that Rob Ford's union/pay/benefits busting axe could fall at any time. There is power in a union!