Annex I(16)-(18) of the Beijing Declaration

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/25

16. Eradication of poverty based on sustained economic growth, social development, environmental protection and social justice requires the involvement of women in economic and social development, equal opportunities and the full and equal participation of women and men as agents and beneficiaries of people-centred sustainable development;

17. The explicit recognition and reaffirmation of the right of all women to control all aspects of their health, in particular their own fertility, is basic to their empowerment;

18. Local, national, regional and global peace is attainable and is inextricably linked with the advancement of women, who are a fundamental force for leadership, conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting peace at all levels;

Beijing Declaration (1995)

Beijing Declaration (1995) Annex I(16)-(18) stipulates need to eliminate poverty. There is no specification about real or relative poverty. I suspect this means real poverty within the current world system: food, shelter, education and the general infrastructure of the society, and so on.

In the elimination or eradication of poverty, we can observe the reliance of the mechanisms of economic progress tied to social and environmental responsibility. Part of the social and environmental responsibility links to the control of women over their own fertility and so bodies, in general, and reproductive systems, in particular.

With the equal consideration of women within society, we can, thus, see the emphasis on the generalized benefits for the society as a whole; as it is implied, the economic, and social life of the nation improves with women’s empowerment. Annex I(16) notes the eradication of poverty through these mechanisms, and with the inclusion of social justice, for the long-term targeted objective.

The provision of equal opportunities and participation of women within the society, alongside the men, as “agents” of the nation, can improve the country. Women making free educational and economic choices for the long-term benefit of the nation, where women increase the total GDP of the nation with further inclusion within the job market even as the males in many nations continue their gradual slide in workforce participation – quite starkly noted, by economists, and noteworthy within the United States of America.

Women shall be given due consideration in the sustainable development – think of the Sustainable Development Goals, mostly seen in the UN infographics, where the emphases of the sustainable development work within a people-centered framework. People as the core consideration of it.

Annex I(17) looks into the recognition and affirmation of women to control personal lives through the current rights battleground with the right to control their own bodies. Through this control, the health of the nation on all metrics improve, as the lack of wellbeing and wellness of a nation tends to come from too many children from too few women with too few provisions from the government to help raise and care for – properly and comprehensively – those children as they become adults. Margaret Atwood notes the enforced motherhood without proper provisions as a form of slavery by another name.

This is described as “basic to their empowerment.” Duly note that, if you are in support of the empowerment of women, you are in support, at the root or from the start, to the means that is considered basic to their empowerment. Similarly, as Human Rights Watch describes, equitable and safe access to abortion is first and foremost a human right.

We see safe and equitable access to abortion as a human right, in Human Rights Watch, and then control over fertility as basic to their empowerment, in the Beijing Declaration. Any form of empowerment of women statement starts with themselves and personal decisions over their own bodies.

Annex I(18) looks into the various levels of peace in the world. Where the advancement of women becomes not only attainable but also an inextricable admixture to the solutions of war and the advancement of peace; once more, we can, duly, note the reasons why women should be considered in the fundamental decision-making and economic livelihood of the nation-states of the world.

Women become integral for both leadership, conflict resolution, and then the promotion of peace the world over. It is within this context that we find the need to have women as part of the societal mechanisms – all of them – to better instantiate the stipulations in Annex I(18).

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Beijing Declaration (1995): Annex I(13)-(15)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/24

13. Women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace;

14. Women’s rights are human rights;

15. Equal rights, opportunities and access to resources, equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women, and a harmonious partnership between them are critical to their well-being and that of their families as well as to the consolidation of democracy;

Beijing Declaration (1995)

Beijing Declaration (1995) in Annex I(13) to Annex I(15) state the need for women’s equality in the society at all levels as well as the recognition of women’s rights – first, foremost, and fundamentally – as human rights.

Annex I(13) speaks to the need to empower women through a variety of mechanism throughout the society. The purpose is to include women in not only the decision-making processes but also the power centers of the nation as well. Traditionally, the power for women has been, more or less, kept to the home and some of the financial decisions of the home with the power brokers of the civic life, political institutions, and the economic lives of the citizenry.

For the full participation of women in the society, there will need to be significant changes to the structures and systems, and many times sets of minor changes, to have women more fully included into the operations of the nation. As seen highly progressively in the country of Iceland, we can note the greatest level of gender equality for several years now, where women have been kept more and more and encouraged more and more into those institutions of the influence of the nation-state while also adapting the structures and systems of the society themselves.

Take, for example, the efforts in many countries to encourage men to be more involved fathers, if they wish to be fathers, and the further work to have women have access to various benefits of parental leave and flexible work pay, and so on, to be able to pursue their dreams and family life, if the woman so wants it.

It is an important reflection of a set of international norms changing in some bold examples that, if successful enough, may inspire more and more nations for not only moral but also economic reasons to pursue greater equality of women with men in the society. These become “fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace.”

Annex I(14) states in no uncertain terms and with optimization of the message’s concision: “women’s rights are human rights.” Indeed, they are; they should have been the whole time. In fact, I think the only impediment has been a historical precedent of women considered less than men rather than the international rights documents’ equality stipulations themselves.

Annex I(15) is the final one for consideration in this article with the reiteration of equal rights but also an emphasis on opportunity and resource access. Women have been for a long time, and still in many nations, kept inside of the home and away from the workplace and made mostly or completely – and in lucky cases only partially – dependent on the men in their lives.

It is an important note of the financial coercion and enforced subordination through things like enforced heterosexual monogamy in the history of women, where it is the women’s movements – globally speaking – have been the force to bring women more into the fore of the conversation about finances, about being in education, regarding the acquisition of resources, and the inclusion of them at all levels of the economic future of the society.

These moves are progressive in that neither men nor women become fully dependent on one another and more egalitarian marriages, if people want to get married, come forward; oftentimes, in a historical setting, women have been subject to enforced heterosexual monogamy out of tradition, financial lack of access, religious fundamentalism, and the work to keep women as simply incubators of life and not as independent beings with thoughts of their own: and wants, desires, and needs and dreams.

The inclusion of not only women but also men into the fundamental group unit of the world found in the family is something regarding responsibilities, duties, obligations, and, yes, rights of the parents. Men have a role; women have a role, or roles rather. Those of which are to be chosen by the individual women and man, disregarding sexual orientation or gender identity.

The moderately inaccurate language speaks to the broader forms of family life seen in some of the more inclusive areas of the society. As we can see, the stipulation leans into an axiology evaluation – a value judgment – as to the rightness of the partnership or not. In that, we can see the well-being of the individuals and the family – the fundamental individual unit and group unit in the globe, respectively – are intimately twinned with one another.

These become fundamental considerations for the solidifying of the democratic processes with the inclusion of women and men on an equal playing field. Democratic values are tied with the rights of women, of the equality of the sexes or genders.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Annex I(10)-(12) of the Beijing Declaration

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/24

10. Build on consensus and progress made at previous United Nations conferences and summits – on women in Nairobi in 1985, on children in New York in 1990, on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, on human rights in Vienna in 1993, on population and development in Cairo in 1994 and on social development in Copenhagen in 1995 with the objective of achieving equality, development and peace;

11. Achieve the full and effective implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;

12. The empowerment and advancement of women, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, thus contributing to the moral, ethical, spiritual and intellectual needs of women and men, individually or in community with others and thereby guaranteeing them the possibility of realizing their full potential in society and shaping their lives in accordance with their own aspirations.

Beijing Declaration (1995)

Insofar as history is with us, as it always is, our current structures and selves reflect them. With the Beijing Declaration, we can see the Annex I(10)-(12) statements about the need for more equality of women and the integration of the past with the present for the empowerment and advancement of women.

If we start with the first statement of Annex I(10), we can tell the inclusion of the past into, or consideration of the history for, the present remains an important aspect of building the movements of the future. The steps found in a variety of meetings, summits, and documents provide a basis for the betterment of all.

As has been covered in prior articles, the advancement of women in the society amounts to the development of the future for all. The first part of today’s subsections covers some of the arenas in which history only a few or a couple decades ago have influenced the present, and how this was only a few years, sometimes, at the time of the writing of the Beijing Declaration.

Then we can see the aims of and values with equality and peace, and so on.

Annex I(11) speaks more succinctly and to the need for an achievement. That is, the development of an implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women. You can notice this in much of the other commentary and in the work of many international rights documents, where these harken back to some statements in order to recount what should be done.

The emphasis then being on the implementation of the rights regimes stipulated, formalized, and signed by a variety of States Parties, so the Member States of the United Nations become bound to it.

Annex I(12) is a tad lengthier than the others but deals with some of the more fundamental rights stipulations with the empowerment of women – which is a broad phrase for many of these things – and also the advancement of women. The rights for women come in the fundamental stipulations given to not only the men of the world but also to the women; however, as we know in the history of Canadian society and a number of other countries at present, the work to make full equality a reality has been long and difficult.

The rights are to thought, conscience, religion – to the consternation of atheists who I disagree with, because people have these fundamental rights, and also the freedom of belief. People can believe and do as they please regarding religion as fundamental human rights; if you disagree, then you disagree with the basic framework of rights or no rights. All get rights or all do not: pick one. These folks cannot be, in all respect, selective about rights.

Often, the violation of women’s bodies by men amount to the denial of the humanity and righthood of women. The implementation of these rights, according to this part of Annex I, will help with the contribution to the ethical, intellectual, moral and spiritual needs of not only men but also women; but, of course, women have been the main recipients of deprivation in this regard.

This makes not only the individual or the collective at fault but both. The purpose of the further implementation of these rights for the fulfillment of these very human needs is to be able to contribute through the full realization of their potentials – where some, of course, have more than others dependent on areas and many times in surprising ways, as everyone harbours aspirations and retain the right to pursue them.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Beijing Declaration: Annex I(8) & Annex I(9)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/23

8. The equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and men and other purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Declaration on the Right to Development;

9. Ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Beijing Declaration (1995)

The Beijing Declaration Annex I(8) and Annex I(9) state the fundamental basis of the international rights documents with the statement about equal rights and the inherent human dignity of men and women. This becomes an adherence or reiteration of the fundamental rights of and integrity of every human being regarding those rights. They have them as people.

In terms of the rights that are enshrined in a variety of international rights documents, we can find solace in the fact a) such documents exist for the extant signposts of what is valued on the international scene and b) for the indication that we mark these as international-consensus morals, and so universal morals, for the betterment of everyone.

In the realization of the rights and through the recognition of them through global communities organization, United Nations, and its rights documents, the activism and work can begin through the acknowledgment of the rights and then the critical examination of the gap between the rights as ideals and the reality in the rights violations.

The gap indications the degree to which work needs to be done in order to further instantiate the rights of women to be equal with men. In Annex I(8), there exists the recalling of a series of foundational rights documents coming from the United Nations. Then from this, it extends into the CEDAW covered in a series of earlier articles as well, also the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

In other words, there is a robust recognition of the prior work and the previous considerations about the rights of women in various international rights documents.

Annex I(9) continues to speak on the more complete implementation of the rights of women without the stipulation of the documents. But it remarks more or makes explicit statement aligned with the principles and spirit of the international rights documents rather than providing particular examples.

If we continue into the consideration of the rights of women and girls, the emphasis is on the inalienable part of it. These are core and not to be divided apart from the fundamental freedoms and human rights of women; whereas, if we did do that, we would consider them more as international sociocultural privileges rather than fundamental human rights.

The big idea behind the fundamental rights of women is to not have privileges – temporary benefits to potentially be revoked at any moment by some higher-order organizational power – but, rather, the inherent reflection of the worth of every man or women without divisiveness or lesser status due to their being a different religion, political party, ethnic grouping, linguistic collective, and what have you.

Annex I(8)-(9) speaks to the documents and the principles behind the human rights and inherent dignity of people.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Annex I(7) of the Beijing Declaration

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/23

7. Dedicate ourselves unreservedly to addressing these constraints and obstacles and thus enhancing further the advancement and empowerment of women all over the world, and agree that this requires urgent action in the spirit of determination, hope, cooperation and solidarity, now and to carry us forward into the next century.

Beijing Declaration (1995)

The Beijing Declaration Annex I(7) speaks to the direct dealing with the issues facing women. Where their particular woes and inequalities are dealt with in a complete and comprehensive manner, and within these dealings, more equity between men and women is delivered to the societies. The ignoring of women’s subordinate status in many states around the world will not give a lasting equality or prosperity.

The degree to which we excuse ourselves from the hard work for equality is the degree to which we remove any moral legitimacy to our own lives in the world, as everyone struggles and most religions – and the majority, probably, of non-religious philosophers – adhere to some version of the Golden Rule. As John Stuart Mill reminds us, Utilitarianism amounts to the ethics of the Nazarene, of Jesus of Nazareth, whether fictional or non-fictional, found in the core message of ‘do as you would be done by.’

The work to remove those obstacles, let alone identify them, and to remove the constraints placed on the lives of women stays in the moral universe above and remains an imperative for both the fuller freedom of women and of men in the international scene. The development of the equality initiatives becomes integrally important for the equality of the sexes with the need to empower and advance women, as has been shown to be the single greatest predictor of the development of a society.

If women are freer and have more ability to determine the shapes of their lives, then the more prosperous on economic and other metrics. It is in everyone’s self-interest, except for those who wish for total control of women’s lives in restrictive enclaves in the sub-cultures of the nations in which they inhabit, to have women’s interests advanced.

Not as a simple means by which women can show their full flourishing, but also because it remains a fact that the majority of the world’s contributors to the families and the communities are women; often times, far more often than not, the work of women is not and has not been paid or if paid then not highly so, and the work by women become simply expectations to be handled by women to the general welfare of the state.

It is in this sense the late Marie Alena Castle considered many nations viewing women as simply public utilities for free labor and reproductive purposes. If women are the majority home caretakers and homemakers, and if the birthing and raising of children produce the next generation of taxpayers in a society, the parenting and homemaking tasks taken on by women around the world should be given a proportionate financial payback for their public services.

Now, no boundaries have been given within the consideration of the equality of the women within the society. However, we do have the need for “urgent action” circa 1995 – and duly consider how this reflects some of the language of urgency in some of the other documentation for international rights for women listed as an addendum to the article.

We can see the ways in which high ideals and abstract values of “determination, hope, cooperation and solidarity” are invoked as means by which to have women as more equal partners in the operations of the society. These are important, very humanistic values. Things upon which the ability of women to flourish may need to be invoked at many turns, especially reasons other than economic drive human nature.

The change in the current ordering and relations of human beings is desired to be changed by many internationalist representatives in the world. But there is also the fact that the rights to vote and work could not have happened for women without the assistance and inclusion of all groups of women, and men, for the advancement of the right.

Especially as some of the vanguard nation-states were full or partial democracies, the sometimes tyranny of the majority became the self-liberation of the majority in these movements for equality. There is no real absolute reason that this cannot be some of the drivers for the next change as we move “forward into the next century.”

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Annex I(4)-(6) of the Beijing Declaration (1995)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/22

Acknowledging the voices of all women everywhere and taking note of the diversity of women and their roles and circumstances, honouring the women who paved the way and inspired by the hope present in the world’s youth,

5. Recognize that the status of women has advanced in some important respects in the past decade but that progress has been uneven, inequalities between women and men have persisted and major obstacles remain, with serious consequences for the well-being of all people,

6. Also recognize that this situation is exacerbated by the increasing poverty that is affecting the lives of the majority of the world’s people, in particular women and children, with origins in both the national and international domains,

Beijing Declaration (1995)

The Beijing Declaration Annex I(4) to (6) speaks to the need for the inclusion of all women’s voices, recognition of the status of women, and the need to decrease their level of poverty internationally. The first statement, (4), speaks to the need for the voices of all women to be included in the international dialogues. Then there is also the importance of acknowledging the diversity of women in terms of their roles, personalities, identities, and living standards around the world.

Women vary as much as men in most respects, and so the acknowledgment of these differences and ranges is important to incorporate some nuance into the discussion on women and men in the world. This gives some further basis for the equality of the sexes because knowledge gives some consideration about areas for improvement as they can be identified with acknowledgment.

The importance of the provision of not only a voice but of a diverse set of them remains important, as women come with a variety of backgrounds and experiences that can be used to enrich the experiences of everyone if they have the ears to listen and heart to hear. Then there can be a basis to truly understand women’s roles and circumstances, where the rights for women become an integral part of this, the comprehension of the vast range but the commonality of women’s experiences become another part of the implementation of the rights for women.

The youth tie into the roles of women in the world. Women as the main caretakers of the young around the world give the training and education to the young, so the next generation. Our collective will has been forged in the earliest years through the care, concern, and compassion of women more than men as a historical norm.

This is not even listing the ways in which women have been benefiting the communities more than the men when the finances are given to them; women are more probable to contribute to the wellbeing of the family and the community in contrast to the men as an international norm. It leads to some obvious implications for the health of the societies as a whole.

Annex 1(5) speaks to the recognized status of women in the previous decade – at the time – and this connects right into the present. The degrees and kinds of equality for women have been bumpy, where this creates an important facet of the conversation about the differentials in women’s and men’s experiences of equality – and of different women’s experience too.

That is, if you look inside of many societies, you can note the areas in which are given thrifty consideration and some more than others, often by group classification – for example, an Indigenous woman compared to an East Asian or European woman. We can see the differentials in outcomes and provisions over the long-term.

The main problems within the context of the nation are the obstacles faced by women not faced by men or for those who face the same problems as men the disproportionate level of women in comparison to the men. This also happens within the context of one group of women compared with another group of women.

With the changing circumstances of women, we can see the ability of women to find a decent living; we can also observe the differentials in the trendline on its outskirts dots with some groups within societies and nations within the community of countries doing better or worse than others regarding women’s progress.

Also, The gaps between the sexes have been described as “uneven” with “major obstacles” extant for women’s equality with men. If this remains the international consensus, the next consideration is the degree to which are considered equals with the men in the society. Then the use of statistics to show the benefits to not only the women but to the men, too, as to the inclusion of women at all levels of society; thus, the need for giving back to women that which they have, traditionally and long-term historically, given to men, families, and societies for almost free.

The volunteer hours and incubation of life with little recourse in case of abandonment as one prominent example, as with the Wild West men being, in essence, lawless. The right to vote, the privilege and right to work, the choice in reproduction, pay equity, and so on, as important moves toward a fairer and more just society for the men and the women – for the benefit of the societies as a whole, as per the clear case seen in Iceland, for example.

Annex I(6) states the recognition of the poor and penurious circumstances for man in the world with a disproportionate level seen for women and children, where the vast majority of single parent households are seen in single mother homes. This creates problems in terms of the ability of women and their children to move forward into a decent life.

This remains not only a national but an international issue as well. The questions remain about the proper solutions sensitive to the people, the GDP and resources of the country, the willpower of the citizenry, and the rights signed on to within that country and of which women are entitled to, to have better lives.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Beijing Declaration (1995): Annex I(1)-(3)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/22

We, the Governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women,
Gathered here in Beijing in September 1995, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations,
Determined to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity,

Beijing Declaration(1995)

The Beijing Declaration Annex I, in statements 1 through 3, speaks to momentous occasion of September 1995. It was a time of increased equality – non-linear but dynamic and trending upwards – between the sexes and the time was ripe for an instantiation of further equality of women with men in the global system.

The Beijing Declaration amounts to one of these international statements devoted to the equality of the sexes in a short set of stipulations but marking an important time almost a quarter of a century ago. A time marking the reinvigoration by the United Nations to respect and further women’s rights or women’s human rights through the main international collection, the United Nations and its Member States.

In the first statement of Annex I, we see the governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women. Here, the Member States of the United Nations gathered to provide statements on the issues facing women around the world and then the orientation of the international community, of which it should pivot towards, in order to solve the issues or concerns of women on the globe.

The importance of a collective gathering for the rights of women in society cannot be understated, as these are the core issues of our time, where the battlegrounds for the implementation of reproductive health rights become attack by authoritarian atheistic nations bound in authoritarian capitalism such as China or the theonomic (particular brand of Christian theocracy promoted by Christian Dominionists and Christian Reconstructionists) leaning United States, oligarchic plutocracy seen in Russia, or the theocracies of Iran and Saudi Arabia, or the dictatorships bound by family lineage seen in North Korea; each provides an indication of a society’s leadership working hard, constantly, and with huge resources relative to the population of their respective countries to reduce and eliminate the rights of women to own their bodies in reproduction – or of men to own their own bodies in the cases of the military too. The leaders in these nations are, basically, living boffolas – breatharians who only consist of the hot form of sustenance. Women are not equals to them; women are accessories, akin to or equal to property and incubators for life and to be only used for sexual gratification.

In Beijing, China, in September 1995, this marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations and became an important marker for women’s equality and human rights, where, especially at the founding, the concept of women as equals with the right to vote was an extraordinarily strange and bizarre idea to the peoples of the world because only men – often white, property-own men – were to be leaders in the societal decisions.

Anything else would be considered aberrant in some manner. With this marking of the anniversary, the third statement of Annex I speaks to the determination of the international community – who would presumably amount to the attendees of the Fourth World Conference on Women – to advance the “goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere.”

Now, the goal of equality becomes indisputable except to some modern movements looking to reinvigorate the hypermasculine, sometimes called toxic masculine, version of a male identity, of which the vast majority of men adhere to or strive towards but rarely achieve for any extended period of time, which can create a particular form of torture chamber as the gap widens between the ideal and what is truly achieved by them.

The final statement’s conclusion indicates the main message of import or salience with the entire species having an interest in this: “all humanity.” The means by which all members of the human community benefit from the inclusion of women and girls, and their collective empowerment without consideration for borders or other discriminatory aspects of their lives.

The provision of women’s rights appears to be greatly correlative with the health of the society and the less a society includes these as part of their national strategy and cultural zeitgeist then the more women and girls are marginalized and considered public utilities within the society – and the health of the society tends to decrease, even collapse in some regards as happened under Nicolae Ceaușescu with Decree 770 and too many babies by too few women with little in the way of governmental corresponding provisions for their, and their children’s, health and wellbeing.

It becomes not only a rights imperative but also a national and global health requirement to implement women’s rights and treat women and girls as equal with the men and boys of the world.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Section 7(1) of The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/21

Employers with Non-unionized Employees

Obligations

Determination — existence of female predominant job group

7 (1) If an employer that has non-unionized employees determines that a job group that contains at least the prescribed number of employees is female predominant, the employer shall
- (a) determine, by conducting an equitable compensation assessment, whether any equitable compensation matters exist involving non-unionized employees in that job group and, if there are, prepare a plan to resolve them within a reasonable time; and
- (b) provide non-unionized employees in that job group, in the prescribed manner, with a report that
  - (i) sets out a summary of the activities conducted by the employer under paragraph (a) and of consultations, if any, carried out under that paragraph,
  - (ii) describes how the equitable compensation assessment in respect of that job group was conducted,
  - (iii) states whether or not the employer has determined that an equitable compensation matter exists involving non-unionized employees in that job group and, if there is, describing the matter, and
  - (iv) sets out the plan prepared under paragraph (a), if one was prepared.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

Canadian society works within a series of systems. One of them is the workplace and an associated economic system. It is a structure with various documents in law and some without force about the means by which people can be recompensated for their labor.

In Canada, as with many other countries, we can see a pay gap, not as non-existent as conservatives claim and not as big as progressives claim when taking into account time, skill, and effort. This section of the document deals with the prescribed number of a employees in a potentially female predominant job group and the possibility of the need for an equitable compensation assessment as a result.

Section 7(1) speaks to the non-unionized employees in the job group. The non-unionized, as this is a focus, employee numbers will provide an indication if a particular job grouping has the “prescribed number” of the employees in a female predominant job group.

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2022-04-23

Article 6 of The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/21

Article 6

Nothing in the present Declaration shall affect any provision that is more conducive to the elimination of violence against women that may be contained in the legislation of a State or in any international convention, treaty or other instrument in force in a State.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

The Declaration or the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Article 6 concludes on the important note of balancing between stronger and weaker forms of the rights of women strategies.

Some tackling Violence Against Women or VAW become more effective than others. Within this work, as with many things in life, there are better and worse solutions to problems. Some are more efficacious in other contexts than others. Others have the rare capacity to work in many, many nations around the world in spite of the history, religion, and peoples of the region.

With the work for a fairer and more just world with less violence, one of the first places would be in unjust international criminal acts; another, closer to home turf for everyone, is the singular acts of VAW coming in numerous forms but identifiable and accepted as within three categories: psychological, physical, and sexual.

The psychological violence committed through verbal and emotional abuse – scars less seen except maybe in someone self-harming over the obliterated self-esteem; the sexual violence known more to the public in the moment of calling out powerful men who commit atrocious acts, but also the lesser known and poor men who commit similar or the same acts in coerced sex, marital rape, and forced sexual activity, and so on; the other with physical violence seen in battering cases.

Each of these gets perpetuated within the media systems coming from liberal-progressive establishments such as Hollywood and also from traditional-conservative sources including the Roman Catholic priests and the other religious leaders from less noteworthy religions, i.e., with smaller bank accounts and follower numbers.

The basic framework for the fairer and more just world exists right here, in the Declaration, and in other documents with signatories accounting for sometimes large swathes of regions of the world, which implies the potential for a great deal of our power in only a small document for the legal and international rights mechanisms to enforce the equality desired by so many yet seen by so few.

One of the most remarkable cases over the last few years has been Iceland with the great deal of development in the equality of the sexes movements. Not only a boon and a positive for the women but also for the men and the society as the well-being and economic metrics indicate greater prosperity for the nations that contribute to the flourishing of women; indeed, even on the minutiae of the happiness of a marriage, a happy marriage comes with a happy wife, so if one wants this then we can work towards it.

It is a case in point as to the transformative power of empowering the least among us – and who have been for a long time – women and women and color in particular. If we can get our acts together more and more, we can set an example for others to follow in our footsteps.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Articles 5(g) and 5(h) of the The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/20

Article 5

The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system should, within their respective fields of competence, contribute to the recognition and realization of the rights and the principles set forth in the present Declaration and, to this end, should, inter alia:

( g ) Consider the issue of the elimination of violence against women, as appropriate, in fulfilling their mandates with respect to the implementation of human rights instruments;

( h ) Cooperate with non-governmental organizations in addressing the issue of violence against women.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

The Declaration or the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in the final portions of Article 5 – Article 5(g) and Article 5(h) – speaks to the need to implement the statements of women’s rights in the documents that talk about the elimination of Violence Against Women or VAW.

Then there is the work with various NGOs or non-governmental organizations in order to deal with the international problem of VAW. Looking at these two stipulations, we can note the emphasis on the elimination of VAW right in the start of it.

Not only as a lone statement but connected or linked to the basic idea of the human rights instruments necessary to implement international rights documents intended to reduce the VAW in the world; the documents work, the statements state what is and is not a right, but the basic need for pragmatic solutions is important.

With the elimination of VAW through the implementation with the use of the human rights instruments, whether in a Member State, a region, or globally, Article 5(g) speaks to some of the important bases upon which this important issue can be tackled to some degree.

Article 5(h) follows in its stead with the cooperation needed with the NGOs to deal with VAW. Numerous organizations detached from government exist in order to deal with the violence inflicted on women. Some will have a broad scope and then one subsection of the mission or goals of the NGO will be the elimination of violation against women.

Others will focus on violence in particular against women – as we see in, for example, the organizations devoted to the elimination of not necessarily psychological or physical violence but sexual violence. The focus on sexual violence is not a small topic because women undergo so much violence to their bodies through objectification and degradation.

Even in the contexts of the least progress for women, the cooperation with NGOs can provide, at a minimum, some bulwark against the encroachment of the excuses and bold ignorance around the real experiences of women throughout our societies.

In terms of tackling the issues, the main concern is the non-bounded nature of VAW. Violence experienced by women does not discriminate; however, some women are discriminated against more than others.

We can see this in the statistics on the experiences of the women in the Middle East North Africa region or the Indigenous populations of North America living within the margins or simply in the settler-colonial societies of America and Canada.

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous women problem in Canada (and America) remain prominent issues within communities but does not garner sufficient attention in the mainstream presses. In general, the problems faced by vulnerable subpopulations of women go ignored and left bereft of any justice or fairness in consideration within the media.

The problem of VAW, whether the need to implement the stipulations of the documents such as the Declaration or to persist in the consistent efforts of cooperation & coordination with NGOs, is international, regional, national, and even down to where you live – potentially someone you love and know experienced it; the issue needs to be called out and discussed in public fora as the only means by which we can develop a lasting progressive step towards less VAW is open public dialogue – sometimes canned and at times in real-time and filmed – about the problems of VAW, the facts and figures, and ways to move forward as an international community for sake of the social order; one which we will be leaving for future generations to harbour.

The question then: how hard do we want to move towards the possible frontier future of more peaceful families, communities, where women and girls are nurtured and cared and unafraid of living their lives no matter the country?

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Swimming As An All-Around Workout

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/20

According to the Mayo Clinic, swimming is a great exercise because the activity is easy of the bones, joints, and muscles, while also providing an overall aerobic exercise with mild resistance as you’re surrounded and wading through water.

They find that if the exercise is done right then the exercise can help with “aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and better balance.”

The reduction in the stress on the joints and the improvement of balance in the movements while the swimming is done properly can be good for those areas of health – all of them. This is often an exercise recommended for the older population, but, as many can see with the Olympians such as Michael Phelps, it can help any age grouping with their health.

It is an effective way for an all-around workout with minimal or no pain or injury to the exerciser.

One caution: “If you live with a chronic health condition such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease, talk to your health care provider about aquatic exercise.”

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2022-04-23

Employers with Non-unionized Employees

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/19

Employers with Non-unionized Employees

Obligations

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note: Determination — no female predominant job groups

6 (1) If an employer that has non-unionized employees determines that there are no female predominant job groups that contain at least the prescribed number of employees, the employer shall post, in the prescribed manner, for at least 90 days, a notice to that effect setting out the prescribed information.
Marginal note: Dissatisfaction with employer’s determination(2) A non-unionized employee who is dissatisfied with his or her employer’s determination in the notice because the employee believes that he or she is part of a job group that contains at least the prescribed number of employees that is female predominant may, in the prescribed manner, so notify the employer within the prescribed period after the day on which the notice referred to in subsection (1) is first posted.
Marginal note: Employer’s response(3) Within the prescribed period after the day on which the notice under subsection (2) is given, the employer shall consider the issues raised in the notice and provide the employee with a response in writing.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

Canadian history remains rife with a series of disjunctions between the men in the society and the women. The domains with the possibility for more rapid progress are one step, but the others with the need for more time provide a sense in which the gender equality goals of a nation, in accordance with international rights documents, take a generation, even more.

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act or the Act speaks, in this section, to the “Employers with Non-unionized Employees.” People working with union backing or protections. The important note – or “marginal note” – stipulates the lack of force of this part of the Act.

That is to say, it is not enforceable at the present moment. Section 6(1) speaks to the non-unionized employees of an employer where “there are no female predominant job groups” with the “prescribed number of employees”; here, the employer would be required to post a notification about the prescription information for a minimum of 90 days. It basically becomes an informational notice without force.

Section 6(2) states the potential perspective of the employer’s non-unionized employee who remains dissatisfied with the notice of the employer. The specifications of the dissatisfaction are not listed. However, the general discontentment with the notification in section 6(1) becomes an important part of the subsequent subsection.

The general dissatisfaction is known, however, where the individual non-unionized employee may feel as if they are a member of the job group with the prescribed number of employees in which it is female predominant – “he or she” by the way. Then this second subsection functions within the time constraints of the post, i.e., the 90 days, for a notification to the employer.

The final section deals with the response of the employee to the employer over the notification and the dissatisfaction. Here, we see the simple consideration of the other side of the aisle for the stipulations from subsections (1) and (2) with the employer of the non-unionized employee.

As a matter of due diligence and course, the employer is required to provide a response about the dissatisfaction raised over the notification through record with a response in writing. This amounts to a particular section dealing with one minutiae about formal communication and record-keeping of the communications between the employer and the non-unionized employee.

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2022-04-23

Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394): Section 6

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/19

Employers with Non-unionized Employees

Obligations

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note: Determination — no female predominant job groups

6 (1) If an employer that has non-unionized employees determines that there are no female predominant job groups that contain at least the prescribed number of employees, the employer shall post, in the prescribed manner, for at least 90 days, a notice to that effect setting out the prescribed information.
Marginal note: Dissatisfaction with employer’s determination(2) A non-unionized employee who is dissatisfied with his or her employer’s determination in the notice because the employee believes that he or she is part of a job group that contains at least the prescribed number of employees that is female predominant may, in the prescribed manner, so notify the employer within the prescribed period after the day on which the notice referred to in subsection (1) is first posted.
Marginal note: Employer’s response(3) Within the prescribed period after the day on which the notice under subsection (2) is given, the employer shall consider the issues raised in the notice and provide the employee with a response in writing.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

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2022-04-23

Men and the Outgrowths of Manliness

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/19

According to Dr. Nathan Heflick in Psychology Today, the concept of manliness comes with its consequences.

As he noted based on some of the research by experts at the University of Wisconson Madison, 117 students were studied to rate 19 of their emotions. They wanted to know the average woman’s and the average man’s emotion range and set of experiences. As it turns out, the men were more likely to feel anger, contempt, and pride.

The women were more likely to feel awe, disgust, distress, embarrassment, fear, guilt, happiness, love, sadness, shame, shyness, surprise, and sympathy. That is, the women had a predominantly wider palette of emotions to pluck from for relevant occasions. Both women and men felt jealousy and interest at the same rate.

As reported, “Now in a world where women are believed to experience both happiness and sadness more than men (along with most other emotions), it should come as no surprise really that men are in a strange position when it comes to mental health, and to expressing emotions more generally.”

Mne, on the other hand, the man who experiences a variety of the other emotions, especially those predominantly experienced by women, must run a risk of seeming or coming off atypical. Some sort of non-normal and anti-man.

“Psychologists Joseph Vandello and Jennifer Bosson at the University of South Florida have developed the theory of ‘precarious manhood.’ This posits that masculinity is a fragile social status, that is—in their words—’hard fought and easily lost.’ Men must always be weary of coming across as unmanly, and to the extent that this status has been challenged, men will tend to act out in more stereotypically masculine ways,” the article explained.

That is, if a male feels as if his masculinity or manhood has been fundamentally challenged in some manner, then he feels the immediate need to display aggression, and often with more force than normal. When the men feel as though their masculinity is at risk, they will be more approving of negative treatment of the effeminate men – the stereotypical representations of it.

“Recent work headed by Kenneth Michniewicz, an assistant professor in psychology at Muhlenberg College (and well versed in old Nintendo culture—though he only dreams of executing a back brain kick in real life), tested how feminine and masculine men and women believe different mental illnesses to be,” the reportage stated, “Anti-social personality disorder, alcoholism, and drug addiction were found to be perceived as masculine, whereas depression, anxiety, and a variety of eating disorders were perceived as feminine. In a follow-up study, these researchers found that men imagined that they would be particularly distressed to have the feminine disorders, would be less likely to seek help for these disorders, and felt that these disorders would threaten their masculinity status.”

This points to masculinity as a fragile conceptualization – in both beliefs and behaviors. When a man acts in an aggressive way or hides tears, these men are trying to show that they are a real man. In the arena of manhood and masculinity, and mental health, it is important for us men to know this and be mindful as our mental health may be at risk if we are not mindful of the non-conscious substructure of our beliefs and actions.

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2022-04-23

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Article 5(c) and Article 5(d)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/18

Article 5

( c ) Foster coordination and exchange within the United Nations system between human rights treaty bodies to address the issue of violence against women effectively;

( d ) Include in analyses prepared by organizations and bodies of the United Nations system of social trends and problems, such as the periodic reports on the world social situation, examination of trends in violence against women;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration or the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Article 5(c) and Article 5(d) speaks to the areas of needed fostering of coordination and exchange and the proper means by which to include analyses for greater equality of the sexes. The stipulations relate to the fostering of a form of dialogue with the United Nations systems – organs and specialized agencies, for example – to work towards the further decrease in the Violence Against Women or VAW.

Not a small task and even with several large movements devoted to not only the Member States bound to the documents – where representatives of the countries signed them – but also to the regions of the world which include several countries or nations within each region and then all-the-way-up to the international community.

For the fostering of coordination and exchange with the systems of the United Nations or the UN, this becomes a colossal enterprise with no singular aspect of a solution; in fact, this often, as with many complex problems and issues, requires a complicated set of solutions to and then prior planning to figure out the probable paths of the next set of problems emerging from various subsets of implemented solutions.

Nothing in the world will by necessity come in neat little packages; oftentimes, it will come in messy packets with the need for the consideration of intended and unintended consequences and then secondary plans for the problems that will inevitably arise in the implementation of a hugely complex solution set to a multi-causal plural problem.

Article 5(d) speaks to the need to analyze the results of work in order for the bodies and organizations of the UN to be able to track the trends in the socio-cultural context as well as use the trends over time to indicate the statistically significant areas of problems or issue areas. If we can note the areas of problems for the elimination of VAW, then, as far as I am concerned and I suspect you agree with me, we can comprehend the proper areas for implementation of new solutions or course corrections.

With the analyses, we can know this, or even in general terms know the domains and regions with problems in gender equality through the reduction of VAW. There is a further statement about the “world social situation” in the periodic reports and then the examination of trends; this simply is a reiteration of the prior points.

The notion of a reduction in VAW through the acknowledgment of places where VAW has increased or may have decreased in general but some of the more severe forms including marital rape and murder have, in fact, increased over some specified period. Equality of the sexes will not happen in a short period of time, nor will this gender equality occur within our lifetimes possibly. But there can be consistent work in order to move the dial more towards equality over the long-term because none of this came from on high but from down low through the hard work of becoming more knowledgeable with reading – such as yourselves right now – and then through activism of the brave people who put their bodies on the line for the implementation of women’s rights.

Whether in the case of VAW or in reproductive health rights seen emerging in Argentina, in Ireland, in America, and elsewhere, we can observe the problems women face with stark clarity because of the communications technologies. Our basic needs are met but our rights have the need to be implemented for women to be feel safer and to actually be safer in the world. The implementations of recommendations, necessities, and reminder of rights are part and parcel of this process.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 5(a) and Article 5(b) – The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/18

Article 5

( a ) Foster international and regional cooperation with a view to defining regional strategies for combating violence, exchanging experiences and financing programmes relating to the elimination of violence against women;

( b ) Promote meetings and seminars with the aim of creating and raising awareness among all persons of the issue of the elimination of violence against women;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration or the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Article 5(a) and Article 5(b) states the areas of equality for women in regards to the geographic scale of cooperation in combatting Violence Against Women or VAW and the means by which to raise awareness. The raising of awareness is not a trivial matter.

It can be taken as one of the significant markers for the contributions to the larger movements, so it can place everyone on, more or less, the same playing field to be able to enact the fight for fundamental rights and, in this case, the elimination of VAW.

The opening statement of Article 5 speaks to the subunits of the United Nations or the UN. The various organs and specialized agencies working in concert for the larger aims and implementations of the initiatives of the UN. Within this framework, there can be a general implementation of the work for reduced and eventually eliminated VAW.

But it needs to be done through the proper procedures or through mass popular movements. However, through the more formal channels, these can help with the implementation of rights given many of the international rights documents including Declaration have been signed by Member States of the UN.

That makes for a firmer foundation upon which to ground efforts for the reduction of discrimination and VAW. In article 5(a), we see some interesting stipulations points about the need to foster international and regional cooperation. In this context, a region can be a massive geographic area, e.g. the Middle East and North Africa or the MENA region. So, nothing to be trifled with in terms of sheer size.

Then we can also see the development of the forms and focus of the strategies around VAW. The exchange of experience and financing programmes is, in fact, a brilliant tactic to further the efficacy of regional strategies for the elimination of VAW. If one programme does not work as well as another, or another can do the same towards the reduction of VAW through a different methodology and fewer financial resources, then the knowledge of the latter group’s methodology for the former group would help with the regional efforts, the overarching targeted objective, of the reduction in VAW.

Article 4(b) states the promotion of activities for the raising of awareness and education about the problem of VAW. One of them is the promotion of meetings. The ability of people to come together, coordinate, organize, and work for the reduction and eventual elimination of VAW. Nothing guaranteed in any effort but the contributions of meetings for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and strategies is an important facet of the elimination of VAW.

The other form of activity emphasized for promotion is seminars. These can particularly important for the improvement of knowledge about specific issues of relevance to the community of conscience or becoming more aware of the issues facing the females of the species around VAW. The raising of awareness simply translates into the raising of consciousness.

In this regard, it becomes akin to the women’s movements of the 60s and 70s in the United States, where women and some men identified structures of obvious discrimination and oppression beyond the right to vote and then used this to work towards greater equality between the sexes in order for women to have more equality with the men.

It’s often recollected as the raising of consciousness by a variety of women’s movements. It is important to remind ourselves of this, as women are half of the population and often condescended to – while, at the same time, they came forward in some force in the 60s and 70s asking fundamental questions about the relationships between men and women and then positing what might a more equitable society, family, and workplace look like for women and men.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 4(o), Article 4(p), and Article 4(q) – The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/17

Article 4

States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination. States should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to this end, should:

( o ) Recognize the important role of the women’s movement and non-governmental organizations world wide in raising awareness and alleviating the problem of violence against women;

( p ) Facilitate and enhance the work of the women’s movement and non-governmental organizations and cooperate with them at local, national and regional levels;

( q ) Encourage intergovernmental regional organizations of which they are members to include the elimination of violence against women in their programmes, as appropriate.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women or the Declaration deals with the basic bodily integrity issue of violence, in particular Violence Against Women or VAW, and the context with women having the fundamental right to bodily autonomy and integrity.

However, the grim reality – and it’s rather unfortunate, ubiquitous, and seeps into and affects other areas of the operations of a society – comes in the physical, psychological, and sexual violence against women, where these can impact the long-term livelihood of women and girls.

I have spoken to women in areas of the world where female genital mutilation (FGM) was done by to them by family members as a matter of traditional religion and culture; those who may undergo similar consequences in their lives because of remaining single and the family sincerely believing more FGM will bring marriage and family for their daughter.

From their point of view, they follow tradition, do Allah’s will, and increase the potential fortunes of the family by keeping the daughter ‘pure.’ In this sense, we can see the development of cultures carried over generations to impose trauma and suffering on women and girls.

Hearing the stories, it breaks your heart. Women and girls are given little in the way of a life, especially comparatively, and then having even more born into them – the intimate areas of their bodies – stripped from them in non-hygienic conditions without proper medical tools – without consent and/or below the age of consent.

The women’s movement, or the women’s rights movements as a collective international force, is recognized within the Declaration as an important force for the increased knowledge and elimination of VAW in different countries and domains around the world.

Not only the movements focused on the associated networks of NGOs or non-governmental organizations acting for the benefit of women and girls through the advocacy and implementation of women’s rights as stipulate in documents including the Declaration here; Article 4(p) continues a similar vein with the emphasis for further easing of the work of the women’s rights movements and the improvement of the already effective measures at all relevant and easily identifiable levels – “local, national and regional.”

Both working in coordination with one another provide a basis for the improvement of the livelihoods of women around the world and their young, including girls, through the implementation of women’s rights and, in this case, children’s rights too, for the reduction in and complete elimination of VAW.

Not a small task for a small set of implications from an actual small set of statements, the fundamental premises are such as that women and girls deserve the equal rights with the men and boys in their lives in some of the most important areas of living a healthy and long life, i.e., the ability to live free and comfortably away from VAW – often, mind you-me, done by the hands of men against women and girls from rape to psychological abuse including, for example, threatening to leave in a relationship continuously, degrading comments, or the potentially real threats of removal of both children and financial resources from the woman.

In each of these cases, the rights of women are violated and in particular ways. Many women and girls may be raised to coddle men and be polite on the matters on arguing for and affirming their own rights if they have not been kept bereft of proper knowledge and education of their rights to be equal with the men in their lives.

As an individual who is not a woman or a girl, the freedom, socially, exists for me to speak with greater freedom for the rights of women and girls, with more assertiveness and boldness of tone. The tone and assertiveness coming from the proper look at the documents listing women’s rights as fundamental rights for the ability of women to live equally with the men in their lives.

These collective efforts across borders can be the strongest basis, possibly, for action to reduce and eliminate forms of VAW in a similar way to a mass vaccination against a particular disease. Behaviors were taken for granted by men, and become unpalatable socially.

This creates a formation of a movement to eliminate the social ills of VAW. It comes from movements to create international rights documents from which organizations can point to for the proper orientation on the equality of women and the stipulations upon which to base mass activism for the elimination of VAW.

Then the coordination of the women’s movement and the NGOs within the constraints of the Declaration and other documents, at all levels, can produce a significant change in short amounts of time; although, and of course, these movements will take, potentially, several generations in some geographic divisions of the world. Some sexism and misogyny are deeply rooted; others benign.

Article 4(q) speaks to the need to encourage not only the women’s rights movements as a whole and the NGOs as individual organizations but also the intergovernmental regional organizations – big collectives – in order to eliminate VAW.

“As appropriate,” the programmes should set about the inclusion of VAW’s elimination as an important marker of the equal rights of women in the society in addition to the action plans in a manner of speaking, the programmes by which VAW can be eliminated or kept a priority.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Article 4(m) and Article 4(n)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/17

Article 4

( m ) Include, in submitting reports as required under relevant human rights instruments of the United Nations, information pertaining to violence against women and measures taken to implement the present Declaration;

( n ) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines to assist in the implementation of the principles set forth in the present Declaration;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women or the Declaration from 1993 stipulates something echoing even in the modern period, in our generation. The right or not of a woman to be free from violence.

The stipulations here speak to the right of women to be free from Violence Against Women, but the statements also remark on some of the precise methodologies and provisions around it. As Article 4(m) describes, the inclusion of reportage is an important component of the elimination of VAW.

As noted in the prior articles, the gathering of data and the production of statistics for transparent and honest communication with the public help with the efforts to eliminate VAW. One big issue comes in two forms. It comes from a lack of respect for the truth.

One manifestation is in the denial fo the widespread occurrence of VAW around the world as justification for doing nothing about it. Imagine a kitten, or a cat sometimes, going half under the bed with their but and tail jettisoning out because they did not want to be hidden.

The truth comes out, eventually, as we find out with the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse cases. Another manifestation is the admittance of VAW but then the unwillingness to catalog and document aspects within the society of it.

Because then, you do not have to do anything about it. Take the stark case of climate change, many in the Republican Party in the United States of America deny its reality; while those who accept it, they think human influence is negligible or should be ignored because we cannot do anything about global warming anyway.

This can be the mentality: denial or resignation in disregard or dismissal of the truth. VAW has gone through the same process. Our issue with VAW in these subsections is the reportage of VAW to the wider public. The ways in which to deal with it.

The manner in which to report it. The methodology within the Declaration is the submission of reports, as a requirement of the instruments of the United Nations regarding human rights. That means data about VAW then some measures initiated by the nation or the State.

The inclusion of the data and the implementations is not the most that can be done for the reduction of VAW, but the wheels are more in motion with these inclusions. Now, the next article subsection is an interesting one.

Article 4(n) states the need to encourage the development of measures for helping with making the ethical theory into practical reality. The setting about of guidelines – this, this, and this – to implement the rights of women in the real world.

Anyone who has ever run a team simply cannot state what needs to be done and then expect the projects to be completed by the following Monday. It takes kindness, compassion, cooperation, and teamwork to get tasks and overall project goal markers accomplished.

In a similar manner, the process of having international rights documents took a long time and continue to be churned out or adapted in strict accordance with the changing dynamics and needs of the modern world.

In particular, we can see the need to provide assistance to implement complex ethical stipulations found in the Declaration, the CEDAW, and other international human rights documents listed as an addendum to this article – and several others in this series.

The help for the implementation can be considered, in a sense, guards in a bowling lane while playing with newcomers to the sport of bowling. Those who want to bowl but not feel the sense of utter failure off the bat can then begin to work with the guardrails to help with the early work in developing the form for proper bowling, standard bowling technique involved in a throw or toss of the bowling ball.

The guidelines are not specified within Article 4(n); however, the fundamental provisions do give a sense in which the respect for the individual rights of women can be realized. As in any complicated situation, a Swiss Army Knife approach – as my mentor, Professor Sven van de Wetering, states – in order to effectively deal with the issues of at present and to arise into the future.

It is in this sense the problems around VAW and its concomitant solutions come in polycausal or multicausal chains with many unexpected emergences as things progress over time, especially in a world of several billion people, modern technology, newer communications methodologies, and the means by which to empower even a small coterie of people to make powerful change – positive or negative.

Women’s rights amounts to nothing more than the realization of equality of women with men. There are powerful movement working, as you read this, to dial the clock backwards and reduce women’s rights and create less equal societies for some purported higher purpose or empirically unidentifiable cause rather than consensus reached among the world’s leading representatives of nation-states for an example.

Our work now will provide a bulwark for the future generations to be able to protect their lives and livelihoods and any wins now should not be taken for granted as these can be taken away at the drop of a hat, in the midst of whipped up hysteria to draw citizens into a frenzy to find an identifiable scapegoat group. These have been, in the past, mostly women followed by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Our civilization rests on delicate assertions and trendlines of progress. The work to give some semblance of guidelines to assist with the implementations of the equality of women with men through rights gives the basis for equality of the sexes or, in the terminology of the Sustainable Development Goals, the realization of “Gender Equality.”

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Articles 4(k) and 4(l) of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/16

Article 4

( k ) Promote research, collect data and compile statistics, especially concerning domestic violence, relating to the prevalence of different forms of violence against women and encourage research on the causes, nature, seriousness and consequences of violence against women and on the effectiveness of measures implemented to prevent and redress violence against women; those statistics and findings of the research will be made public;

( l ) Adopt measures directed towards the elimination of violence against women who are especially vulnerable to violence;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration deals with the ways in which Violence Against Women or VAW can be dealt with and eventually eliminated from nations bound or taking seriously the Declaration.

Within the provisions of the Declaration, women have a greater opportunity to share in the equality of the nation. In terms of a utilitarian standard of evaluation – a la John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, the utility of peace through reduced and eliminated violence orients the global ethical qualitative metric to the higher good – akin to the Golden Rule or in direct isomorphism with the Nazarene’s ethical standards found in the New Testament of the collection of small religious books entitled The Bible.

Obviously, the move toward the elimination of violence against, approximately, half of the world’s population human population can produce greater well-being for the individual women undergoing the harms of abuse but also to the men at large with the inclusion of women in the economic, social, and political life of the nation; although, of course, many men will resent the equal status of women for a variety of reasons ranging from misogyny to fundamentalist religion, to extra competition in civic and economic life, to simple loss of control.

The last one may be a big factor for many men in the world who feel entitled to the bodies, minds,a dn reproductive organs of women. Now, Article 4(k), as we will discover today, speaks to the statistical analysis and data collection side of the work for gender equality; bearing in mind, of course, the Sustainable Development Goals and numerous documents with direct statements about a whole suite of topics and subject areas around the world and in societies for women’s equality with men.

However, in order to implement the greater equality of women with the men in the world or the nation, there should be some loose or even precise qualitative/quantitative data from which proper statistical analyses can be done, to identify areas to work for equality of the sexes.

Some areas will show regressions to less desirable states; other areas will represent progressions to more desirable states in specific metrics and areas of the world, and over specified periods of time, to mark greater or lesser progress towards higher utility or lesser utility for the human population at large: in this case, the move towards the ideal of elimination of VAW or away from elimination towards something approximating maximum VAW.

The ability to “research, collect data and compile statistics” provides a firmer foundation for giving concrete actionables on the issues of VAW, especially compared to not doing it. Data is a friend here. From this research set about by the national government or governmental organizations, the pathways to VAW can be examined in a systematic way.

Those systematic analyses can provide the bases for pragmatic solutions to the international crises of VAW. Not only this, the information and statistical analyses can be re-applied after the implementation of prior VAW preventative initiatives to look into their respectvie efficacy in reducing VAW, in moving the proverbial Golden Rule dial to the area of fewer incidents of VAW and/or, at least, lesser severity in the occurrences.

Then the final portion of this particular article relates to the transparency and honesty principles. That is, all data and findings are to be made public for examination, if so desired, by the general populace, by the citizens of the State.

Article 4(l) states the need for the adoption of measures for the elimination of VAW but, in particular, notes the vulnerable populations. As these focus on women, the vulnerable targets of violence would be various subpopulations of women and the means by which to provide additional resources and emphasis for the reduction and eventual elimination of violence against those women, or girls, in particular.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Articles 4(i) and 4(j)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/16

Article 4

( i ) Take measures to ensure that law enforcement officers and public officials responsible for implementing policies to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women receive training to sensitize them to the needs of women;

( j ) Adopt all appropriate measures, especially in the field of education, to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices and all other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes and on stereotyped roles for men and women;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration speaks, in Article 4(i)-(j), about the rights of women in the domains of law enforcement through the investigation of Violence Against Women or VAW and in the area of the social and cultural practices with an emphasis on the fields of education.

Let’s run through some of the consideration of these subsections of the Declaration. The level of the rights to be implemented here comes in the form of the law enforcement officers and then the public officials who will be in charge of the initiatives around VAW prevention.

Those officials, whether in public office or officially involved with the law, have a duty and moral obligation within the confines and stipulations of the Declaration to enact proper prevention, investigation, and punishment of the perpetrators of VAW.

It can come in the form of an individual; it can come in the form of a larger organization. However women are determined to have undergone some form of psychological, physical, or sexual violence, they should have the correct and ethical provisions within the state representatives of the law and public office for their ability to have their needs met regarding these measures.

The measure of prevention, investigation, and punishment do not come with specifications except insofar as these domains get listing. Nonetheless, the sensitization towards the needs of women and, more importantly, to orient the prevention, investigation, and punishment techniques towards the needs of women become acutely salient in an era where powerful men have been reduced to ash heaps and rubble in the wake of reports and allegations – most often true – of foul behaviour ruining the psychological and emotional lives of women victims.

To give the basics for the ability to rehabilitate and enter back into the mainstream in some way, it would mean the minimum of compassion in order to permit women the same privileges as men in this regard; of course, veterans can undergo similar lack, in terms of provisions of re-entry into some of the society through rehabilitation, for example.

Article 4(j) speaks to the need for all appropriate implementations to be taken to change the ways in which citizens of a nation deal with one another, interact with each other, and consider the equality of the sexes – view men and women in the society in other words.

The work to eliminate the prejudices against women in the society comes in a variety of unstated forms. But the extension of the customs and culture to justify the suppression and subordination of women should not be a means by which to continue to reduce women to implicit or explicit secondary status compared to their male counterparts.

TYhe central focus of women’s equality with men or gender equality should be kept in mind as the work to reduce women to a lower-than or lesser status comes from a series of domains of operation in a society. One of the core parts of the need to reduce the reduction of women in the society is in the views.

The stereotyped views and eventual behaviors and constricting, restricting, roles expected of the females in the country. The ability to prevent this or work to reduce and then eliminate these perceptions could help with the moves towards greater gender equality and the global economic, social, and legal equality of women with the men in the society.

Even if a difficult task and not even in our lifetimes, why not try for it? If not for us, or legacy, or the country, or the gods, or God, or the future generations of humankind, why not simply as a general target with global utility for improving the health and well-being of people here-and-now and even more as things progress along a non-linear line of better lives and livelihoods?

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Thaddeus Howze on Black Panther, Killmonger, T’Challa, and Young Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/15

Thaddeus Howze was a New York native and found his way to the West Coast as a consequence of his military service. He’s a California-based technology executive and author whose non-fiction and online journalism has appeared in publications such as The Enemy, Black Enterprise Online, Urban Times, the Good Men Project, and Astronaut.com. Thaddeus Howze has published two books, Hayward’s Reach (2011) and Broken Glass (2013). He maintains a nonfiction blog on science and technology at A Matter of Scale (bit.ly/matterofscale). He writes speculative fiction at hubcityblues.com. Here we talk about Wakanda, Killmonger, T’Challa, and young men.

The conversation started on the topic of the film, the Black Panther, and Wakanda and Erik Killmonger. I noted the brilliance of someone also consumed with anger and hate, and the way in which this took him – trapped him. This led to a question about the bad paths of some young men.

Howze stated, “Killmonger is a good example of a character who has all the right stuff. He is smart. He is capable. He has been to MIT. He is obviously a genius. He has been there. He has been in some type of program all his life. When he graduates from MIT, he goes out to work for the government and becomes a super spy, super soldier.”

He continued to comment on the scarification of Killmonger’s body as indicative of the people murdered by him. He killed to solve problems. However, Howze remarks the problem does not exist outside of Killmonger, but inside of him. He has trouble with channeling frustrations.

“His frustration with his family protocol. His family protocol is that he was the son of a diplomat in Wakanda. When his father, basically, went against the king’s rules, the king killed him and left the boy behind. Leaving him behind, he was left out of what he thought was his birthright, which was access to Wakanda and even the opportunity to be king if he could win the challenge,” Howze explained.

The issue for Killmonger, according to Howze, the less he had then the angrier he became at his predicament. Killmonger felt the missing potential. Then Howze related personal experience with personal challenges. An autism diagnosis did not exist before. He was accused of being incapable.

Howze, with a note on his son, continued, “As with my son now, he is autistic and dealing with the very same challenges. It is hard to get free of the frustration of people thinking that you are going to be less than you are or that you cannot achieve your goals.”

Relating back into personal experience, Howze spoke to the same frustration permeating all aspects of life for him. He became a “better worker, smarter worker, longer worker.” He did not want anyone to outwork or outfight him. However, Howze remarked, on a wise and touching note, hate was not – and is not – a good driver because hate consumes you.

“When you hate, it consumes you. You start to hate yourself. When I realized that was happening, I realized that I had to change where I was and start trying to like myself – giving me permission to make mistakes, giving me permission to learn, giving me permission to grow, and in a way that was positive,” Howze described.

Then I shifted the conversation into the Wakandan context, where I asked about the individual(s) who represented a healthier path in the narrative presented in the Black Panther. The character brought to the front and center of the conversation was T’Challa.

Howze said, “T’Challa is the exact opposite. T’Challa’s father does end up getting killed at a conference. The Black Panther, T’Challa, could not save him in time. He has his own griefs. His grief is that his father is passed. His father passed the mantle of the Black Panther on to him.”

With the rulership of Wakanda, T’Challa did not make a resolution with his father. T’Challa thought Wakanda should stop isolating itself. T’Challa’s father believed in the continued isolation of Wakanda from the rest of the world.

“After meeting Killmonger, he was even more of the belief that by separating themselves from the diaspora of Africa, such as it was with chattel slavery and the like, and isolating themselves from that,” Howze explained, “Ultimately, they feel that they have done a disservice to our brethren who have struggled all over the world. T’Challa came to grips with his frustration. “

In the spirit realm scene, T’Challa explicitly disagree with his father. T’Challa held anger and hate of the Western world. However, he channeled the emotional energy into something positive. Killmonger could not channel the anger into the positive.

“He channeled it, brilliantly. Except, it wasn’t a positive thing. When he finally achieved his goal, his goal was to destroy the world that he wanted to be a part of. That makes him a villain. That is what makes him a villain. He couldn’t channel his frustration effectively,” Howze opined.

Near the end of the conversation, we focused on the final portions of the film, where – spoiler alert (!) – Killmonger died. At the moment before death, Killmonger had a realization. I asked Howze about it.

Howze said, “For him, his realization was that if he opted to live then they were going to imprison him. They wouldn’t ever let him be free. As far as he was concerned, the only thing he had to live for was to be free. If the best you could offer him was being a slave or a prisoner, he would rather die.”

The slave and prisoner position for Killmonger was a lifelong struggle. Howze spoke to how Killmonger was, at a minimum, free, where he was king for a moment – even a bad one. He was okay with it.

Howze concluded, “He decided that was how he wanted to be remembered because so many of us die unremembered. He was going to die the king.”

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2022-04-23

Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Articles 4(g) and 4(h)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/15

Article 4

( g ) Work to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible in the light of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, that women subjected to violence and, where appropriate, their children have specialized assistance, such as rehabilitation, assistance in child care and maintenance, treatment, counselling, and health and social services, facilities and programmes, as well as support structures, and should take all other appropriate measures to promote their safety and physical and psychological rehabilitation;

( h ) Include in government budgets adequate resources for their activities related to the elimination of violence against women;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration, in Articles 4(g) and 4(h), speaks to the right of women to be free from the discrimination imposed by religion and by culture.

When these become tools for the imposition on women, the Declaration indicates the proper right of women to be free from its discrimination and, therefore, to have a basis for advocacy, activism, and effectuating change within the larger culture or religion.

All progressive change came from the bottom up, especially for the women of the world. Then the policies to enforce the change are to be made without delays because Violence Against Women or VAW is a serious issue around the world.

Article 4(g) speaks to the need for various forms of identifiable and accepted care for women around the world. This spans much of the gamut for women’s proper healthcare. The provisions in post-violence and trauma, to childcare and reproductive healthcare provisions too.

Not only this, there is a proper stipulation – in this long subsection – on the need for support structures as well; then this care also extends into the provisions for the children too. Overall, Article 4(g) gives a robust basis for helping women in a number of domains of life in the case of violence against them.

Article 4(h) covers some of the similar material with the budgets through the government for the resources devoted to the purpose and cause of the reduction of violence against women. These provisions in statements from the international documents help with the national governments and the organizations on the ground to be able to point to a document and the enforce the rights of women.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 4(e) and Article 4(f)The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/14

Article 4

( e ) Consider the possibility of developing national plans of action to promote the protection of women against any form of violence, or to include provisions for that purpose in plans already existing, taking into account, as appropriate, such cooperation as can be provided by non-governmental organizations, particularly those concerned with the issue of violence against women;

( f ) Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and all those measures of a legal,
political, administrative and cultural nature that promote the protection of women against any form of violence, and ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur because of laws insensitive to gender considerations, enforcement practices or other interventions;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration stipulates the need for nations to work on the development of a national action plan for work to reduce and eliminate discrimination against women.

In particular, the form of discrimination found in the violence against women or VAW. VAW is the form of violence most noticeable in the statistics around gender-based discrimination, where the men may maritally rape their wives or domestically abuse them.

The discrimination makes a lasting mark and can, in some cases, change their lives forever with the possibility of a child resulting, especially possible without contraceptives and abortifacients available – a fundamental human right by the way.

The use of religion for the enshrinement of respect for women as equals comes in the more mainline liberal churches, even those noteworthy Canadian figures such as Rev. Gretta Vosper from the United Church of Canada, typically.

The invocation of religion to restrict the possibilities of women remains a current theme in numerous areas of the world. Also, there exist the cultural traditions used to function in a similar manner for the benefit of the powerful.

Some of this starts with the distinction made by Dr. Cornel West with the Roman Empire becoming the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine who made the religion of the oppressed to the religion of the oppressors. Credit to West for the commentary on the distinction between Non-Constantinian and Constantinian Christianity and to Chomsky for the “religion of the oppressed to the religion of the oppressors.”

In a similar manner, religion remains, in a way, a hammer, akin to science, which means a neutral object with values-based utility in accordance with the human application; the axiological status of an object in this sense comes from its function: Functional Axiology if that field exists. Something like a utilitarian evaluation system based on function.

The functional axiological status relative to human wants, needs, and desires, even murderous ones or expressions of the creativity of the human spirit. A wide number of dimensions for utilitarian and functional axiological analysis there.

The basis for a national plan fo action to eliminate VAW is not trivial, but the process will be difficult as many men, if you look at some informal and formal documentary footage, seem to feel as if they own the women in their lives in some ways.

That is, they consider the ethical duty or honor of the men in the family to be the enforcers of the restrictions on the possibilities for the flourishing of women. The purpose of Article 4(e) is to provide a rights basis in a more recent document than the CEDAW to enforce women’s equality in one of the more difficult subject matters to discuss: VAW – let alone combat.

Article 4(f) continues in a similar tone on the national plan. However, it continues in a more formalized tone. That is, the prevention strategies for combatting VAW – an odd phrasing by the way. The development and implementation of strategies for the protection of women in the legal, political, and administrative, and cultural areas of a country, or in general.

These areas of consideration for the protection of women from psychological, sexual, and physical violence – the three recognized categories of violence given in some of the prior articles or subsections of articles. These amount to the means by which to prevent violence in specific domains with further detail on the types of violence.

That is to say, the methodology of oppression against women through violence by individual men and encouraged by cultures and religions come with some precise terminology and boundaries of definition in two places.

One of the domains of the nation for consideration – legal, and so on. Then the types of violence against women with the physical, sexual, and physical violence often imposed on women. Of course, we have the violence of white school shooters, black gang members, and blue-uniformed cops shooting black unarmed civilians, and so on. We also have the imposition of a draft on men in history.

However, these documents focus on the global phenomenon of women simply having violence meted out to them for being women – gender-based or sex-based violence. It is VAW straightforward and basic, or “pure and simple” as more say.

One other specification not given in some of the others writings is the experience of re-victimization of women. Not me to tell women what they experience, but, the basic statement here seems to imply the insensitive enforcements and interventions which can recreate the traumatic experience for women.

Even with the best of intentions, these can head into a bad direction and harm the women, and girls for that matter, in a nation. Those wishing to align their policies and laws with the Declaration should bear in mind the nuanced position regarding how implementations could be taken by some women. If unsure, then ask the women what they think would best work for them.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Article 4(c) and Article 4(d)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/14

Article 4

( c ) Exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons;

( d ) Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women who are subjected to violence; women who are subjected to violence should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered; States should also inform women of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration states the rights of women extend into not only the inability or restrictions on the use – or abuse – of custom and religion to impose themselves on women or become justifications for the restrictions on women but also the details around investigation of cases and sanctions, too.

With respect to the victims of the gender-based violence, more often women in sexual and physical forms, Article 4(c) stipulates the need to exercise proper methodology and procedure when investigating the punishment of the acts of Violence Against Women or VAW.

The article subsection distinguishes between the governmental harms, as in Decree 770, and the individual violent perpetrator. Nonetheless, both remain actors or agents in the VAW perpetrated in history right into the present.

If we look into the various sanctions listed – “penal, civil, labour and administration,” the proper redress does not get listed; no specification mention of the forms in which the redress will take, which, supposedly or one may assume, will be determined by the proper legal apparatus and judicial body.

The indication within the subsection is that there will be a series of mechanisms in the justice system of which a woman, or women, can utilize in order to garner some form of retributive justice for themselves. Some semblance of a recompense for the damages.

Although, and of course, these underly potential other problems seen in sexual abuse cases with monetary settlements. The judicial system assumes and the culture permits the use of money to cover trauma.

Trauma does not disappear with the inclusion of finances. Indeed, it may take more than this to simply paper over the trauma, as the historical record shows the case file and financial payout but not the internal dialogue and chaos that ensued from the sexual or other violence perpetrated against the woman, or women.

The national legislation will stipulate – so some national independent of justice and fairness for the payback via the law – the level and kind of recompense for the VAW crime. Another important part, as a sendoff to Article 4(d), is the inclusion of knowledge and education as mandatory to be provided for women in order to know about and properly enforce their fundamental human rights.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Article 4(a) and Article 4(b)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/13

Article 4

( a ) Consider, where they have not yet done so, ratifying or acceding to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or withdrawing reservations to that
Convention;

( b ) Refrain from engaging in violence against women;

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration states, in Article 4, some important truths about the need for timeliness and not to take excess time in the deliberation and implementation of the equal rights for women.

In its opening rights salvo, the statements pertain to the open condemnation of violence of which women are uniquely subject to enough to earn the category of Violence Against Women or VAW. From this VAW, the open condemnation is one start to the prevention against violence women are subject to, in the future.

The invocation of any cultural artifact behavior or belief cannot be used to justify the violence against women too. The fundamental right of women to live free of VAW is the ideal inherent in the women’s rights documents on one level of rights, in one domain of stipulations.

Religion can be invoked at times to justify violence but this is illegitimate in accordance with Article 4 of the Declaration. Furthermore, there should be immediate work and no delays in the work of the nations and so on to develop the appropriate policy to prevent further violence against women.

Article 4(a) simply manifests the realization of women’s equal consideration in the ratification of more than one document. The example taken is the one given the most eye-time in this article series with the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Then (b) simply articulates the obvious implication for the reduction and elimination of VAW – simply stop taking part in it as an individual, collective, or a nation. Without delay, mind you.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 3 of The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/13

Article 3

Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. These rights include, interalia:

( a ) The right to life;

( b ) The right to equality;

( c ) The right to liberty and security of person;

( d ) The right to equal protection under the law;

( e ) The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;

( f ) The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health;

( g ) The right to just and favourable conditions of work;

( h ) The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration Article 3 covers some rapid-fire sectioning of rights for women in the world through the stipulations (a) through (g).

With even the barest glimpse at the contents of the third article, the generalized statements provided, by implication, a broad palette menu from which to argue for the equality of women with men. In the equal enjoyment and protection of the human rights, we see the entire suite of possible human areas covered for said “enjoyment and protection.”

Thinking of rights, most consider the protection but not, as often, the enjoyment. A sense of comfort and contentment in the existence of rights and the privileges endowed as a human being, as a woman in this case.

The first stipulation speaks to the right to life of an individual woman. This seems one of the most fundamental. Note, the category stipulated is “women” and not “unborn fetus,” “baby,” even “girl.” The fundamental right to live, full stop.

The next right is equality and the ones following this are liberty and security of person. The ability to live in an equal society as a woman is not a simple statement as many men feel as if they can and even morally should keep women in their place – in the home, with the children, and making the meals.

Equality with the men means equal pay for equal work, justice in sexual violence, consideration in the halls of power in the society, ability to vote and take part in civic and political life, and so on. The right to liberty links to the other rights with the ability to freely do as she pleases within the society granting this exercise of liberty does not infringe on the right of another person.

The ability to live, to live equally with men, and to freely live in an equal society comes with the right to live in security without the fear for a woman’s own life at any time.

Article 4(d) and Article 4(e) stipulate the protection from, for example, domestic violence or sexual violence with the force of law and the freedom from discrimination (that relates to equality). It does not by any means imply the elimination of violence against women or a panacea of protection but it does provide the force of state to protect the individual woman.

The ability to live without discrimination and have the comfort of the law protecting you even in the case of potential violence against you. It gives another layer of acknowledgment to the unfair and unjust treatment of women.

Then Articles 4(f) and 4(g) associated with one another through the protection of an individual woman’s well-being over the long-term. The health and wellness of a woman in life come also with the implication of a choice taken for work would include the conditions of the workplace environment for her flourishing.

The extreme statement on this comes from the right to not be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment as a matter of principle and as a right of a woman as a woman. It happens in the kidnapping and so on. But the basic claim is for the reduction and eventual elimination of these forms of cruel and unjust treatment through the implementation of these various rights stipulations in the real world over time.

Good wine takes time.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993): Article 2

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/12

Article 2

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

( a ) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

( b ) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

( c ) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).

The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993) or the Declaration represents a number of ways in which women deserve equal protections and, in many cases, special protection from violence.

In particular, as many of you are familiar, there is a phrase in the international world to determine the levels and areas of women’s subjection to cruel and unjust treatment. That phrase is “Violence Against Women.”

Sometimes, it is abridged as VAW. The VAW perpetrated around the globe is a serious problem. The Declaration amounts to one solid protection, through rights in writing, for the protection of women against violent and unjust physical treatment, or sexual for that matter.

It extends into the psychological, and so emotional, too. The general scope is given within the three paragraphs, or as I have been stating them: “subsection,” of the second article. Furthermore, the permission in its ‘preface’ is the non-exhaustive nature of the listing.

In the first subsection, it describes the three domains of abuse potentially applicable in most or all cases. That is, the physical violence against a woman, e.g., battering. The psychological violence against a woman, e.g., exploitation. The sexual violence against a woman, e.g., marital rape.

These extend in a number of sub-domains but the general picture given are the aspects of abuse done to women in some of their more severe forms. Of course, there are even cases of a woman being not only raped but murdered based on sex and gender, not being a man is a pre-requisite.

Because there are legitimate and widespread cases of women, individually or serially, being raped even gang-raped and then murdered in some of the harshest and vile circumstances with premeditation by the male perpetrator – rapist and murderer. But the violation of an individual person – whether physically, psychologically, or sexually – can instill a constant vigilance about the future potential re-occurrence; a certain form of long-term torment and terror of the mind. Mostly male veterans from war live in the similar hell of the psyche. It’s called trauma.

The “female children” – so girls – are included within the statements of the stipulations. That is to say, women and girls retain the same rights for their safety from their peculiar predicament of VAW. A worldwide, historic and ongoing phenomenon.

Whether in the hallowed halls of the Roman Catholic Church (#ChurchToo) or the purportedly holiest sites including the eventual destination of one of the Five Pillars of Islam with the hajj journey to Mecca at the Qabba (#MosqueToo and #MeccaToo), or in the liberal-progressive central establishments including Hollywood (#MeToo), the narratives contain the similar troubles of women often hidden but only willingly and openly and assertively motivated to tell their stories as they recalled and experienced them because of the encouragement of other women and the inspiration of seeing others speak their truths in heartbreaking stories. Some turn out as lies, as in the Rolling Stone rape campus story.

However, this should not detract from the core points of underreporting, fear of reporting, mistreatment of claimed rape victims by authorities, mismanagement by universities in a matter better left to the police and law enforcement, and the important educational point directed to by Professor Noam Chomsky with the distinction between demonstration and allegation:

I think it grows out of a real and serious and deep problem of social pathology. It has exposed it and brought it to attention, brought to public attention many explicit and particular cases and so on. But I think there is a danger. The danger is confusing allegation with demonstrated action. We have to be careful to ensure that allegations have to be verified before they are used to undermine individuals and their actions and their status. So as in any such effort at uncovering improper, inappropriate and sometimes criminal activities, there always has to be a background of recognition that there’s a difference between allegation and demonstration.

The allegation/demonstration distinction provides the basis for the consideration of women or girls who come forward, and who should be encouraged to do so, to be treated with proper treatment, compassion, and respect while following the rule of law to respect due process to show the accused the same proper treatment, compassion, and respect.

In the current climate, the socio-political left – some sectors – forget the due process aspect of law for the people asserted as rapists, where, as in the Rolling Stone case – being one high-profile and dramatic instance of lies by a young woman and the media slavishly following a salacious headline rather than truth and justice, the purported rapists can be innocent with their lives and reputations destroyed – not hypothetical as this happens in the past and right into the present, e.g. students with scholarships and endorsements revoked, and professionals near retirement age even canned from high-paying and long-term careers; the socio-political right tend to downplay the real suffering of women in numerous domains of life, especially as regards the sexual violence committed, likely, against a girl or woman who could be in their own family and, in essence, downplaying the reality of rape of women by men as VAW and a violation of women’s rights in particular and human rights in general.

Article 2(b) continues with stipulations within those three domains of the first sub-section but with the emphasis on the more general. The most general forms of violence against women with “rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution.”

The categories here focus on sexual violence and psychological violence. The psychological at work, even sexual, but then the sexual in the most general sense in a society from the street corner to the executive suite of the highest high-rise Goldman Sachs building.

Article 2(c) states the violence used by the state is a no-no, a no-go. We often see the totalitarian regimes, as remarked on in multiple venues by Margaret Atwood, highly interested in the reproductive capacities of women.

In particular, the restriction on the freedoms of women to be able to determine their own livelihoods. The various totalitarian regimes in history or extant retain a peculiar, noticeable, and rights-violating interest in the interior lives of women’s bodies.

The nature of the control, as this amounts to its central focus, comes in lack of provisions of reproductive health technologies, neonatal care, childcare, daycare, school programs, school lunches, and other social services and then the expectation of all women to have as many children as possible.

Even in the cases of a cap on the number of children, the selectivity of the sex of the children becomes filtered through the status of the women and the girls in the society with the obvious preference for a boy over a girl, so the number of men in China, for example, outnumbers the number of women; to further exacerbate the effects of bigotry and misogyny, the derivative consequences comes in the mismatch for the heterosexual women and the heterosexual men in the society of marrying and childbearing age.

As happens with too many single men in history, this may create a destabilizing effect on the economy and so the country as a whole over the long-term. Disgruntled men in large groups tend to be a destabilizing force in not only the economic well-being of the country but also in the social life of the nation as well.

In the Computer Age, we find the emergence of sophisticated, powerful, and assertive ignorance posturing across the political landscape and taking up too much news coverage. If these topics were typically covered as they have been in the media, women’s rights and livelihood would be sidelined or ignored while at the same time having dog whistles to the listening, watching, or reading base of the individual touting falsehoods.

The questions around VAW and the nature of the current debates – some covered in the earlier parts of this article – relate to the basic truth. Women have rights. They have rights as men have rights. If not, then the equality of the sexes would be a pipe dream. Rights are not to be ignored or taken away. If not implemented, then they should be made part of the society as soon as possible.

If an individual denies the rights of women to reproductive health technologies based on a religious rights and belief rights objection, then the individual should, via the Golden Rule – ironically in their own religious holy texts, revoke their own right to religious practice and faith because the same documents giving women the right to control their own bodies and have bodily autonomy give these self-same individuals the right to practice their religious faith.

Women deserve reproductive health technologies as a right. The religious deserve the practice of their faith in their lives as a right. The access to the reproductive health technologies for everyone does not infringe on the right of the religious person to practice their faith. If they have an objection to it, then they do not have to use it; if someone wants to use it, then they can use it.

In this way, both rights are respected – no problems, but, of course, there are religious leaders, often men, seen in movements including the Reconstructionist Christian and Dominionist Christian – not necessarily the same but definitely overlap – movements.

They do not care about reproductive health rights because of the assertion in Genesis about God giving Man dominion over the Earth, as in everything including women. That is, they care about God’s Law and not human rights and, therefore, by internal logical and rationale of the belief system dismiss women’s rights and so women’s equal status: meaning women do not equate to equals to them.

Any debate or conversation becomes illegitimate within an international context, because these rights are global, when the fundamental premise of the inherent humanity, dignity, respectability, and worth of women and human rights given to women as women is not agreed upon by the parties present in the dialogue. Because this asserts a lesser-than status of women based on sex.

The ability of women to garner these rights has taken an exceptionally long time. The entire generation who began the movements for the right to vote, to be considered a legal person in a democracy, started about a century ago. Meaning, most women from the same period are deceased.

Think of the geniuses not seen then who could have emerged, the Hypatias from centuries ago, the Marie Curies from the 20th century, the Marilyn vos Savants still extant, and others unable to flourish because of unequal status. It would be seen as unbecoming of a girl or woman to enter into the “man’s world.” If not unbecoming, then the barriers certainly existed for generations from theological justifications and church-mosque-synagogue enforcement to sexual coercion in the workplace, to unequal pay, and so on. Dead and forgotten people set the dial forward for the current generation. Only some small part of women’s history has them surpassing men in education, now and only in the developed nations for the most part.

The fundamental basis for the equality of the sexes seems obvious in the cases of VAW, as women remain subject to the physically more dominant sex of the species. Men with power, or men in power giving lesser men control, over women. As Richard Pryor rightfully described with sexual violence taking away a person’s humanity, and I will extend the sentiment to VAW in general, the taking away of someone’s humanity remains one of the most catastrophically disgusting aspects of these acts and rights violations.

To ignore the power dynamics not only in history, whether crystallized in the holy texts or seen in the historical record, seems naive and foolish, and obvious (not appalling as some may claim in modern movements), it is a fact of history, of which we will be coming to grips with as time moves forward – and in this same move to recognize the VAW; we will, indeed, potentially recognize the powerless feelings of men who only emote in the language of violence, too.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) and Women’s Rights

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/12

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)

Looking at this particular convention, if we look for the terms women, men, sex, or gender, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) or the Convention does not match the reality for women’s equality.

It does not use the term “women.” In fact, the lack of inclusion of even the terms “sex” and “gender” with respect to the forms of cruel and inhuman, and degrading, treatment or punishment would seem suspicious, especially for a document, ironically, founded in 1984.

But there is some follow-up context. If one looks further into the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Committee Against Torture, there is commentary via the London School of Economics on the nature of violence against women.

The violence against women or VAW can fit right into the forms of treatment stipulated in the contents of the Convention. The Convention is bound to investigate and prevent the actions related to torture in which it may have some jurisdiction from which to take action.

Also, the two additional aforementioned bodies have acknowledged VAW and want to have the anti-torture framework understand this. The expanded consideration and inclusion of the unique experience of women through VAW may make an impact in “armed conflict or peacetime, in the home, the street or in places of detention – or the identity of the perpetrator – whether a family member, member of the community, stranger or state official.”

These are important additions for the document and hopefully can be enforced as the world moves into the future, even though, ideally, these would not be happening in the first place or at all.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 23(1) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/11

Article 23.

1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights speaks to two major domains of rights for women. One is the civic life of a country. Another is the political rights, e.g., presumably the right to vote and take part in the levers of power in some way. The basic premise of a lot of the Covenant is devoted to those two aspects of the rights to equality.

In regards to Article 23(1), the stipulation has a specific statement about women and a marriageable age. It stipulates the fundamental group unit in the society as the family; by implication, the basic non-group unit in the society is the individual. This does provide an argument for collectivism at the level of the family, and for individualism at the level of the – ahem – individual.

That seems as if a tacit assumption within the human rights document in civic and political life. This natural, group, and fundamental unit of the society, in the family, deserves and reserves the right to protection by not only the society at large but also the government at the helm of the society. No preference or bias given to either a conservative, centrist, or liberal government.

In that, we have arguments for a layered individualist-collectivism intended for the protection of the family as a right for the family, but then a responsibility of the society and the government to protect the family. For men or women, without statement one way or the other about the sexual orientation of the individual, they hold the right to marriage at marriageable age.

Of course, this may differ from state to state, province to province, and territory to territory; however, the fundamental right to marriage at or above the marriage age and then to have the marriage recognized is an important fundamental right of both men and women. We can, obviously, see many instances in either general statistics nationally and internationally or in individual news coverage the violation of both the rights of the child and the best interests of the child in the cases of child marriage.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) Article 6(5)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/11

Article 3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set
forth in the present Covenant.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides another foundation upon which to base fundamental human rights. The coverage in the upcoming articles will take the rest of the listings and select from among them the explicit statements for women’s equality.

The one for coverage in the Covenant today, Article 3. It speaks to some of basic of equal rights in regards to fundamental human rights. The civil and political world remain different, as we are seeing with the rights movements for women to be considered equals in the political and social worlds.

Once the finances are taken care of in an individual’s life, we can examine the ways in which the civil and political life of a country can move forward for greater equality. Though we can see areas of opposition and regression to push women back into the home, to halt their reproductive health rights to keep them in the home and bound in poverty to children if they step out of line, and, furthermore, identify the language used prior to that action taken by those in power to reduce the rights.

Women between the ages of 18-35 have, probably, seen the first effort to repeal their rights since they were born. The language of the elimination of abortion is open and direct, as with the claims by American politicians including the current American Vice President Mike Pence.

The language is open and honest, either ignorant of or in direct opposition to the reproductive rights of women. In the civil and political spheres of life, the news cycle produces a series of examples of similar language and caricatures of women as not up to the task.

The Covenant provides one more foundation to reaffirm the equality of women in these domains; so that any time these linguistic tools or messages are used to denigrate or demean women’s potential in various roles arise, they can be identified and targeted for activism.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Article 13(1)-(2)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/10

Article 13

1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right:

(a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;

(b) Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education;

(c) Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education;

(d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education;

(e) The development of a system of schools at all levels shall be actively pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be established, and the material conditions of teaching staff shall be continuously improved.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) or the Covenant stipulates some of the most fundamental rights to equality in education in its Article 13. In its first section, it deals with the right to education of all people.

In particular, the right is given to all people for their education regardless of their sex. An important subtext without implementation around much of the world in many ways. The ideal of education in the documents is for the building of a person with a sense of dignity.

The purpose is to also respect human rights and the fundamental freedoms of individuals within the society. By which I mean, the international or global community for all of us. If a woman is unable to exercise her freedoms in education, and if this extends into the sphere of a free society along with the positive virtues including “understanding, tolerance and friendships,” then this violates the spirit of the Covenant.

The virtues extend across the traditional and identifiable boundaries of race, ethnicity, and religion. Within this context, we find the development of greater possibilities of peace for everyone in the world. The second part of the Covenant speaks to the full realization of the right of women to education; everyone but, by direct implication and relevance to this article, women in particular.

The stipulations provide a firm foundation that, at a minimum, the primary education levels are to be available regardless of a child’s, or someone’s for that matter, lot in life. That is to say, any and all people should have a primary education of some form, and this education should be mandatory.

The provisions for the second school come out somewhat different from the compulsory or mandatory aspect of primary education. Anyone can recall people within their school, peers, who simply disappeared from the attendance list of all classes because of dropping out. They became dropouts.

The inclusion of the curriculum is across the board from arts to vocational with the appropriate educational tools and teachers available for a “progressive introduction of free education,” i.e., education is a right from primary to secondary school with compulsory provision in the former and the right t the proper access and quality of provision of the latter.

The post-secondary or higher education provisions are to be made in the same manner accessible and quality but not mandatory. Something different in these latter subsection stipulations. The nature of the encouragement for more primary education.

Then this becomes the free choice of the individuals in the society but with the encouragement to pursue said education; regardless, the proper provisions are part and parcel of an adequate post-secondary education.

If you as a woman are denied this, and if knowledgeable of these documents, then you can make progressive steps to improve the conditions and livelihood of other women in need or want of an education.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Article 7(a)(i)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/10

Article 7

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular:

(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:

(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work;

(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;

(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;

(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of seniority and competence;

(d ) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) or the Covenant represents a similar document to the others covered in this educational series, where the emphases remain on human rights, in general, with a focus on women’s rights, in particular. Real men support women’s rights.

Maybe, this can become a big slogan some day. The entire article is above. However, the focus of this particular publication is Article 7(a)(i) in the Covenant with the explicit statement for the equality of the sexes.

In this particular stipulation, the description amounts to the standard form of a truism in the world of human rights but then shifts into the more particular mentioned earlier relating to the equality of women with men.

The CEDAW mentions several of these forms of statements and provides a broad and functional basis for the equality of the sexes. However, the main focus, here at least, is the specific relevance of this stipulation – along with Article 3 covered weeks ago.

The stipulation speaks to the right to equality in wages and remuneration. Not only in the financial aspects of the payback for a job done but also in the ways in which this gets implemented for the bonuses and other benefits of a job; these can often be non-trivial, especially for those who really need them.

The distinctive part of this stipulation starts with “in particular women” in which the obvious is made explicit. An important distinction in terminology by the way, but also an important acknowledgment within the Covenant.

The Covenant creators and signatories realized the need to emphasize the right of women to be the work equals of the men of the world without discrimination; wherein any form of a differential in the fair wages and equitable compensation becomes discrimination, that form of bias then being unacceptable to the wider set of communities: the international community.

The inferiority of women gets assumed at numerous levels in the world. One of the most prominent comes in the form of the transcendental secondary status in fundamentalist and literalist translations of the religious texts, particularly Christianity in “the West” and Islam in “the East.”

The main emphasis is the acknowledgment and then the equal pay for equal work. For those who have been following many of the publications as of recent, the emphasis in Canadian acts and documents have been, at times and for whole documents, the right for equal pay for equal work.

This becomes the slogan for the women’s rights activists. However, this does not limit to that statement alone. In the Canadian documents, they will emphasize a number of things including effort, time, and skill.

The equitable pay for women in a number of domains has been explicitly denied to them. This is, obviously, discriminatory and, therefore, unfair and unjust to about half of the human population based on sex alone.

That discrimination comes in the form of the lower paycheque for the women working in the same job with the same qualifications and at the same hours. It is discrimination based on sex. Many women are miffed over this, rightfully so.

Other times, it is only the appearance of inequality without looking into the details of the time, effort, and skill of the employees in question. However, and in general, the basic premise of women earning more than the men is not the historical norm based on a real and decreasing gender pay gap or sex pay gap in the cases of equal time, effort, and skill in a job.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7(a)(i), and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 30 of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/09

Article 30

The present Convention, the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed the present Convention.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the Convention gives one of the firm international foundations for nations around the globe to partake of the endeavour in the Sustainable Development Goals and others for the greater equality of the sexes, of men and women, of gender; in this work towards the greater equality of the genders in the past and seeing the effects now, in particular the educational world and women’s ability to feel freer to speak out against abuses, those momentous documents and historical work act as auguries for the future of the world, of the set of possible futures – as hinted at by Atwood, recently – worth pursuing for the equality and human rights-minded people.

Throughout this extensive article series on the Convention or the CEDAW, we can see the development of a series of rights stipulations with rules of procedure, membership, and accession for the updates to the stipulations and then implementation and reportage on said implementation of human rights.

The human rights sub-set here comes in the form of women’s rights. The rights of women in work, in the home, in the educational centers, in political life, in civic and public arenas, and in reproductive health, and others.

The Convention comes with an associated Committee to further state the rights to equality of all women with the men in the world. The right to simply be a human being equal to others, not necessarily in various domains or capacities per individual but in the principle, the ethical precept, found in the Golden Rule in religious traditions or in the highest ethics of Millian Utilitarianism (by John Stuart Mill’s own assessment, by the way).

Our manner of being, of living, in the world, comes from a general acceptance of some ground rules. The human rights provide one level. The set of women’s rights give another level in the distinction based on sex and gender. The biological birth and attributes that attach to it, innately. Then the socio-cultural influence on attitudes and behaviors with gender.

The Conventions gives a glimpse into a world that could exist and which, by implication, does not yet live before our eyes. It could; it might. These become human decisions. Same with human decisions to destroy the world in which we live.

Article 30 speaks to the need for each and every current incarnation of the Convention, which becomes the present Convention in light of the updates via correspondence with the realities of the new scientific and technological landscapes of the day, should be stated in some of the most common languages spoken in the world.

Those will be then given to what is called the depositary or a role given to the current Secretary-General of the United Nations – its highest official. Then it simply closes with a due authorization of the present Convention – the current instantiation – for the nations to begin implementing in their respective country.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 29 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/09

Article 29

1. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Convention which is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of those parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of the Court.

2. Each State Party may at the time of signature or ratification of the present Convention or accession thereto declare that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph I of this article. The other States Parties shall not be bound by that paragraph with respect to any State Party which has made such a reservation.

3. Any State Party which has made a reservation in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article may at any time withdraw that reservation by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the Convention, Article 29 covers a substantial territory as if a coda at the end of the publication. The basic idea is that if there is any disagreement or “dispute” between two of the nations involved in the Convention; then, there will be an arbitration between the two countries regarding their disagreement.

The disagreements or the foundations of the disputes focus on the interpretation or the application of the current version of the Convention, remembering, of course, that the Convention is subject to changes based on, for example, alterations in the scientific and technological landscape, where these changes in the world of science and technology merit an adjunction, deletion, or general edit to the Convention.

The interpretation of any document becomes important in the world of international rights because the line between what is and what is not contextually appropriate for a particular stipulation within the Convention is important. The interpretation statement could be clear to most States Parties or nations regarding the reasonable scope and limits of it.

However, to a small percent, it may not be so clear. That is where Article 29(1) comes into play. The other part of the article discusses the areas of concern in a dispute or disagreement in the area of implementation of a right in the Convention. An individual may consider the Convention relatively clear and then the nation-state may begin to actualize those reasonable interpretations, according to the consensus of all parties and no objections, but then the implementation of the stipulation of equal rights may be a point of contention.

The first point of conflict resolution is the negotiation. The next stage, if the first stage is insufficient, will be the submitted request for an arbitration on the dispute. One of the two parties will submit the request. The time limit on stage two, if things head to stage two, is six months. That is, there is a time limit of party patience on the first stage and hard chronological time limit in the second stage.

That is the selection process time limit for an arbitrator to conduct the arbitration of the dispute. Then one of the parties of the disagreement simply refers to the International Court of Justice, an extremely important body, for the deliberation, which, according to the Statute of the Court – part of the United Nations Charter, is in conformity” with it. It follows the rules of the statute.

Article 29(2) stipulates the right of a state party to not consider itself bound to the statements of Article 29(1). That is a real possibility and something important to consider on this front. At the time of the accession or agreement via signature to the current version of the Convention, any of the nations’ representatives can declare that they’re not in any way signing to be bound to the first section of Article 29.

The last section determines the reservations made by a nation at the time of the agreement can withdraw said reservation with a notification sent to the highest official in the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. These previous articles have covered a lot ground, but the CEDAW retains a certain importance based on its general application and international focus for rights and equality.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979): Article 27 and Article 28

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/08

Article 27

1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.

2. For each State ratifying the present Convention or acceding to it after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 28

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States at the time of ratification or accession.

2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted.

3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to this effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then inform all States thereof. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is received.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the Convention provides one basis upon which to further the over century-long fight for the equality of women with men. It is, often inaccurately, stated as the equality of men and women or gender equality, or the equality of the sexes – as a series of shorthands, but the most accurate in most geographic and historical considerations – of place and time – are women with men as women have been the ones bearing the brunt of discrimination based on sex.

Article 27(1) of the Convention speaks to the force of the Convention with the 30th day of the deposit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations – its highest officer. Fairly straightforward, the need to operate through the auspices of the highest-ranking official in the United Nations for the consideration, deliberation, and actualization of equality.

Article 27(2) stipulates the ratification or consenting, or signing, on to the version of the Convention of the time. With the Secretary-General as the depositary, the nations or countries accepting the current instantiation of the Convention; the Convention then becomes enforceable in the new form based on the 30th-day post-deposit. It amounts to term limits on the old and time limes to implement and actuate the new version of the Convention.

Article 28(1) states that the Secretary-General will then give what amounts to concerns, issues, and problems of the countries involved in the Convention in some form for reflection. The next subsection of Article 28 continues on this line with the specification of what gets in and gets left out of the set of concerns, issues, and problems.

Those become the basis for the permission of distribution to all nations within the legitimate purview of the Convention. The Secretary-General, as per the prior statements within the Convention or the CEDAW, amounts to the intermediary for the operations relevant for the Convention.

That individual, man or woman, with the highest office in the United Nations will be the one to get and give out the statements of “reservations” of the nations at the time of the “ratification or accession” to the changes to the Convention at such time the changes have been made and approved.

The final subsection of Article 28 stipulates the reservations potentially being withdrawn with the notification of address to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This official then tells the relevant member states. The notification takes place that day.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

CEDAW Article 25 and Article 26

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/08

Article 25

1. The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as the depositary of the present Convention.

3. The present Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

4. The present Convention shall be open to accession by all States. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 26

1. A request for the revision of the present Convention may be made at any time by any State Party by means of a notification in writing addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the Convention provides one basis, among many other bases, to construct a situation for equal rights. The equality of the sexes requires the deliberation of the real-world policies and actions in proportion to the ideals of gender equality.

These stipulations about gender equality come in a number of different manifestations; however, the foundation remains more or less unchanging. This basis and its derivatives form the basis for the movements for equality between men and women and then the rights documents representative of the rights.

Article 25 provides the transparent, democratic, and open foundation of the Convention. Any nation can come forward and become a signatory of the Convention. Becoming a signatory, this makes for a more equitable world; then also, we can observe in hindsight decades down the road that countries unwilling or unable to adhere to the stipulations in the Convention.

The second subsection of Article 25 looks into the Secretary-General role in the current – at that time – instantiation of the Convention or the CEDAW. The role is as the depositary. The “depositary” is the role of trust; something, such as the Convention, has been entrusted to the highest official of the United Nations through the role of the depositary.

Article 25(3) speaks to the ratification. That is, Convention can be ratified by a State, by a member of the United Nations. That makes the signatory bound to the document’s stipulations for gender equality. The instruments for the ratification lie with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The last subsection of the Convention speaks to the accession of all States. That is, the given power or attainment of a rank, or a position, with the consideration, limitation, and rules regulations of the Convention. It means: you [fill in the nation or “State”] are bound to this document now – hop to.

Article 26 provisions further details on the act of revision to the Convention. The term or phrase used is the “present Convention.” That is to say, the current version, like 2.0 versus 3.0 of a piece of software such as Linux or Windows, of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The present Convention or the current CEDAW can be requested for revision and, by implication, needs this formal procedure for changes. Of course, as noted in some of the prior articles, the Convention can be edited or altered given the changes, sufficiently reasonable, in the external scientific and technological landscape of the world.

Any country can make a formal request for an alteration of the COnvention through the written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. From this address, the request should specify with some detail the areas in the present Convention and then, let’s call it, the changes wanted for a hoped-for Convention.

Then the General Assembly will then deliberate and make a decision on the request for the change, to make any or none. Not the most exciting portion of the Convention, granted; however, these internal processes provide some foundation upon which to alter the rights landscape of the international rights world for a more equitable national environment over time.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 23 and Article 24 of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/07

Article 23

Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions that are more conducive to the achievement of equality between men and women which may be contained: (a) In the legislation of a State Party; or

(b) In any other international convention, treaty or agreement in force for that State.

Article 24

States Parties undertake to adopt all necessary measures at the national level aimed at achieving the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Convention.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the Convention deals with some of the aspects of equality of men and women around the world, which includes the stipulations about the necessary measures by nations bound to it.

The measures needed to be able to enforce equality, of which the country has considered themselves agreed to via being a signatory to the Convention. That makes the Convention’s moral statements about gender equality ethical imperatives rather than dreams.

Article 23 deals with the relative consideration of gender equality. That is, some means of stipulations enforced in different parts of the world provide a firmer foundation for the equality of the sexes. In the instances of the other documents listed at the separate appendix of this article, and others, some may have more appropriate or better ideas for gender equality.

Within that frame of viewing the world, the ideals within any of these documents exist subservient or subordinate in emphasis, purpose, and eventual implementation to the ones that will, likely, produce the greater attainment of the lofty ideal – though quite mundane in any rational analysis – of gender equality.

The idea is to make an environment in which there are more conducive situations for the equality of the sexes, or of “men and women.” Article 23(a) speaks to the legislation of the State Party or of the government in power at that particular moment in the country’s history.

If a nation or State Party becomes morally and legally bound to the Convention, there exists the tacit assumption of consistency on the part of the country to continue to endorse and implement gender equality, whether socialist, liberal, conservative, or other political parties happen to win the vote and take power in the nation. This gives a sense of the higher-order ethical deliberation here.

This higher-order implementation of gender equality becomes international emphasized – where the national emphasis is in Article 23(a) – in Article 23(b). It speaks to the series of international conventions, treaties, and agreements to be enforced at the level of the nation-state.

Those international rights documents stipulate the need to provide some level of force for gender equality at the level of each bound nation. With respect to the emphasis, the eventual implementation is at the level of the State Party, even though the stipulation may include the national or the international statement of emphasis in its particular statement.

Article 24 speaks to the similar emphasis of the nations using any reasonable measures within their powers throughout the country to enforce the equality. Because the need is of the “full realization” of the rights of women with men.

It comes in a variety of packaged forms, but it does not emphasize anything current instantiation of the Convention. As covered in other articles, the Convention can be updated at any point based on stipulations, in itself, that state the need to update the Convention based on scientific and technological advances, especially those coming more rapidly at us.

These two related articles merely stipulate the need to have the equality statements in the international documents and then to have those equal rights implemented at the national level, but the implementation should come with the caveat: if there are better or worse means by which to set about actualizing those rights, then we should work within those better representations of the rights in reality – because cultural and social differences exist, and similar with the notions of what should or should not be emphasized more or less in their own country.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979): Article 21 and Article 22

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/07

Article 21

1. The Committee shall, through the Economic and Social Council, report annually to the General Assembly of the United Nations on its activities and may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from the States Parties. Such suggestions and general recommendations shall be included in the report of the Committee together with comments, if any, from States Parties.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit the reports of the Committee to the Commission on the Status of Women for its information.

Article 22

The specialized agencies shall be entitled to be represented at the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of the present Convention as fall within the scope of their activities. The Committee may invite the specialized agencies to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), the CEDAW, or the Convention speaks to the equality of the sexes or, more properly, the equality of women with men. In Articles 21 and 22, we look into the reports and agencies aspects of the Convention’s stipulations.

In particular, Article 21 speaks to the report to the General Assembly of the United Nations through the Economic and Social Council. The main part of the United Nations is the General Assembly. The report through the economic and social council organ also makes sense, almost as if a preliminary deliberation.

When you have a boss, and if they need some updates on the activities of the relevant sector of the job under your control, you will, typically, have to send them a formal report on the progress towards some previously specified targeted objectives.

Those targeted objectives become the basis for a metric with the reality. If the reality is far from the targeted objectives well into the programs of action, then the boss has reason to question the efficacy of the individual working on the project, or in charge of the managerial and administrative aspects of the work.

Within the report, the Committee of the CEDAW can then also make suggestions and general recommendations about the proper pathways for the individuals and, in particular, the nations or the “States Parties” to take for the improved functioning of their nation regarding the implementation of, and alignment with, the ideals of the Convention.

Now, the Convention’s Committee examines the reports sent to it. Those reports come from the nations bound to the statements and stipulations of the Convention. As part of the proper procedure, the reports must be sent into the Committee in a periodic, regular manner for the deliberation by the Committee.

These then get sent to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council. From these examinations, the status is given plus the recommendations. (You see the process.) The reports will be included will come from the reports sent from the nations or the “State Parties” as well as the additional commentary in the singular report of the Committee to the General Assembly.

These are then given to the Commission on the Status of Women for further information through the Secretary-General of the United Nations. An important figurehead on the international stage. Now, that is Article 21 – straightforward statements on the process.

Article 22 speaks to the entitlements. In North American culture, there is a public relations effort to demonize the idea of entitlements, but the idea of being entitled to something comes within a different contextualization in much of the rest of the world.

The specialized agencies – a general statement of the agencies – can be represented in the implementations of the provisions. The “present Convention” is an interesting phrase. Injecting a personal opinion, I suppose this implies prior to the next set of edits on the Convention.

The only limitation on the entitlement is the relevance of their domain of activities to the provisions of the present Convention. Then the Committee can then invite the specialized agencies to give their own reports about the proper implementation of the Convention, again within their area of operation.

All this speaks to the general openness, transparency, and generalized but limited to relevance contributions of interested parties including specialized agencies and others. It continues along a line of high ideals and standards for the furtherance of equality of the sexes.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 19 and Article 20 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/06

Article 19

1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years.

Article 20

1. The Committee shall normally meet for a period of not more than two weeks annually in order to consider the reports submitted in accordance with article 18 of the present Convention.

2. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by the Committee. (amendment, status of ratification)

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Equality of the sexes provides a firmer foundation than others for an instantiation of the Golden Rule with an expansion of the moral sphere to the other sex or gender if preferred. One of the interesting or intriguing aspects of the Convention arose in the midst of reading and reflecting on it, as and before I write these articles.

Some of them amount to the operations of the Convention and so should not make too many individuals bat an eye; however, sometimes, it does become a catalyst for further thought. One of those was Article 19.

It states that the Committee, for the Convention, will adopts its own rules of procedure and then elect its officers for a term of two years. The officers for a term of two years did not surprise me. But the own rules of procedure part did shock me.

When I worked for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations on committees for the Athabasca University Student Union, there were some general procedures for the operations of the committees and the events in the deliberation of the important points of dialogue among the young leaders present.

The noteworthy things also come in competitions including the World Model United Nations. These events have their own rules of operation standardized along the lines of others. Most of these types of things follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

But the notion of adopting an organization’s own rules of procedure seems interesting and worth pursuing as a point of inquiry. I do not know the reason, nor do I want to pretend; nonetheless, the autonomy of the CEDAW committee seems a valuable asset in the work towards the greater gender equality. The second part of Article 19 simply speaks to term limits.

Article 20(2) sets a limit on the length of time the members of the committee may meet. These ones may only meet for two weeks or under per annum. These become the basis for deliberation and, of course, due process and scrutiny of the reports submitted to the Committee.

The Convention does speak on this in Article 18. Article 20(2) stipulates that the meetings must be held in the United Nations Headquarters or another convenient place determined by the elected representatives of the Convention, or the Committee.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

CEDAW’s Article 18

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/06

Article 18

1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for consideration by the Committee, a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the present Convention and on the progress made in this respect:

(a) Within one year after the entry into force for the State concerned;

(b) Thereafter at least every four years and further whenever the Committee so requests.

2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention or the CEDAW gives a basis for the equality of the sexes in modern times. Many codes of ethics instantiated decent attempts at equality throughout the historical record. Some have simply been a code of ethics including the Code of Hammurabi, the Ten Commandments in Exodus, the Magna Carta including the Charter of the Forest, and others.

As far as I know, few required reports on activities as part of their stipulations. Article 18 of the Convention, or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, speak to the need for the member states to submit a report to the highest officer of the United Nations, the Secretary-General.

The report covers a variety of areas covered in some of the former articles of this educational and commentary series. With respect to the legislative and judicial sectors, these remain some of the most important parts of the equal rights movements for there to be equality of the sexes.

Many nations around the world do not have the legislation or the judicial force in place for the equality of the sexes. As this includes women around the world, in numerous nations in history and right into the present, our ideas about equality should come into the fore here. No reportage of progress in these areas can leave questions.

Two main concerns come up. One is if a violation of a set of rights is allowed to be set into motion then the violations will continue, as has been for the most part historically the case. because rights require the force of potential punishment for violation or if positive then identification for possible areas of improvement.

The other is the need to document what has and has not been done regarding the reality on the ground in a particular country and the ideals set forth in the Convention. It is incumbent on the States Parties or the members bound to the Convention to enforce the ideals in their nation. Iceland has been an exemplar, as noted recently by Margaret Atwood, in gender equality.

Beyond most others, they continue to move forward and beyond many others. Other areas of the progressive movement reportage for the Convention are in administrative and “other measures.” It equates to the periodic table of elements portion of all the small bits of a human being and the universe, what they have in common: “other.”

It provides a foundation for consideration across the board in which the States Parties shall document their progress towards and adherence to the Convention. This becomes of utmost importance for the identification of problem areas. Big ones like lack of rights to vote or reproductive health rights, neither trivial. Small ones like certain social customs.

The report’s timing is stipulated as needing to be in place only one year after being enforced within the nation. Nations’ representatives sign onto the document, so now they must adhere to it. They have to prove this or provide evidence in favor of their progress towards these gender equality ideals.

Following this first-year reportage, there will be reports sent in once every four years. These reports the provide a firmer foundation upon which to consider the adherence to the Convention by the member state. If the state, presumably, does not adhere to the document or implement the CEDAW as well as it could, then there could be penalties.

Then the same could be said for the case of a nation-state declining to report or showing no precision in adherence to the Convention. It becomes another protective means to ensure the implementation of the Convention.

Do not take these individuals who fought for equal rights and set these documents in order for fools; also, do not take for fools those who want to take down the possibility of an equitable world through the reinstantiation of magical thinking in the public and the redirection of needed activist attention towards the items that matter most to people, towards the trivial rather than the meaningful and lasting.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women: Article 17(7)-(9)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/05

Article 17

7. For the filling of casual vacancies, the State Party whose expert has ceased to function as a member of the Committee shall appoint another expert from among its nationals, subject to the approval of the Committee.

8. The members of the Committee shall, with the approval of the General Assembly, receive emoluments from United Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide, having regard to the importance of the Committee’s responsibilities.

9. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the present Convention.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the case of the operations of a Convention, we find the need to fill slots of the committee that forms it. The Committee representative of the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Form of Discrimination Against Women remains an important one.

It provides a foundation for the real-world deliberation and implementation through absolute majority elected people with high moral character. The issue then becomes what to make of the formalities found in these too. The State Party or nation who has had an expert lease their post in some capacity will have another expert fill the role.

This comes with two stipulations in Article 17(7). One is the need for this expert leaving on behalf of the country should have a replacement who is also a member or expert from that country. The other is the Committee as a whole has a final approval on this individual’s placement within the Committee in service of the Convention.

Article 17(8) speaks to the importance of benefits to be received from the United Nations for the Committee. The Committee’s benefits would be limited to the approval of the General Assembly. The terms and conditions would be dependent on the stipulations of the General Assembly.

However, the General Assembly in the consideration of the approval of further resources out of the United Nations to the Committee would be dependent on the regard for the Committee by the General Assembly. Based on the deliberation of the General Assembly, the importance of the Committee will determine the approval or disapproval of the funding for it.

In Article 17(9), the highest-ranking member of the United Nations, the Secretary-General, will be giving staff and facilities, as is necessary, for the proper performance and functions of the Committee. Those functions or operations are to be determined within the current instantiation of the Convention.

As noted in prior articles, there are stipulations within the Convention speaking to the possibility for revisions to the Convention as technology and science progress over time. The example given was within the reproductive health rights sphere. Over time, these developments in science and technology could easily influence the access to reproductive health technologies for women. This becomes one basis for recalling the ability to alter some aspects of the Convention.

In terms of Article 17, this deals with the provisions of materials and approval for resources by the General Assembly of the United Nations as well as the voting and membership structure of the Committee relevant to the Convention.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

CEDAW Article 17(4)-(6)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/04

Article 17

4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a meeting of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present and voting.

5. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. However, the terms of nine of the members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first election the names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot by the Chairman of the Committee.

6. The election of the five additional members of the Committee shall be held in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this article, following the thirty-fifth ratification or accession. The terms of two of the additional members elected on this occasion shall expire at the end of two years, the names of these two members having been chosen by lot by the Chairman of the Committee.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the formation of the Committee, there are stipulations relevant to the internal workings of the Committee to formalize the processes for the Convention. Much or all of Article 17 deals with this minutiae. Within Article 17(4), the stipulation relates to the members of the Committee coming together at the United Nations HQ.

This is to be set forth by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, this is a huge honor for many people. Also, it remains an important show of the import of it. Now, a significant majority at two-thirds must be present at the meeting in order for a quorum to be met, and for the Committee’s meeting to commence.

The individuals with the majority of the votes shall be the ones to be elected to the Committee to represent the Convention’s interests, which makes this not only an international event with a significant majority to even begin but also those who are deemed most qualified become those elected to the Committee.

That is to say, it becomes majoritarian to the core, as is much of the internal operation and external manifestations of the United Nations in many respects. The count is called an absolute majority, or simply those with the most votes get on and those with the least votes do not get on.

Article 17(5) speaks to the term limits of the members who earn the “absolute majority” vote from the rest of the Committee. Of those who earn their rank within the Committee, they become the people who take on the rights and responsibilities of the Committee to represent the Convention for four terms. Each term is four years.

There are some exceptions with the terms of nine members elected within the first election. Those individuals will be expired in their position within two years. The other positions are for four-year terms. A set of four-year terms and the nine who have only two-year terms.

With the first election, the Chairman of the Committee will then select a small group of nine from those elected by the absolute majority to then be able to take on two-year terms, while those not selected will remain the double-length in term at four years for theirs.

Article 17(6) notes five more members of the Committee will operate especially within the constraints of paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of Article 17. This, apparently, follows the thirty-fifth ratification of the Convention. The twos of two of these extra members will expire as with others at the end of a two-year stint. These two members will be selected by the Chairman of the Committee as well. These remain standard operations or regular procedural processes of the Committee on behalf of the rights enshrined in the Convention.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 17(2)-(3) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/03

Article 17

2. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State Party may nominate one person from among its own nationals.

3. The initial election shall be held six months after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention. At least three months before the date of each election the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall prepare a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating the States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the equality of the sexes, there should be formal mechanisms and representatives for the formulation of ways in which to implement the ideals. An ideal without a plan is a dream; the clouds are wonderful but not much without the ground to solidly peer at them and build a lattice.

The election of the members to the Committee on behalf of the Convention takes place within the context of a secret ballot. No one knows what the other representatives will vote. Those individuals will be voted who most qualify but also who represent nationals. An individual must be a national to represent properly the work of the Committee for the Convention.

The nations must select a national from their constituency. This becomes important for the equal opportunity in the representation of the vote. The proper measures from equal representation to a secret ballot keep the interests of all parties concerned at a level playing field.

The important consideration here is the timing and type of election. It has a secret ballot with representative nationals, and then the first election being held only six months after the force of the current Convention – to enter into force means the Conventions stipulation must begin to be implemented within the country.

It has to be en-forced – in a real way. The import of the elections comes with the message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the form of a letter to the relevant States Parties about the submissions. That is, they are invited to submit nominations within the next two months.

This then leads to a prepared list in alphabetical order, so as to not show preference, of the persons nominated. This will also note the relevant nations that have nominated those individuals, and then those will be given to the nations’ representatives. It amounts to a straightforward process of fair proceedings mediated by the Secretary-General several months beforehand.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 17(1) of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/03

Article 17

1. For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation of the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) consisting, at the time of entry into force of the Convention, of eighteen and, after ratification of or accession to the Convention by the thirty-fifth State Party, of twenty-three experts of high moral standing and competence in the field covered by the Convention. The experts shall be elected by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution and to the representation of the different forms of civilization as well as the principal legal systems.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the battle for the equality of the sexes, the fight for number five on the Sustainable Development Goals listing, Gender Equality, remains a long-term one. There remains obvious pushback from the standard players in the communal, national, and international scene from the schools and churches, to the state and the legal system, to the international alliances hell-bent on the oppression of women.

It amounts to the consistent and long-term story of the world. One of the documents dealing with the violation of women’s rights is the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) or the Convention. The Convention represents a documented bulwark of the rights inhering in women for being women, for being human beings.

As noted, the purpose is to implement the document’s stipulated rights and then work to make appropriate progress in a variety of domains. One of these includes the formation of the Committee stated in the quotation at the top. The Committee comes with 23 experts. Those deemed of high ethical character or moral virtue.

The bases for these rights and values come in movements making consensuses and then codifying these in documents. Then the rights become implemented or enforced through some formal recognition and representation. The Committee forms part of this. Those in the fields relevant to the Convention will also be competent. Not a trivial part of the implementation of the rights.

The members of this Committee come from the “States Parties” or nation-states. They come from among the nationals and then work within a service orientation. They are to be of competence, high moral standing, and of service to the ideals of the Convention. The difficulties come in the last portions of the statement about the geographical distribution and the representation of the different civilizations.

Granted, we are not talking about Byzantium and Roman; however, we are speaking of the different cultures that come with religious and ethnic heritage in many countries. The reason being the religious and ethnic histories of many countries of the world. Inevitably, there will be a difference in the emphasis of the values and so morals stipulated within the Convention.

Nonetheless, the major emphasis for the people of the world is the representation in a professional capacity on the Committee to be able to enforce the Convention. The equal rights for women around the world can be thought of, in a way, of upstream and downstream.

The upstream is at the top of the mountain connected to the lake that receives rainfall continually. It is the source of the ideals and the stipulations of the highest statements of morality insofar as we are able to determine them. Then there is the downstream that ends in the tributaries, rivers, smaller lakes, and the ocean, where the different cultures, civilizations, religions, and languages come to receive and in a way interpret those feeds of water into them.

The decisions about how best to contextualize and implement the rights become the basis for the independence of the representatives but the fundamental unity exists from the same source of ideals found in the Convention, where the Committee exists in a disparate fashion at each of the downstream locations.

It is in this sense that we can see the greater ability of women of the world to have equality with men through the implementation especially in the legal systems of these downstream locations, civilizations. The proper implementation may not happen overnight but can happen in due course because of the consistent efforts of formal activists with institutional status seen in the Committee for the Convention and informally on the ground, in the social and family life, and sometimes on the streets of the major city centers.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 15 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/01

Article 15

1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law.

2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to exercise that capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal rights to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally in all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.

3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private instruments of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.

4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The nature of the world appears morally neutral but human beings in their interpersonal relations and societal functions provide bases upon which to found morality or better-and-worse ways in which to relate to one another. The fifteenth article of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) represents a basis for further equality of the sexes in the domain of law and civil life.

In Article 15 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), a number of stipulations exist to cover the legal and civil rights of women in different domains. Women lack these equal rights on a number of dimensions, which denotes the importance of this area for progress.

Article 15(1) directs attention for women to have equality with men before the law. It amounts to a simple statement but a large stipulation on the historical front because women lacked equal rights with men before the law. Indeed, in many religious systems, women were chattel or property of the men.

In the level of analysis of the state of the “States Parties,” the governments of the world had a keen interest in the guarding of women’s chastity to ensure virginity and the proper heralding of sons for the royalty or the family; women were not people by any reasonable modern metric.

In fact, in a democratic system, this can be seen in the ways in which women were reduced to the level of non-persons even in advanced democracies without the right to vote. For an individual to be considered a legal person, the women should have the right to vote, as with the men.

Article 15(2) speaks to the rights of women in “civil matters.” That is, if a woman is represented in a legal capacity, then the women holds the right to exercise her capacity in an equivalent manner. This means that, across the board, women deserve the equal chance or opportunity for contracts and administration of property to the men in their country. This is at “all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.”

In Article 15(3), the contracts and other private documents with a legal effect shall be usable by the women for a legal capacity; and if they restrict the woman in a sense of restricting her in some way, these become not truly representative of the equal rights inhering in the lives of the women of the world.

It remains important in the context of a woman being able to freely have the same legal representation and capacity as the men in the society, too. Article 15(4) states the important rights relevant to moving around and living. A woman reserves the same right as the men in their lives to move from place to place, house to house, and home to home.

The areas of the world in which women are restricted and have ratified the Convention become, immediately, in violation of the CEDAW in this article and subsection. This becomes relevant not only to the movement of the woman but also to the places in which a woman can live and set about her orderings of life.

A woman should, as a man already, for the most part, can be able to exist wherever she deems most appropriate for her life, barring some financial or another barrier. In that case, the woman should garner the appropriate funds in some way to make the proper travel arrangements and also in the long-term living quarters arrangements as well.

The proper place for women is the proper place of men: wherever they feel is best for them in a legal, travel, and living capacity.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 16(2) of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/02

Article 16

2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The second part of Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) or the Convention speaks on the issues of child marriage and the minimum age for marriage. It is one of a number of intersecting violations against the child, the girl often, and the individual rights of a person regarding choice in marriage and cognitive maturity to make such a full, informed, free, and consenting decision.

For the individual who is young and beholden to a guardian of some form, the right to be able to live a childhood remains important for the health and well-being of this child’s life trajectory. There comes particular violation of the right to the health and well-being over a long time of the child in the extreme cases, but not uncommon, of child marriage.

The forcing or enforcing by culture or religion or tradition of an individual child to marriage will not be considered seriously in terms of legal merits within the context and constraints of the Convention article subsection stipulation above. In addition, there is supposed to be in place, or in progress if not present, the speciication of a minimum age necessary for marriage to then make the registration of a marriage a part of the official registry – something mandatory.

It seems reasonable within the total constraints of the document and for the rights of not only womne but most often girls because of the fundamental violation of autonomy and the best interests of child when there are clear cases of enforced marriage prior to an age of consent or reasonable cognitive maturation in which the child’s innocence and time of life and lesser experience and knowledge of the world is taken advantage of in these cases.

These remain stark and dark circumstances for many of the girls who undergo this and the women who were forced into it. However, the basic idea of an individual being able to work within their family to protect their child or in many cases for the relevant governmental bodies to protect the child from the family is the key component here.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 16(1) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/02

Article 16

1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (a) The same right to enter into marriage;

(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent;

(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution;

(d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;

(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;

(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;

(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation;

(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The fundamental equality of the sexes comes in the form of marriage and family relations as well. Women for almost all of recorded history in most societies have been considered the property of the family, the community, the society, and, in fact, the religion. If one looks, in one example taken seriously by half of the world’s population in the Book of Exodus of the holy text collection called the Bible, there are the Ten Commandments.

In the commentary in one of the commandments about coveting one’s ox, ass, manservant, and maidservant, in the same statement, there remains a reference to the wife. Women belong to the men; the commandment references the men as the emphasis tacitly without referencing the husband but referencing the wife.

It seems within this context that we see the development of a religious foundation for historical discrimination against the women. Article 16(1) of the CEDAW, the Convention, or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) speaks to the equal rights of women in the sphere of marriage and family relations.

Article 16(1)(a) discusses the right to the entrance into a marriage. If a woman wants to enter into a marriage contract with someone mutually interested in her in this regard as well, then the man and the woman hold the same right to enter into such as marriage as per the stipulation – straightforward.

In Article 16(1)(b), another stipulation about the fundamental equality of the sexes comes in the form of being able to freely choose one’s spouse in life and in marriage with free and full consent for women, and for men for that matter but in most contexts that remains almost always a given.

Then this provides one of the most basic grounds for making arguably one of the most important decisions in life, which remains a cascade choice: do I want to spend my life with someone at all? If so, who do I want to spend my life with, in that case? It remains an important part of women’s right to choose as it is also an important part of a man’s right to choose.

Article 16(1)(c) states that the rights of a marriage and at its dissolution also imply a set of responsibilities; this amounts to the area of confusion among the different feminisms emergent in the modern period. The proper understanding of any acquirement of a right or a privilege is the equivalent or proportional responsibility in the relevant domain.

If someone marries another person, both have rights in and to the marriage but also responsibilities with regards to the marriage as well. This makes for an ability of either men or women in a heterosexual or homosexual marriage to stay in or leave a marriage as a fundamental human right.

Article 16(1)(d) speaks to the rights of a parent regardless of their marital status to the matters of children. The kids should have a parent and the parents have rights to the child and children in their lives barring some extenuating circumstance (one can think of examples easily).

This seems right in line with the prior thoughts that rights to children come with proportional responsibilities to them too. The rights of the children are the first and foremost concern here, but the parents remain the focus for both the rights and the responsibilities regarding the children.

Article 16(1)(e) speaks to the right of a responsible number and spacing of children with proper information and education, where the ability to partake of the community and the culture, and the family, results from the freedom to make these informed choices about family, family size, and so on.

The purpose is to note the importance, in another phraseology, of family planning through the mother being able to choose the number of children, having adequate information and education in order to make an informed choice on the matter of family life with these bases.

Through Article 16(1)(f) speaks about the identical rights and responsibilities for guardianship, wardship, trusteeship, and the adoption of children, women have the same rights as men in this regard. The purpose is to have the access and ability to partake of this part of social and societal functioning.

It also ties into the fundamental notion of national legislation devoted to the equal rights and responsibilities here. However, as in all cases regarding the rights of the parent comes the responsibility of the parent, the parent has to keep or bear in mind at all times the best interests of the child or children if these rights are to be taken into account in a serious way.

Article 16(1)(g) talks about the rights of a husband and a wife to choose a family name, profession, and occupation. That is to say, if a woman is wife is married to a husband, then the wife and the husband hold the same rights in those regards – and not one holding more than the other in accordance with this stipulation.

The final article sub-section (1)(h) talks about the rights for the spouses to be able to own, acquire, manage, administrate, enjoy, and dispose of property. This can be in a free situation or in a situation of a valuable consideration. In either case and through this, we see the sensitive, and thorough coverage of the matters of rights applied to marriage and family matters.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Introduction to Different Definitions of Race

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/01

Maya Bahl is an editor and contributor to The Good Men Project with me. She has an interest and background in forensic anthropology. As it turns out, I hear the term race thrown into conversations in both conservative and progressive circles. At the same time, I wanted to know the more scientific definitions used by modern researchers including those in forensic anthropology. Then I asked Bahl about conducting an educational series. Here we are, part one.

To open this topic, I want to look into the expert opinion on the topic. Bahl opened with a thank you for the opportunity to take part in this educational series, as a fellow writer and editor on The Good Men Project. There exist different sources of a definition for “race” from common usage, sociology, forensic anthropology, and elsewhere.

Bahl stated, “In anthropology, race is seen as the groupings of people by physical or social qualities and sociology sees it as a direct difference in biological traits in a group, but in the end the fact would remain that race at a basic level is the distinguishing of groups of people against an observed pre-conceived standard.”

She continued to talk about the moderately more strict and racist terminology from when the fields of Anthropology and Sociology began with the terms “Caucasoid,” “Negroid,” and “Mongoloid.” Those were the standard categories to classify people based on origin: Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Since the 1800s on though, the world has thankfully been a lot more tolerant of its classifications — though we still have much work to do on this end!” Bahl stated.

Then I asked about the common definition from within the field of forensic anthropology. She talked about the physical qualities of a group or individual. Those are important and crucial for the proper identification of someone within the field. The common definition of race is much looser and generalized. This can be taken in the wrong way in different scenarios, according to Bahl.

Bahl concluded, “Race and the Biological Construct of Species as ideas dovetails with each other, as both reflect on the assumptions that are set about a group or individual. In my opinion however, the biological construct of species is more assumed, so that there’s an expected outcome without any variance, whereas in race, variations could still be made.”

More to come in the future.

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2022-04-23

Article 14(2)(e)-(h) of the CEDAW for Gender Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/31

Article 14 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right:

(e) To organize self-help groups and co-operatives in order to obtain equal access to economic opportunities through employment or self employment;

(f) To participate in all community activities;

(g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes;

(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The equality of the sexes comes in the form of an elimination of the discrimination against women in a number of domains here. The central focus is the rural women around the world. Rural women represent a more difficult demographic to track because much of the media focuses on and many of the resources for gender equality focus on urbanites.

The urbanites already come with a variety of benefits. One is the ability to garner some credentials and education in far greater numbers. The institutions of higher learning are closer to them. They have a greater affordability as they tend to come from higher income families and so on.

Article 14(2) speaks to the equality of women with men and the ability to benefit from any and all areas of rural development. Those areas of development include economic opportunities, community activities, the ability to have access in a variety of areas, and the right to decent living conditions with some concrete examples listed.

In Article 14(2)(e), we can see the stipulations about the appropriate measures for the elimination of discrimination against women in the ability or organize self-help groups. Those groups and cooperatives in which women formulate the means by which to improve their own and their community’s livelihood.

These collectives give a self-organized foundation for women to be able to garner equal access to the same economic opportunities as the men in their lives, which includes both employment and in self-employment, whether on the job of a corporation or working to build a company of your own in the basement.

Article 14(2)(f) speaks to the ability for women to participate in the communal activities within their area. Community forms the lifeblood of our social species. Any lack there can be a negative outcome for the women of the area. Because the access to the community means the access to the provisions and opportunities of the communities. It is another important right.

Article 14(2)(g) stipulates the need for women to have equal access to the various forms of credit and loans in the agricultural sector because, especially in poor communities and areas of the world, agriculture and farming remains an important part of the provision of sustenance for oneself and one’s family.

In the rural areas of the world, if a woman has access to the facilities for marketing, and if the woman has the right to the same provisions of the land and the technology of the agricultural sector as the men, then the women can further participate in the economic livelihood of the nation and the community.

Article 14(2)(h) is the last here. It states the right to adequate living conditions; nothing too luxurious, but something able to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the woman. If this can be given in regards to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications, then this stipulation has been met by the host country for the woman.

If the nation fails to provide this in some way, then this amounts to a failure on the part of the state or the nation to meet this requirement of the CEDAW or the Convention with regards to women’s equality. It becomes vitally important for the health and well-being of the woman to be able to have these equal provisions.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

A Big Tip for Men’s Psychological Well-Being

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/30

In some reportage in Psychology Today, there were three points focused on, but the one that stood out the most to me was resilience.

Sometimes, it is called grit.Others call this mental strength and so on. It is a state of being able to take on the challenges life throws at you no matter what because of the ability to withstand the external stressors of life. It is a way in which an individual can bring forth the internal resources needed to stay strong and flexible in those important times of life when it is most needed for them – and others for that matter.

As stated, “In psychiatry, the phrase is used similarly, referring to the ability of an individual to handle stress and adversity. It is sometimes referred to as ‘bouncing back’ and can be particularly important after people have experienced difficult circumstances such as losing a job, divorce or bereavement.”

There are traits such as general intelligence which, according to the experts who spend their lives studying this, is flexible in youth and thereafter does not change that much. However, with the trait of resilience, or mental strength or grit, it is, in fact, a trait that can be strengthened and changed over time.

One of the big connectors for the increase in resilience or its training was the acquiring of one or another skill. It is important to develop a sense of mastery in one arena or another in order to face the challenges of life, as these skills developed and mastered over time can be part of an individual man’s arsenal to deal with problems in life – as they arise.

Goals became another important part of this. With the development of a set plan, the ability to execute builds within a framework that can drive an individual male effort, furthering bolstering whatever resilience has been built at that time.

Then there is the slow, controlled exposure into situations.

Rather than risking it all at once; try a little bit at a time, you can slowly work your way into the world of whatever you’re aiming for in life. Over time, this can be part and parcel of a resilience toolkit.The expert concluded, “An amassed body of research suggests that resilience can be developed and cultivated over the life course through simple (though challenging) self-initiated activities. This often involves discipline, will-power and hard-work, but the results will be bountiful: greater autonomy, mastery and confidence.”

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979): Article 14(2)(a)-(d)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/30

(a) To participate in the elaboration and implementation of development planning at all levels;

(b) To have access to adequate health care facilities, including information, counselling and services in family planning;

(c) To benefit directly from social security programmes;

(d) To obtain all types of training and education, formal and non-formal, including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order to increase their technical proficiency;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The protests for women’s rights around the world point to the need for the more gender equality, not less. Women protest in spite of the beatings, the sexual misconduct, the rapes, the unequal pay, and so on, around the world. Some of their discriminations come with the purported divine mandate. The real questions arise in the context of two questions, “Why are women protesting?” Answer: discrimination. Then, “Where are the men?”

Answer: inactive. Many men are present but emotionally inactive. They do not see this impacting their lives inasmuch as it is affecting the lives of their sisters, wives, and mothers, and women strangers around them. It is imperative for women to be able to find their way with the support of at least a few men to become equals with them.

Boys need the lessons. Girls need the support. Men and women need to work on common problems while acknowledgment is given to the historic injustices, and present ones, meted out to women and girls. In the areas of the urban elites and the urban city centers, the metropolises, the resources are available for recourse against some forms of discrimination.

For others, there is a general sense in which the supports do not exist, exist minimally, or if they exist pervasively amount to ornaments in the fight for women’s equality with men in the world. These are the lives of the rural women of the world because these women depend on the local community, and so become bound to the local community.

Article 14(2) speaks, again, to the rights of the rural women of the world and the need to give them equal consideration with the men, so that they can achieve some modicum of equality in a variety of domains. The idea is the equal participation, access, and benefit from the rural developments.

Article 14(2)(a) stipulates the need for, and right for, women to participate in the not only the dialoguing but also the implementation processes or operations necessary for the development planning of the rural community at all levels important to the development of the rural community. This is important because, for example, the infrastructure of the nation may imply the need for women to be included in it.

The ability for the rural women of a country to have equal access to the levers of powers means that they can create an infrastructure more peculiarly attending to not only the men’s concerns but also the women’s issues as well; this can often be seen in the concerns around reproductive health rights and implementations of said rights for the women of the nation.

Article 14(2)(b) speaks to the right to access. A reasonable accessibility to the healthcare facilities including the requisite information in them related to the healthcare provision, counseling services, and family planning. The last one is particularly important as many, many women lack the appropriate provisions for being able to know how to plan for a family within the context of a modern world.

Now, the people most subject to the domestic violence of a physical form in need of any counseling services will be women, where the abuse is meted out by the men against the women. It not only damages the body, but also the internal landscape of how one sees one’s own self-worth and self-esteem and as deserving the right to bodily integrity through not have their bodies beaten, bruised, and bashed around by the men in their lives.

It is not pervasive but it happens in too many contexts and in too many nations and households. The purpose of the CEDAW or the Convention is to provide the basis for the reduction and eventual elimination of discrimination against women. That is, the right to counseling is important for the protection of the long-term psychological well-being of the women in the world who have undergone the short-term battering by a significant other or partners.

Articles 14(2)(c) speaks to the need for social security programmes. As has been cover in a variety of other context around the world we find the need to provide for the needs of women because, in many but not all cases, the women will be subject to being the sole caregiver and family caretaker, which means the social programs that provide some security for the women also protect the children and the family.

It becomes especially true in the conditions set about for the women who make the vast majority or comprise most of the single parent households in the world. This creates some problems not only for the single parents but also for the children because these have long-term impacts on their mental and physical well-being, as these kids get less stability, fewer nutritious meals, and worse educational opportunities due to the educational differential. They get thrown aside as human excreta. It becomes a throwaway of superfluous people who do not matter to the bottom line.

However, the fundamental idea that you care about another human being becomes important in this context because it means that you can provide some modicum of services to the less among us, which should a moral absolute and imperative in Christian majority countries as the imperative by Christ is to help the least among us regardless of their religious adherence, sex, or age.

It amounts to an ancient reaffirmation of the modern moral documents including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It means caring for one another at the minimalist level in order to set some government-based social services for the women to be able to live moderately decent lives. It amounts to a fundamental human right in the Convention stipulated here.

Article 14(2)(d) states that the forms of training and education available to the men of the world should also be available to the women o the world. It becomes an issue of the utmost important in the age of the machines, of the computers. It becomes an era of the need for learning on the spot, of higher education and training.

Without these capacities inculcated in a young age, or without the access given to the women that are far more often given to the men, the women of the globe will be left to wither on the vine, as it were, as they are unable to garner the higher paying jobs and careers. Hanna Rosin makes an important note. Women have been the underdogs, which makes the development of a hustling attitude more of a woman thing than a man or boy thing.

Becuase they feel the need and the importance of getting ahead in their chosen area of expertise and work. The functional literacy is important no matter where one is in the modern world and this is stipulated, in an enlightened foresight, in the CEDAW. The ability to garner the technical skills to a proficient and even a mastery level is nothing more than part and parcel of this equality.

That particular sub-section simply states that the women should have equal access, regardless of status, to the educational domains, expertise, and skills available, typically and more traditionally, to their male counterparts. We are only seeing a recent – historially speaking – overturning of a millennias-old order of only men getting educated and women essentially living lives of servitude and subordination to the whims of the man, the family, the community, and the society. We are only seeing a recent flourishing of women.

Perhaps, the men, without as many barriers and different – and less severe – ones can, can take a tip and learn from the women succeeding in droves in education, now.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

CEDAW: Article 14(1)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/29

Article 14 1. States Parties shall take into account the particular problems faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women play in the economic survival of their families, including their work in the non-monetized sectors of the economy, and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the application of the provisions of the present Convention to women in rural areas.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The fourteenth article of the CEDAW or the Convention, or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), provides a basis from which to look at the need for equality of women, especially those in the less economically advantaged areas of the world, i.e., the rural portions of countries.

Indeed, the urban centers tend to be the places of the high technology and culture with the better paying jobs and access points to the higher incomes and prestige positions within a society. This puts burdens by implication on the women in the rural areas because of the increasingly star differential between farmers and industrial centers, cities.

As noted, the emphasis remains the governments of the world with this particular article. The particular problems stated are the numerous unique situations faced by women in rural contexts not faced by women in the urban centres. Also, there is a recognition of the vital role many rural women play in the economic life of a family in those rural areas.

Also, their work in the home with childcare and housecare have simply been taken for granted for centuries upon centuries. It amounts to a significant and distinct form of discrimination against women, where, for a very, very long time, women have and continue to live in many nations around the world essentially slave lives in servitude to the men, the family, and the community – often bound together through a religious faith.

It becomes an incredibly hard situation in an urban setting where the context for the women can become so dire. However, if they can have some knowledge about their fundamental human rights as women, they can begin to extricate themselves from these essentially subordinate positions almost always set about for them, for the rest of their lives.

It is important that the stipulation notes both the essential role that women play in the economic survivability of the family via the women but also the import of the non-monetary activities of the mothers in these situations. Because, as has been the case for a long time, the women of the world have been kept back and burdened in innumerable ways.

One of the main ones is to force them on divine mandate into servile roles where they cannot get paid for the contributions to both the family and the community in the raising of the children and the upkeep of the home. As has been stated in prior stipulations within the Convention, the appropriate measures shall be taken by the governments bound to the CEDAW to provide for the needs of the women in terms of their rights.

One of these areas is the application for provisions of the unique needs of rural women around the world.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 13 of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/29

Article 13 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular:

(a) The right to family benefits;

(b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit;

(c) The right to participate in recreational activities, sports and all aspects of cultural life.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The international targeted objective of gender equality comes from many directions and foci. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the CEDAW, or simply the Convention, amounts to a large-scale document devoted to the statements relevant to different domains of focus for the equality of the sexes, for gender equality.

It states the lofty but realizable in the future intentions of an elimination of the discrimination against women or the reaching of parity of women with men. Article 13 speaks to the economic and social rights to the equality of women. In particular, the areas of family benefits, bank loans, mortgages, financial credit generally, and the participation in recreational activities including sports and other parts of cultural life.

Family benefits are simply some basic provisions for the parents for the benefit of the family unit as a whole. These can include monthly payments or allowances based on having a child or children. It can be free childcare and primary education. It can also be the provisions of paid parental leave. The last one, in particular, seems interesting with the inclusion of maternal and paternal paid leave.

Because the situations for many in the light of the globalized and high-technology economy is simply one that leaves them out, where they see declining or stalled wages for decades with the outsourcing of jobs – so with the benefits, rights, good pay, and access to the middle class for them and their families.

Article 13(b) speaks to the right for bank loans. As with the situation in the United States of America and the denial of African-Americans to acquire and maintain bank loans, women, as blacks in America now, deserve the same rights to acquiring bank loans no matter the country. Women around the world do not even have the basics ofThearenas of sports n their autonomy with finances.

Not only in the ability to acquire decent wages or jobs with benefits, the ability to start the smallest business through the acquisition of a loan from a financial institution. It becomes a major barrier for them on the path to greater and more pervasive gender equality. These bank loans are not the only formulation of this right, as this extends also to mortgages and all forms of financial credit for women. The direct point is economic empowerment for women through equal access with men to the financial institutions.

Article 13(c) stipulates the fundamental right to participate in recreational activities, sports, and all other relevant aspects of cultural life. Some of you may have noticed ballyhoo and riots over women attempting to enter in different domains of equality including the chess world. It can be that minute.

As men enter into the arenas of sport throughout much of the history of world unencumbered with the thought of women having the equal opportunity or ability, or acceptance, to form their own sports leagues and teams, the fundamental right stated here provides another basis from which to consider the essential need for equality here.

It amounts to an equal provision and equal access as a right. The cultural life as the broadest statement amounts to equality throughout the entire country. If women lack the ability to participate in the society on an equal basis, this seems to violate the fundamental need for equality of the sexes and the ratifications of this documents.

The basic prevention of equality of the sexes comes from the variety of domains; however, the essential nature of rights is that the access and opportunity, and provisions, are there for women to be equal with men. It has been as far back as Aristotle that we can find statements in stark contradistinction to an equality message.

It becomes a mixed story, as he invented some categories of race to distinguish people and, therefore, lay the foundation for racism and then had statements about women that can be identified as sexist; but then, also, we can see the invention of logic. It is a mixed story. Different cultures come with different dynamics in their orientation, to one degree or another, for equality.

However, the inclusion of women in terms of access is an integral portion of the gender equality targeted objectives found in internationally agreed-upon goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals or the SDGs. The inclusion in the economic and social life of a nation-state is no different in this regard, in this need for equality for the greater well-being of women – and men for that matter.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979): Article 12

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/28

Article 12

1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I of this article, States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Gender Equality is an affirmed main goal of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. These amount to the goals that are argued for and worked towards by the international community based on the desire for greater equality and sustainability of the world’s systems. A lofty feat by a proliferating species.

We deplete the natural resources and pillage the ecosystem and overpopulate based on current sustainability of modern technology. This can increase into the future with technological trends and improvements in, for example, agricultural technologies. However, there is a considerable aim to work with the inclusion of half of the species: women.

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women or the CEDAW from 1979 is one such document to set about stipulating the needed changes and affirming the rights of women for the greater equality of the sexes. The desire is for the inclusion of more people into the world’s systems.

It is in this that Article 12(1) deals with not only the reduction but the elimination of the discrimination against women in the area of healthcare. For the equality of men and women – it states – the need for access to health care services, this is vitally important as the needs may differ for men and women in the areas of health care services in some particulars but the general idea is the essential need for the equal provision of the sexes in regards to their health and well-being through formal medical services.

This also includes a small rejoinder on the need for those healthcare services related to family planning. It is important as a stipulation because some of the basic ideas of those who want to repress women and some men, especially poor men and males of color, is to attack their ability to get a proper education for themselves or their children about planning a family life into the future from the present.

Any lack of provision in this regard would violate the stipulation of Article 12(1) of the Convention. Also, we can see with Article 12(2) the need for the governments or the “States Parties” to be able to provide for the women in regards to appropriate services for their needs. These include things like pregnancy, confinement, and the post-natal period.

There may be circumstances, and for certain legitimate ones, in which there should be the free provision of healthcare services for those in need of it. Another area is the proper nutrition during pregnancy and lactation or the period of breastfeeding. A child not provided with the adequate nutrition through gestation and during the breastfeeding phase will suffer from the consequences of the malnutrition for much of the rest of their lives.

It is morally imperative that the women who are pregnant or who have infants in need of breastfeeding are given the adequate food and nutrition resources in order to provide for their child in a sufficient manner because of the importance of the earliest years of life for proper and fully development into maturity.

Indeed, the basic provision here is not only a matter of healthcare and women’s rights but also to the right of decent health and well-being for the child in the best interests of child, which is proper nutrition in the most vital time of life. That time during gestation and after birth. It is a harrowing experience of a life for those who have not been provided for in a sufficient manner through adequate nutrition via their mother who have been nutritionally impoverished.

It will affect them for the rest of their life and to not provide for the mothers – and so the wanted fetus and infant in this case – is simply not short of criminal. Article 12 speaks to the need for women to be equal with men around the wold in terms of healthcare, which then has ripple affects to other vulnerable sectors of the society including infants.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 11(3) of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/28

Article 11 3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Equality of the sexes in general and gender equality more particularly cover, for the most part, the same set of desires for a fairer, more just, and equitable world. This comes from the perspective of the international community. There is a desire for a more equal world. In order to do so, most or many nations on the accepted international platforms need to orient themselves on the same playing field and then deliberate on what works and what does not.

One of the outcomes of this deliberation was the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In particular, Article 11(3) talks about the need for the continual update of the information of the interpretation of the stipulations in the CEDAW based on the advancements in science and technology.

If one looks at the general framework of the information provided year-after-year in the scientific literature or in the news about the technological developments, we can see the general trend of greater technological advancements, more precise and fantastic scientific discoveries, and further confusion and influx of change in the cultures of each society tacking on these technologies to their ways of operation.

The purpose of Article 11(3) in the CEDAW is to provide some modicum of protection against the potential for stagnation of the various statements of gender equality in the Convention. In the coming years, I could see some occurring within the reproductive health rights arenas with the changes in the technology over the last few years.

In order for there to be any changes in the framework of the Convention, there would need to be two things happening before a change to the CEDAW. One would be a sufficient change to the technology and science of the country. Those changes would provide the bases from which to consider some of the stipulations outmoded. But there are the general stipulations such as Article 11(3) and then the interpretation with the evidence in the changes of the science and technology of the country.

With the alterations in the technological landscape available to us, and with the proportionate changes in relation to the former changes of the stipulations of the articles in the CEDAW, Article 11(3) could be invoked in order to make some piecemeal reforms and changes in accordance to the new evidence available about the needs of women, and the changes required to state modernized forms of gender equality.

Those technological changes in reproductive related technologies could change the considerations of reproductive health rights as noted in the CEDAW. I could see this happening in the future without a problem.

Furthermore, there are some considerations about the operations of the types of changes. Those, as stated, are revise, repeal, and extend. There could be some minor or even major revisions to the issues for women in terms of reproductive health technologies. There could also be some repeals with the need to completely strip some outmoded stipulations about women’s equality because those statements are either obsolete or simply in a modern interpretation – of the time – incorrect scientifically or erroneous in their framing with regards to the modern technologies.

This particular single-statement section of the Convention is important because it provides some foundation for the adaptation and evolution in the Convention in proportion to the changes in the scientific and technological environment. With these changes, we can then work towards a more equitable and just future in order to reach some level of parity in the world.

In addition, there are some changes that may take some time, as – even though there are only two steps – there are steps; there will be an increasing need for rapid change because of the curve in the scientific and technological change trendlines in moving upward or ramping up. The world continues to change more and more in the world of science because more people are doing science.

Those people doing science are able to take on more and do more with smaller teams given the power of the tools available to them. Also, we have the more rapid changes in the tools that come from the implementations from the discoveries of science. The questions then rise about the ways in which we can best adapt to this world for continued gender equality and motion towards greater equality of the sexes.

With the movements providing the impetus for nations to get to the international stage, and then for these global arenas giving the basis to continue to produce documents stipulating various domains in need of greater gender equality, the stipulations within the conventions and other international rights documents stating the need to adapt to the times provide another basis for adapptability to change to the needs of the time.

Our world of the future will not look in all ways like our own given the rapidity of the changes in the technological landscape. The changes will necessitate changes to the documents, including the Convention. Hppaily, our forebearers had the foresight and forethought to be prudent and conscientious on this front.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/27

BBC Good Food reports that apples are always a good choice for healthy eating.

They note that the fruits are easily accessible to anyone in a developed country. They can vary in type from the yellows and greens all the way to the deeper red hues. Their texture and taste can vary as well. This makes for a decent selection for the modern consumer, who is a different and more particular beast than the consumer of old – say 1900s.

Apples have a large number of antioxidants that can protect us from UV rays and pollution, inflammation, smoke from cigarettes, and contain a good amount of vitamin A and C as well as dietary fiber. That can help with having a healthy digestive tract. In addition, it has vitamin K and biotin in order to clot blood and break down fat, in the former and latter case respectively.

It also has iodine to help with having a healthy thyroid. They can even help reduce the level of cholesterol, potentially, so this is a good reason to keep on eating the green goodies. They crunch while you munch and lower your cholesterol all in one go.

They said, “A study by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics also showed how consuming around 75g of dried apple (approximately two apples) helped to reduce cholesterol in postmenopausal women.”

They are also low in the overall glycemic index with the fiber content and help with insulin sensitivity as well. They help with the regulation of the gut microbiome in order to prevent both inflammatory disorders and for the prevention of obesity.

“Where possible, it may be a good idea to buy organic apples as research has shown they may be higher in antioxidants compared to non-organic varieties. Keeping them in the fridge will keep them fresher for longer, but they naturally have a long shelf life, lasting for several weeks on average, so if you don’t keep them in the fridge, store them away somewhere dark and cool,” the reportage stated.

It is important to have a planned or at least a balanced at a minimum diet in order to live a healthier life. The kinds of benefits that can come from some addition of apples into your diet should not be ignored and are important for the maintenance of overall health. The old proverb is true after all.

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2022-04-23

Male Mental Health in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/27

Dr. Rob Whitley in Psychology Today commented on the mental health of men.He spoke to the ways in which there may, indeed, a rather silent and unspoken to mental health crisis for men. He notes that there is a higher prevalence of a wide variety of men health issues in men.

Some have common markers including suicide and substance abuse. He stated that about 75% of the suicide victims in the US are male. Would the numbers be reflected in Canada as well?

He posited, “Men living in small towns and rural areas have particularly high rates of suicide. Indeed, flyover states such as Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico and Utah have the highest rates of suicide in the country. Alaska also has very high rates. This has been attributed to various factors. One factor is the massive decline in traditional male industries such as manufacturing, forestry and fisheries, leaving large swathes of men in certain regions unemployed or under-employed.”

He considers the current faltering economy for men who want to and are expected to fulfill the breadwinner role in a difficult circumstance without jobs and good paying ones. It becomes a hit to their very sense of intention and meaning in life. He also looks at the high rates of problems for the veterans, Indigenous people, and gay men. The problems are then rejected by the wider society and men then alienate and isolate.

“Substance use is a predominantly male problem, occurring at a rate of 3 to 1 in comparison to females. Substance abuse is sometimes referred to as ‘slow-motion suicide,’ given that it can often end in a premature death for the person concerned,” Whitley explained, “Research indicates that many men engage in substance abuse in response to stressful life transitions including unemployment and divorce. Indeed, almost 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Many men report negative experience in family courts, with data suggesting that only about 1 in 6 men have custody of their children, often with minimal visitation rights.”

Those lacks in the lives of some adult men can lead to varying forms of hurt, emotional pain and psychological destabilization in the lives of the men. He speaks within the context of men in America. However, this seems easily extrapolated to the Canadian context, so as a North America commentary rather than simply an American one.

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2022-04-23

The Best Ways to Stay Fit

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/26

In order to keep up men’s health, one of the first orders of business for the men is to focus on the health and wellbeing department of exercise for better wellbeing.

One of the biggest gains from a good exercise regimen is a loss of weight and a managed weight too. It helps burn the calories and keep off the pounds. It also maintains a certain figure that many people want. So, it is something desirable to a large number of people. The best tip about exercise is that it does not have to be some big thing.

It can simply be something for the short-term in with the basic principle that if something is a movement then it is burning calories. It can also help deal with some of the various health conditions faced by the more sedentary. The rises in cholesterol or the highs of blood sugar can take their toll over time on one’s own health.

This can create problems in terms of various cardiovascular diseases. Another tip for exercise is to make sure it is balanced. There are not only benefits to the exercise regimens but also to the ways in which you do it. There are three basic categories with aerobic like running, stretching which is good for after a workout, and weightlifting which is good for keeping a certain physique later into life.

It is important to keep a regular schedule for exercise because it is something that can be lost over time, unfortunately. But it can be maintained which is much easier than the other options.

With a schedule, a balanced amount of exercise, and a routine over the long-term, those basic tips for exercise can be applied to any man’sn life and will, in fact, pay off over the longer term!

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2022-04-23

The Top Threats to Men’s Health

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/26

The top threats to men’s health are rather simple and easy to implement in their own daily lives. If you are a man, and if you want a healthier and longer life, these can be some quick life tips in terms of diet, exercise, and lifestyle.

The first big one is don’t smoke. Whether it is smoke from air pollution or from the second-hand smoke of the friend who is a cigarette smoker, or if you are a smoker yourself, the sooner that you stop smoking then the sooner that you can improve your long-term life prospects.

Then the next one is a healthy, balanced diet such as the Mediterranean diet. It is imperative for someone who wants to live a good life because this has grains, good fats, and lots of colorful greens and lean meats.

The next one is the management of weight with the best way of aerobic exercise like running or biking. It is important to maintain a heathy weight in order to prevent the possibility of heart disease, cancer, and a host of other health problems that come from the poor health habits of people.

This ties into the next Mayo Clinic recommendation of moving. It is cool to eat well and not smoke and do some exercise, but it all connects to a general rule of health that if you move then you will continue to move in the long-term.

Men! Limit your alcohol intake because this is a drug at the end of the day and, for the most part, is something that is damaging rather than improving to your health. If you are a connoisseur or are at various celebratory events, then only drink or do so in moderation.

The last tip is to keep your stress down as this is a modern problem, but the reaction is evolved from hunter-gatherer times when stress could save your life; but now, it is something that simply is fight-or-flight all the time and wears down the body.

With some of these in mind, and if you can keep them up, you can look forward to a statistically higher chance of a healthier life over the long term!

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2022-04-23

CEDAW Article 11(2)(c)-(d) for Women’s Rights

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/25

Article 11 2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:

(c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care facilities;

(d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)Gender equality from numerous documents and movements, and constitutions, and international goals, amount to one of the most important targeted objectives in universal ethical terms around the world. Some may have questions about the forms and principles, and ethical precepts, that this might take into the future.Also, the examples in history to bolster a case for the need for change, for a better shared future. In Article 11(2)(c) of the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), the stipulations for gender equality or equality of the sexes speak to the need for an encouragement of supports through social services.Those social services that are possible for the better support of parents to be able to combine both their work and family responsibilities, duties, and obligations. Those then get tied into the participation in the public life of a country. It is hard for many parents to fulfill that role alone. Even further, it is difficult for parents to be able to perform on the job in professional life at the same time.

Those extra supports can help ease the burden for many parents who feel as if they need to perform on a consistent basis while the times at home can be more inconsistent and even lead to different forms of stress to impact mental and even physical health. Any social services and supports to help them be able to fulfill their familial obligations would be a welcome assistance – no doubt.

It is in this context that the first portion of this stipulations provides the basis for specific and general measures to be implemented for the greater well-being of both parents and families and so for the increased performance and out of the home of the entire society with two people working and also raising the next generation well.

Also, the stipulations do not stop there. They continue to speak to the promoting of the establishment for the creation of a child-care network or something able to manage the needs of families and children through a professional network. It can come in a variety of forms, but it should include a series of facilities in order to create a solid foundation for these informal and formal networks to take place.

Furthermore, there is Article 11(2)(d) stating the need for special protection of women during pregnancy in different types of work. Women who are growing an organ of their body inside of themselves will have a difficult time as the physical demands become ever-greater near the end of the second and in the third trimester of the pregnancy.

Work will need to accommodate the needs of these women in order to create a workplace viable and friendly to the women there. However, if in the past, these were not even considerations; indeed, many places around the world to do not even consider these as serious issues.

But if you look at the case for women who have dreams and want to pursue them, then you can see the different challenges involved in wanting to pursue a professional life as well as wanting to have a family.

The demands of a pregnancy are numerous and the physical demands of life become amplified with a pregnancy because of the additional physical demands on the woman’s body. That is, the needs of a woman come into play who is pregnant. This is much more different for the women who are not pregnant and working.

They have fewer complications in the physical demands of their lives with the lack of a fetus inside of them. Of course, it is only after a certain point that the physical demands become much more difficult than normal for a will-be mother as time progresses.

The questions that may arise in her mind could be as simple as carrying things up steps and who to ask for help, to simply asking the employer for a blanket break from any physical activity except the standard work that would typically require little to no physical demands at all.

These are important to bear in mind for the women within the Canadian workforce and others who have ratified the CEDAW. The basis for equality is in the documents from the international community who have stipulated the fundamental basis of the Golden Rule or Utilitarianism (Mill-ian) with an expansion into the other half of the human species.

Women should have equal consideration and rights in the world of work. Without those considerations, the world of work can see less equal, less diverse, and not as equitable for the women in contrast with the men only or mostly based on their sex.

The sexes, or the genders if you prefer, can work together with only a modicum of change to the workplace. To suggest or recommend otherwise would seem childish on one end, the other end would be the segregation of talent, so not only an immature choice but also an economically foolish choice.

Lastly, the purpose of an equality movement and gender equality stipulations and goals is to set a more positive future for the next generations grounded, once more, in the Golden Rule ethic stated before, which then makes the movement towards more gender equality also a moral choice.

Whether asking for more maturity in the workplace, economically intelligent decisions in terms of organizational structures and accommodations, or ethical choices in terms of the equality of the members of a society to live their fullest lives, the ability for women, when pregnant, to be able to work fully or have reasonable accommodations is the minimal standard to implement for the desired future of greater equality.

One not shared by all, but one set about in international documents for the entire international community, in part or whole depending on the document. It becomes a collective effort. Why not begin to lead the way more, Canada?–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 11(2)(a)-(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/25

(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status;

(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)Those extend into the realm of dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy. That is to say, women in the world deserve to not be dismissed based on pregnancy or have sanctions imposed on them for being pregnant.Now, this particular set of statements in the CEDAW or the emphasis for gender equality comes from the need to prevent discrimination against women based on their maternal or marital status. Are they pregnant? Are they a current mother?

In a civilized society, these should not become the most important questions for a woman’s individual and free – and hopefully informed – choices for her professional life. The purpose is to have the governments bound to the CEDAW work for the continued inclusion of women in the society.

In the case of work, this then implies the need to reduce the barriers that may prevent women from becoming full participants in the society. The first statements in Article 11(2)(a) relate to the prohibition of the imposition of various sanctions on women.

If a woman is pregnant, and an employer is unaware of this fact, and if the woman then walks into work one day and informs her employer of being pregnant, then the employer must accommodate the employee and not dismiss her.

It is an integral aspect of equality of the sexes for the women to be able to come into their own and to have a new life without the fear of loss of career or job. Then, as has happened throughout much of the history of Canadian society, the marital status cannot be a grounds for the dismissal of the woman on the job.

Many women throughout the history of the world have been kept from positions because of the need for them to be married. They should have children. They should be married. In fact, they shall be in the home, taking care of the hearth and children – saith Yahweh.

It is not a new phenomenon for people to want to restrict women in a myriad number of ways. These rights documents are the new statements that this is not only not okay but also that this does not have to be this way. Women can be as free as the men in their lives.

The means by which people can keep women away from the world of work or try to coerce them back into the workplace is simply a set of doctrines and dogmas to keep women not as full human beings, in the past and right into the present.

The idea of women being discriminated against on the job for being single and in pursuit of her career is something the reason for these sections of documents such as the CEDAW. Also, aside from this particular subsection of Article 11 of the CEDAW, Article 11(2)(b) speaks to the right for some form of remuneration given the biological and reproductive fact of life for females.

Females give birth and males do not. This presents certain dilemmas in modern civilizations with advanced technological capacities and the need for human operators, who will get pregnant and will need time off – maternity leave.

This can harm their professional progress and keep them restricted in where they can go, who they can become, what they can do, how much they can make, and the promotions available to them.

Not very fun having to restart a professional career right in the middle of life; however, or nonetheless, this is a fact of life for man women who have a drive and motivation to move and work their way to the top of the professional world.

It becomes an instantiation of women’s rights to consider women as equals deserving of equal treatment, but given the differential facts of life for men and women, in need of some rather small special provisions to expedite the better equality of the sexes.

In light of maternity, for the women who so desire to have children, some of the allowances include maternity leave, which is where a woman who is pregnant or has recently given birth is given some time off.

Time off that is paid. Without such provisions, it becomes exceedingly difficult for the women of the world to be able to compete on an even playing field with the men in the workplace.

Plus, the provisions do not seem too onerous as an ask, where a woman can acquire the equal treatment with the men in their lives in the world of work. There can also be “comparable social benefits” for the women based on the lost work time. Also, there should not be any loss of the employment, the seniority, or the social allowances given to the women if she takes the maternity leave.

For some, they may have had experiences where they were reluctant to take the maternity leave or did take it. They had the reluctance because of not knowing if they would lose their job or their position within the company because of the treatment on the basis of their leaving for a pregnancy. The same can be said for the social allowances good jobs with seniority can provide for a woman.

These are real issues for Canadian women and others around the world. It is important, ethically and economically, to keep the qualified people on the job and not penalize them for their decisions to bear and bring new life into the world.

–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

CEDAW: Article 11(1)(e)(f)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/24

Article 11 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular:(e) The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement, unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work, as well as the right to paid leave;(f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)The equality of the sexes comes in a number of packages and representations. Some of those show in the ways in which individuals can further their own economic well-being if they are women or help with the advancement of their families as a whole if they are men.

In the case of Article 11(1)(e) of the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the basic rights stipulated point to the right for social security. A form of the economic net to help those vulnerable in times of harm or advanced age in life.

For example, if one looks at the cases of retirement, people will need some extra income, hopefully, saved up, for the new stages of life; those times of later life that come with further injury proneness, lessened capacity in strength and endurance in physical, mental, and emotional life.

The other case listed is unemployment. If an individual cannot maintain a job, and if that person becomes unemployed for significant amounts of time, it is important to bear in mind their fundamental need as a human being for work.

Without work, many people tend to go off the rails and fall in not only lacking a job but also the will to continue to search for a job. These are the people of the world in need of a leg up in terms of unemployment insurance.

Then there are those who are sick and need to take some time off work. For those individuals who have been overworked, stressed, burdened by life, or who simply came down with an old, there is an intrinsic compassion for them and, therefore, the need to be able to have them work from a place of strength for recovery.

The ability to take some time off is an important part of that compassion for them – to be able to recoup, recover, and continue to contribute to the mainstream of the society.

Then there are the invalid. Those are the, unfortunately, set of citizens of societies who have been left without many livelihoods in their life.This could be due to injury. It could come from old age. It may emerge from a progressive deteriorative disease. The general reduction in the well-being of people comes from the various ways in which the universe wants to conspire to harm us – or have us harm ourselves.

Other things, as noted, may be old age or simply an injury from work. These are the basic categories of persons who will need, likely, some form of social security in their lives, for their health and well-being until death or for a temporary period while begin to gain their selves back.

People tend to want to work. They can be lazy, but, in general, people want to contribute in ways meaningful to them to the community and society around them.

This amounts to a theory of the intrinsic motivation of people but, on the other hand, or on top of that, there are the motivations that come from the family and the society. It is akin to the difference between the average man and the average woman in terms of their want of a child and a family.

For the men, they often recount social and family pressure as their reason; for women, they tend to refer to innate reasons.

It is in this context that we see the development of a social set of mores for the better well-being and construction of civilizations. But also, in the area of work, I note an intrinsic need for people to devote themselves to some work and then also having the additional motivations, but those externally placed on people and manifested in a myriad of ways for them.

One of the rights stipulated is the right to paid leave. Whether a father or a mother, or a person who racked up enough time, they deserve the right to paid leave from work on the job. They deserve and reserve the identical right as anyone else in a civilized society to have some time off work, which, in historical perspective, is not an old thing.

It is a new phenomenon, where in historic times people were simply taken advantage of in one way or another. The exciting thing about these rights is the newfound flexibility this provides for men and women to become more fully realized human beings as not only working beings, but also creative and mutually parenting beings; it gives a whole new light on the human condition and capacities.

Article 11(1)(f) speaks to a few more rights: protection of health and to safety in working conditions. In terms of the protection of health, if someone works in construction for an extended period of time, this becomes an important part of their protection of their health and well-being as a consideration.

Most construction workers, as males with a masculine identity, do not care about their health and do not want to show discomfort or pain out of fear of seeming not like a real man or simply a wimp. These a real, valid concerns from within the world of work there.

Plus, it can make the already highly stressful and toxic environment even more so and wasteful on everyone’s time if men’s feelings are continually consulted. The men hate that guy.

But the right to a safe working environment is still there for the men and the construction workers in general if they so desire it.Furthermore, this does not only have to be in the wold of construction work; it can be in the arena of the protection of health in any part of work that may induce mental health problems or other threats to health. A broad-based statement on the right to the protection of your own, and your colleagues’, health.

Connected or directly linked with this, the right to safety in working conditions. With reflection o the previous construction example, the safety of the working conditions there become especially salient because of the fundamental basis for living a decent life is not only for some of the least skilled to have work but also to work in conditions that can maintain their livelihood.

It is within this context that we can then develop the realization that equality is not only a high cause for only the most knowledgeable and privileged, but also for those who have been given the least opportunities and capacities in life in a number of domains.

Everyone deserves the right to a decent life that is both safe and healthy.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) Article 11(1)(c)-(d)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/24

Article 11 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular:(c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service and the right to receive vocational training and retraining, including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent training;(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)If we want to gather a glimpse into the future of the world of work, we should keep an eye on the documents and conventions in particular created several decades ago, which have begun to take more and more force in the rights implementations of the world. In Canada, we ratified, almost two decades ago, the CEDAW.This document relates to the equality of women with men, as men have been on the rise forever, through the world of work, the job market and the workplace. In Article 11(1)(c), it speaks to the equality of women through their capacity to make a free choice in their chosen profession. Now, this does not mean a pollyannaish world where the women can simply make their way and demand the automatic change to the market. (The same applies to men; the world does not revolve around any one person or group at all times.)It does, however, mean the ability of women to be able to make a, more or less, non-coerced choice in their career path or job. It becomes the freedom to make an economic or livelihood selection out of the possibilities before an individual woman for which she is qualified. Tied to some of the other articles, this means that if a woman makes a free choice to pursue a career path and is equally qualified to the man that, then, the woman should be able to access that profession in a similar capacity to the man.

It also speaks to the right to a promotion. If someone is in a job, they should have the performance-based – or even needs-based (of the employer) option – for a promotion in their current organization from their current employment status. The purpose of this is to ensure that the women can have the same right as the men in a society to move up the often-called “career ladder.”

However, it also implies the same risks to going down it, too. Then there are some statements about the right to job security. There should not be the capacity of an employee to simply lose their job overnight, simply destroying their economic livelihood and even their social standing. It becomes an unjust, unfair, unequal basis for the operation of a society.

The men should work in their own countries, and the women should demand, the right to equality within the context and constraints of the societies’ current culture and social life.

In summary for Article 11(1)(c), the governmental institutions and the state as a whole shall work for the implementation of the stipulation rights for reduction and eventual elimination of discrimination against women with, in this stipulation, the right for women to make free – and hopefully informed – choices about profession and employment.

Article 11(1)(d) continues to speak about the right of equal remuneration – such as pay and benefits – for the same work as the man. In Canadian society and legal traditions, and rights statements, there are stipulations about the need for equality with men for women in the area of economic remuneration, including benefits.

The basic fact is throughout the world the basis for commerce gives a foundation for independence of individuals, families, and communities. Not the corporate forms of the capitalist world but the forms of economic empowerment and trade have seen in every family and community around the world; in particular, the empowerment of women comes in the form of the representation of the women of the world in the economic decisions of the family at one level.

Then at a still higher level, there is the implementation of activist work for women to enter the workforce. In the next plane of analysis or development of an equal society, in terms of access at least, the provision of high-level education and access to the higher paying jobs – and not only jobs but also careers.

After this point, it becomes a basic consideration of the qualifications of the candidate and the quality of the work provided. With the provision of the economic empowerment of women through equal pay for equal work and opportunities for the higher paying jobs, we can see the empowerment of both men and women because men compete with an additional pool of applicants: female ones.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) Article 11(1)(a)-(b)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/23

Article 11 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular: (a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;(b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the application of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

In the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, its emphasis is the universality of the need for gender equality or equality of the sexes. The requirement of bounded nations, binding to the Convention, to maintain their active work for the elimination of discrimination against women on a number of fronts is highly important, as, in one example, the Sustainable Development Goals would not be fulfilled without the implementation of the documents such as the CEDAW.

The work of the Convention or the CEDAW and other international documents remain some of the most important documents for the equality of the sexes in the world because not only women are directly helped but also the men and the families – and so the children – are assisted through the development of equality.

The men are assisted because of the increase in the flexibility of the roles for the men and the women in the societies that make the democratic decisions to permit women into education and, therefore, into the future economy of the world. There is, in a sense, a deep -seeded need to make these transitions for gender equality in education for the transition into the new forms of society that we want to see in the world with both sexes contributing to their fullest.

Article 11(1)(a) states that the governments will take the same appropriate measures indicated before, in prior articles in the Convention. The purpose of Article 11 is to eliminate the discrimination against women in the areas of employment for the equal bases for men and women. The same rights to be documented and implemented.

Article 11(1)(a) speaks to the need for the work of every person or, more properly, for the right to work of every human being, as this is within the context of the Convention then this speaks more to the right to work for women and men. If a woman, or a man, is somehow restricted from work for illegitimate reasons, then there should be reference this stipulation within the Convention because this violates the fundamental right to work of that woman or man.

Furthermore, the language used is quite strong, as it is stated as an inalienable right to work for men and women in the world or whatever nation of the world in which the CEDAW is a binding document. The next stipulation within the CEDAW speaks to the right to the identical work opportunities of the sexes for gender quality.

The employment opportunities of the document point to the general principle inherent in the desire for the equality of the sexes. The subtlety of this particular Article subsection within the CEDAW is the emphasis on the need for the provision of the same application criteria for the matters of employment.

In terms of the need for the furtherance of gender equality, we need to see the people who get into the jobs be the most qualified for those jobs. But also, the people who apply for those jobs should go through the same selection criteria in order for there to be any frame of equality.

In order for the implementation of equality to be a real thing for the men or the women in the workplace; there should be a basic assumption of fair play in the hiring of employees and in the hiring criteria. Aso, in the presentation of a position, there should the utmost standards to ensure the equality of the sexes in the applications for a position.

What would be the condition or state of a woman and a man on the job if there was an unequal set of criteria or presentation of information? We have a long history of the informal and formal work world with the clear representation of what form this world would take. It is less of an abstraction and more of a concrete reality for many women in the world.

That world of inequality and lack of provision for one sex in contrast to another for the world of work. In fact, there are cases in Canadian history where the record is so stark that women were presented with only a few options like a nurse for their professional life. These socio-cultural practices amount to the conscious truncation of the possibilities of women in the world of work in Canadian society.

Not many women, or men in women’s positions, now, would want to take on those positions of the women in the society; the questions then arise about the ways in which we may be extending some of these practices right into the present. It is not too unfair, though may be seen as unfair by some retrospective idealists, to remark on the discrimination of women in Canadian society, especially Aboriginal or Indigenous women.

For example, the right to vote only given in 1960. How does this affect one’s feeling of inclusion into the society? How does this change the ways in which someone can even become a part of the mainstream settler-colonial society? It is a difficult situation, but it is something not insurmountable as the progressive changes have been made in the past, so they can also be made now and into the future.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women Article 10(f), 10(g), and 10(h)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/23

Article 10 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization of programmes for girls and women who have left school prematurely;(g) The same Opportunities to participate actively in sports and physical education;(h) Access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The CEDAW is a document devoted to the equality of the sexes in the form of an eventual objective of the total elimination of discrimination against women. The point is to set a goal and then go about accomplishing it, especially with the countries that have ratified the document including Canada. The tenth article is a large set of stipulations about equality in education.

For the women who are looking for equality with the men in their lives – and for the women who have not even thought about it, Article 10 is intended to support you. Article 10(f) is the next one is the listing, which covers a number of rights including the more unfortunate circumstances of when a young woman drops out of university. It can be a tragic thing, but it can be something rectified or ameliorated on a statistical level.

Especially with conventions such as the CEDAW, there is an explicit emphasis on the need for the reduction and elimination of the historic and ongoing discriminations against women merely for being women. These amount to long-term and deep history impediments to women’s gender equality with the men of the world. The questions about Article 10(f) come from the open statements for the reduction in the drop-out rates.

Those people who would not be able to do as well in the educational realm, but those in whom the desire and motivation exist for education. The barriers to women in education coming from the community and the family can be tremendous in a number of countries of states in the world. It is unneeded and a travesty to both and the health and well-being, and intellectual, fulfillment of those women but also in the full development of those countries.

The purpose of education is not for citizenship but for the development and informing of a critical mind of an individual human being for no matter where they are in life. Much of education is social control and training for conformity. However, it also has another benefit in the development or the potential for the development of an individual into a more fully fleshed out human being.

In the restrictions in education for women, there is one problem. But then there is the other problem, that being the dropouts for women due to pregnancy, religious enforcement, male preventative measures including physical coercion, and so on.

According to the CEDAW, there should also be efforts to prevent women from being forced out of the educational world due to having to leave early for a variety of reasons. Some women need to leave because of bad sex education and lack of reproductive health access. Those girls and young women can get pregnant prematurely and then be forced into a false dichotomy between the birth of a child or education.

If in conservative, traditionalist, and highly religious area of the world, this can then lead into a decision not for education but for livelihood and respectability within the community for the women. In some ways, these women become forced to drop out of education and not due to talent or conscientiousness lack. Article 10(g) speaks of the sports and physical education aspects of education.

If the individual woman or girl is unable to acquire the same access to the physical education and sports, then this violates Article 10(g) of the CEDAW. It is important to note. That even in the idiosyncratic world of sports and physical education: women deserve the same rights to access and opportunities as the men, full stop, period, and then exclamation point.

In Article 10(h), we see the creation of an integral aspect of a women’s, and an adolescent girl in some cases, health, and well-being. The areas of the future generations of a society with family planning and the well-being of families. As it states, there should be access to specific educational information to help ensure the health and well-being of families, which include the information and advice on family planning.

It becomes an important aspect of the need to develop a holistic – in a concrete, naturalistic sense – perspective on the nature of the health and well-being of an individual woman through proper, empirical, and rational education about the nature of what does and does not make for a healthy family, and what does and does not make for good advice.

In particular, and duly note, the emphasis is on both the access and the specificity of the educational information needed to fulfill the requirements of the stipulations in Article 10(h). That is, if a woman or girl is to have a proper education, then the access to a complete and comprehensive educational regime on family planning, health and well-being and families, and, by implication, women’s and girls’ health, then the societies bound to this document need to work hard to incorporate these into the educational regimens for women and girls.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Article 10 (e) of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/22

Article 10 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of continuing education, including adult and functional literacy programmes, particularly those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible time, any gap in education existing between men and women;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women directs attention to the equality of the sexes or in the terminology of the defunct Millennium Development Goals and the replacement for 2030 Sustainable Development Goals “gender equality.” It is an important document for the implementation of gender equality goals or targeted objectives throughout the world, whether the developed or the developing world.

The important of the CEDAW comes from its broad-based statements about the equality of the sexes. In particular, the need for the reduction and eventual elimination of discrimination against women in all its forms. With respect to Article 10, it is one of the longer stipulations within the CEDAWdealing with the appropriate measures to be taken by the governments bound to the document for the elimination of discrimination of women in education.

As Article 10(e) discusses the nature of the inequality, one can observe the general stipulations about the need for the same opportunities in terms of access to the continuing education programmes. That is, on the fundamental principle of equality, there may not by necessity be an equal amount of men and women in each and every discipline.

However, we should expect there will be a general equivalence in the provision for the education for women and men to enter into a field, especially in the continuing education areas for those who may need to upgrade their skills and technical abilities. It can be harder for older learners in a working environment and in a learning environment, but the continuing education programmes provide a wonderful example of the areas for equality in terms of the further vulnerable peoples in the world.

Continuing education is for an adult population who want to work their up in the world, it is a much more difficult situation for their compared their counterparts who may have been able to afford the education or the time for the education earlier in life. So for the equality of the sexes to take place in one of the most important information eras in the Computer Age, we need to develop greater equality in access to the educational programmes around the world.

These are listed as and so include the adult and functional literacy programmes, especially as they may be aimed at the reduction in the gap in education. Throughout the world, there is a definite gap in the literacy rates between the sexes or the genders. In particular, it is less pronounced in the developed world or the advanced industrial economies, but, in fact, may reflect the opposite with boys and men reading less and being less literate than their sisters.

It is a complex world with a mixed situation now. In the developing world or the non-advanced economies, we see the reverse, which reflects the long-term historical trend for the sexes with women far behind the men in terms of their educational attainment and in due part to their reduced access to the educational world. It produces a set of barriers, meant to be, for the women in the society compared to the men.

The other issue is the ways in which the women may be prevented from attaining their full potential in the world of education, especially continuing education within the context of Article 10(e), because of the family, the community, or the society, even the religion, because these can provide some socio-cultural and familial restrictions of the possibilities of women with the power more often invested in the men.

It is intriguing to note that the emphasis for the equality of the sexes in this document orient around the earliest possible time. It is emphasizing the urgent need to close the gap in the educational access and attainment across the board for the women and girls with the boys and the men of the world, especially, as an extrapolation from international data, in the less advanced nations of the world.

Because in those nations, we can find the general decrease in success of the women in the educational system compared to the men. Not due to some biological and intellectual inferiority on average but, rather, from the inculcation of a set of values that determines women and girls as automatically less than and in submission to the men in their lives, the goal is to close the continuing education gap for the betterment of everyone through the inclusion of the other half of the human species, which is a long-term process apart from any known advanced civilization time.

It will take your help, dear reader, and the hard work should pay off if we submit ourselves to the better advancement of humankind.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act: Section 5

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/22

Employers with Non-unionized Employees

Obligations

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note: Determining whether each job group is female predominant

5 Within each of the periods that is prescribed in respect of a job group, every employer that has non-unionized employees in that job group shall determine whether that job group is female predominant and, depending on the determination, comply with section 6 or 7.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

In the history of Canada, some of the groups of the society have barely had an entire century within the society as an equals. The members of these groups become subject to the discriminatory and regressive forces of human nature, which amount to evolved and ever-present capacities for evil. In the same line of reasoning, we have the forces that move perceptibly within the framework of the societal structures, including human perception, to reduce half of the species to non-entities or subordinates.

However, there are also progressive and inclusive forces working to have women included more into the mainstream of the society. These can even become mass movements such as the suffragists in addition to the enactment in the political and legal realm for rights-based documents for the equality of the sexes or the furtherance of gender equality.

Women deserve to be on an equal playing field with the men of the world. In Section 5 of The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394), there is the further codification of the rights of workers, though not in force at this time, including the non-unionized employees. It is a fairly straightforward statement in the document on the periods for each job group, where the employer who works with non-unionized employees or workers without unions “shall determine” the female predominance, or not, of the position.

This then leads into the Section 6 and Section 7 of the Act. In particular, those sections will cover, in the incoming articles in this lengthy series, the determination of female predominant job groups, the dissatisfaction of the employer’s determination, the potential employer response, the determination of the existence of female predominant job groups, and the right of the non-unionized employee.

All part and parcel for the balance between employer and employee and the importance of the equality of the sexes in the workplace in Canada.

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2022-04-23

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar on Ideas Beyond Borders

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/21

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is the founder of Ideas Beyond Borders and Bayt Al-Hikma 2.0. I sat down and talked with him about some of his recent work.

To open the discussion, Al Mutar and I discussed the project, its execution, and the importance of it. He spoke on the project entitled House of Wisdom or Bayt-al-Hikma 2.0. The basic idea is the mass translation of Enlightenment writings from English and other languages into Arabic for consumption by the Arab world.

Al Matar stated, “It is something that needs to be highlighted. The Arabic language is one of the least languages translated to. There was a report from the UN in 2002. He said that there are more books translated to Spanish in one year than into Arabic in 1,000 years. Maybe, the statistics have changed. There have been recent statistics from the MIT language Lab. It is probably now 700 to 1 [Laughing].”

He continued to talk about the slow, steady drip of progress for the region. However, the arc of progress takes a long time, and this problem represents something systemic and is a huge problem. He noted some reports that have been verified by a large number of people. There are the conspiracy and anti-Semitic hate literature, e.g. Mein Kempf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, distributed, sold, and, in fact, as bestsellers, in the Arab World. This bothers Al Mutar.are some of the bestsellers in the Arab world. That also bothers me.

“I think that the dictators and Islamists and authoritarian regimes have been trying to shelter the Arab speaking world from being exposed to the ideas of human rights, women’s rights, of scientific development, because they do not want to be challenged,” Al Mutar opined, “Now, with the existence of the internet, there is a huge opportunity to spread these ideas into the Arab speaking world. I have done research on many of the social media pages that exist in the region speaking on science and human rights.”

He estimates that combined, the number is about 40 million people. That is, there is a huge amount of interest and curiosity in these ideas from the perspective and motivations of the young people. Those young populations with new and fresh ideas. He thinks most of these young people want the freedom and opportunity to be exposed to these ideas at their leisure.

Al Mutar continued, “That itself can build some sort of view that the world is not black and white. That itself can build a counternarrative to extremism. Extremism flourishes on this idea that the world is black and white. There are good guys and bad guys. People are being exposed to all of these uncertain types of ideas. Many of them are dangerous. We are trying to provide these good ideas a platform. It is necessary on multiple levels. From a purely educational level, it is important for students to be exposed to different ideas and make up their minds.”

He noted the core importance of the provision of a counternarrative to the extremists of the world, especially with the rise of the extremist and terrorist groups. He and others are working for the legal rights of the authors at the same time. In fact, authors including Steven Pinker, Maajid Nawaz, Sam Harris, and others, will not take money from this cause. Because they care about it.

“I am sure there are other authors that want to. They may want to make some income out of this. So, we are working things out with as many authors as we can and for licensing as we can. It is places that need these books the most,” Al Mutar explained, “I heard from Majid Nawaz, former Islamist extremism and now a liberal democratic fighting Islamic extremists.”Maajid Nawaz was a part of Hizb ut-Tahrir. He wrote a book called Radical. One publishing company in the Arab world has been doing outreach to Nawaz. Al Mutar views their work as becoming a publishing company of sorts. There is a distribution throughout the online realm. There is a balance between “safety and freedom” with the first step being the acquisition of the licenses plus the translation, high-quality translation.

Al Mutar stated, “These books are not only for this generation but for the next generation. Until today, people still read Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill. We want to make these books available for the next generation and in the highest quality possible. There are multiple people that do the proofreading and the revisions. These next would be to get these books in a digital form. Most likely in a PDF. The way we are building this up is that we are making a short video. A synopsis of the book: let’s take an example of a book like Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now.”

Within the text, Al Mutar notes, there is a chapter on the salience of civilization and the requisite stages for a better world. He mentioned the possibility of the creation of a four-minute video with talking points about the book because videos remain an important means by which to reach people in the digital era – “metaphorically, not literally.” He stated that people can watch videos, become hooked, and then the article can be linked to the video. Then those with an interest could go and download the book for reading. He see stories as a transformative aspect of people’s lives.

“Books have a symbolic as well as a meaningful way to change people’s lives. For me, it was the books of Carl Sagan and the personality of him. They changed my perspective and how I see not only the world but how I see my life,” Al Mutar concluded, “So, this is happening step-by-step. Our plan is to go beyond the books and go into articles from Scientific American and scientific publications as well as human rights and liberal-secular publications and introduce these ideas to the Arab speaking world, which desperately needs them.”

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2022-04-23

Section 4(5) of The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/21

Equitable Compensation Assessment

Regulations(5) The Governor in Council may make regulations
- (a) respecting, for the purposes of subsection (1), the conducting of an equitable compensation assessment;
- (b) respecting, for the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), what constitutes the skill, effort and responsibility required in the performance of work and the conditions under which the work is performed;
- (c) respecting, for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b), what constitutes qualifications, and how an employer’s recruitment and retention needs are to be determined; and
- (d) restricting, for the purposes of subsection (3), the job groups or job classes to which an equitable compensation assessment is to have regard.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

The process of equality is a difficult one. It is long and involves a tremendous amount of collective work of citizens pressuring governments to act in the best interest of the citizens. The process needs to be by the books and activist-oriented, and needs continual vigilance on the part of those who want gender equality through equal pay for equal work.

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act is a Canadian component of this tradition with the statements relevant to the equality of the persons through equitable compensations. There are a number of considerations to be born in mind about the equitable pay including the skill, the effort, and the responsibility for the work in question – or the work deriving from a particular job.

This particular section, Section 4(5), of the Act involves the consideration of equitable pay through the Governor in Council and regulations on 4 subsections related to prior sections of the Act including Section 4(1), Section 4(2)(a), Section 4(2)(b), and Section 4(3).

Altogether, these look at the assessment for equitable compensation, and the skill, effort, and responsibility for the work tied to conditions, and the qualifications linked to employee recruitment and retention, and the job groups/classes regarding equitable compensation assessment.

In regards to Section 4(5)(a), we can see the emphasis on the need for a proper assessment of the compensation. Previous publications can be seen for an examination of this issue. In the next Section 4(5)(b), we can see the prior discussion incorporated on the need for equal skill, effort, and responsibility to part and parcel of the equality of the sexes in the workplace.

The questions arise around the conditions of the work and the performance of the work in the larger view, where the performance is split into those three criteria. For the creation of the regulations by the Governor in Council – note “may” and not “must” in the construction of the regulations, equivalency in the work’s effort, responsibility, and skill – so probably easily conferred in many respects with an identical or similarly identifiable title to the position for the work – and the conditions of the work for the equitable compensation to be properly considered.

Indeed, not only properly considered but also potentially the basis for the making of Governor in Council; the next Section 4(5)(c) discusses the nature of the qualifications and the employer recruitment of employees – taking on workers – and retainment of the employees – keeping the workers.

The emphasis is on the determination of those organizational operations for the proper credentialing of workers. If people have similarly seeming qualifications but, in fact, they are not, then this can be the basis for dismissal of claims about the need for regulations oriented towards equitable pay.

Because the equal work with equal pay bit is also about the need to have equivalent, in reality, qualifications to make sure the workers are equal in worth via those credentials. The final Section 4(5)(d) talks about the job groups and job classes for the equitable compensation.

The same grouping ned to be taken into account for the regulation of equitable compensation. If the jobs are simply not in the same ballpark, why should there be equitable pay between the workers? It would seem unfair on its face to the worker worth more on a number of factors in terms of their quality.

The basis for the equality of the workers in Canada come from a number of factors and considerations. These statements within the Act provide a solid foundation or a decently firm grounding to be able to enforce the need for further equality between the sexes in the world of work.

It is intended for a much set of applicability, as it should be, but it also provides the possibility for a targeted, proactive offensive on the part of women – by men or women – to work towards greater gender equality in Canadian society, especially when we see an increasing series of mini-movements devoted to trying to get women to move back into the home and then exit the professional spheres.

It seems unbecoming of women to them; so, the women should be back in the home taking care of the children, the home, and the hearth. These are regressive movements. There should be no doubt about it. The big question for the world of work in Canadian society is where will these regressive forces target their efforts as they work in an online underground world or do not state their opinions too publicly.

Some may begin to target the Charter of Rights and Freedoms out of fear of its progressive elements that simply argue for the equality of the sexes or gender equality in Canadian society as a fundamental human right akin to the statements in the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

We need to work, as Margaret Atwood stated, “Get cracking.”

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2022-04-23

Justin Trottier Speaks on Canadian Association For Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/20

Justin Trottier is Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Men and Families, a men’s health, and social service facility. The Centre is an open, inclusive and space serving as a hub for counseling, legal aid, fathering programs and trauma support groups. He is Founder of the Canadian Association for Equality, a registered educational charity that seeks to integrate boys and men into our efforts to advance gender equality. Justin has played a leadership role in a variety of humanist, secularist, and skeptic organizations, appearing frequently in the media advocating for church-state separation, fundamental freedoms and humanist ethics. There is a crowdsourced funding campaign for their men’s shelter campaign here. Here we talk about men and boys, and CAFE.

The interviewed started on the base mission of the Canadian Centre for Men and Families (CAFE). Trottier stated that CAFE is an educational charity around the issues of gender equality. As per their Statement of Values, they have an interest in equality of the sexes. The focus of the educational charity is the issues of men and boys.

The work involves trying to bring men into the fold of work towards greater gender equality. Trottier noted that he has worked with equality and social justice organizations before. Also, that CAFE wants to be a part of the gender equality community with some extra pieces oriented around the needs of men and boys.

“Hopefully, also, it will be looking at the issues women’s groups and LGBTQ groups have brought up. It is trying to tackle them from different sides. I will give an example of what I mean. There is a lot of emphasis on recruiting women into STEM program,” Trottier said, “The sciences and engineering professions, I think this is important. However, at the same time, you should be focusing on getting men into the traditional female fields like early childhood education, teaching, nursing, social service work, etc. Those two efforts are actually related.”

Trottier the efforts to get women into areas where they are underrepresented, which means the men will need somewhere to go. But those other areas for the men have stigmas against them entering them. He considers the encouragement of men an appropriate aspect of the work for finding more fulfilling professional vocations for men and women.

He continued, “When we focus on men’s issues, we are supporting men and women and helping society in gender. On the family court, as you mentioned in another conversation, if we want to advance women’s professional fulfillment, then encouraging men to take on more of a role as a caregiver would help with it.”

Trottier thinks this is the missing piece. Because women’s issues and men’s issues are interrelated. One cannot exist without the other. And they connect in some complex ways too. This, he considers, the unique aspect of the CAFE, of which it is bringing into the gender equality discussion in Canada.

The next line of questioning went into the upcoming and ongoing initiatives for the CAFE. Trottier talked about the operation of a center and a shelter. Those are undergoing fundraising at the moment. It is the first of its kind for abused children and fathers. I will open in Toronto, Ontario, Canada within the next year.

“We also do a public education series through guest lectures, debates, and all different kinds of events. Those that raise awareness around the issues we have been discussing. In Toronto, where our headquarters, it is where it was born,” Trottier explained.

He noted that CAFE is active in major city centers including Calgary, Montreal, and Vancouver, and, indeed, all across Canada. There are many branches being founded throughout the nation in order to advance their mission and provide proper services to different communities and cities, in addition to education. CAFE remains interested in anyone with an interest in educational and advocacy issues.

Men are a large portion of the veteran population, who have unique needs in society. The CAFE does have veterans in the trauma programs, e.g. dealing with PTSD. It is part and parcel of the trauma, counseling, and support groups of the CAFE. They have therapists who have experience in supporting veterans.

Trottier stated, “Over the next few months, they will be focusing on the issues for men in war. We will look at a wide array of issues, not exclusive to men, but men are probably more affected by them than women. Historically, if you look at it, it is mostly men. What effect did that have on men and masculinity? You want to explore the historical aspects of men and warfare.”

The CAFE has an emphasis on the warfare for men in the modern world with an educational, a public outreach, and a public service set of aspects. They will look at combat zones and the psychological effects on both men and women. I knew of some of the work being done in these areas including Dr. Marvin Westwood based in UBC.

It seemed like a good investment to me. I argued, with the healing of trauma, the men will be more productive citizens, live healthier lives, and so produce healthier families and children.

“Yes, that is a really good point. We stressed that. The benefits are not only to the individual men. They are going to be transforming their lives and the lives of everyone they touch. Obviously, it will improve their families, so women and children. But also, it will help society, work, and the institutions they interact with,” Trottier said, “Society benefits when we help anybody deal with the trauma they deal with. Many of the people who walk through my door are women. They are women who are reaching out to us on behalf of male loved ones – maybe, a male loved one, brother, son, a friend. We have seen it all.”

Trottier concluded by stating that there is this notion that a men’s center would be a no women’s allowed space. However, anyone who has come to the CAFE will note that more than half of the volunteers and counselors present are women. It makes for a diverse experience and interaction with people with volunteers and staff.

“They come away understanding how much this is a progressive, diverse organization making a difference in the lives of men and their families.”

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2022-04-23

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act Section 4(3) & 4(4)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/20

Equitable Compensation Assessment

Precision(3) Subject to the regulations, an equitable compensation assessment in respect of a job group or job class is to be conducted having regard to
- (a) with the exception of a job group or job class described in paragraph (d), in the case of a job group or job class within a portion of the federal public administration, including a department, described in paragraph (a) of the definition employer in subsection 2(1), only job groups or job classes, as the case may be, within any of those portions of the federal public administration, other than job groups or job classes described in paragraph (d);
- (b) in the case of a job group or job class within a separate agency named in Schedule V to the Financial Administration Act, only job groups or job classes, as the case may be, within the separate agency;
- (c) in the case of a job group or job class within the Canadian Forces, only job groups or job classes, as the case may be, within the Canadian Forces that consist of officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces; and
- (d) in the case of a job group or job class within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that consists of members of that organization, only job groups or job classes, as the case may be, within that organization that consist of such members.
Marginal note:Equitable compensation matter(4) An equitable compensation matter exists in respect of a job group or a job class if an equitable compensation assessment determines, after taking into account the prescribed factors referred to in subsection (1), that equitable compensation is not being provided to employees in that job group or job class.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

The way towards equal pay requires a number of prior steps including changes in the nation as well as formal documents stating the fundamental right to equality of people in work. That is, if someone is equally qualified and works equally hard at a job, then the pay should be equitable between those two people.

Sometimes, this is found not to be the case. In other instances, there are clear cases of the violations being based on the fact that one employee is a man and another is a woman, where the man acquired higher wages, not for any innate or mysterious talent but, rather, for simply being a man and the women not being one.

In cases of clear discrimination, there should be at least reference documents about the need for equality in these regards. The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394) is one such act that stipulates the forms of equality one should expect in the world of work.

To be covered today are the assessments of the grounds for equitable compensations, where this uses legalese as the language, the basic idea is precision. That is, in the case of an equivalent job group or job class, such as a person working in a particular job class of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, we can see the individuals who may work in a particular job class or group there.

In the case of an inequitable distribution of pay, as the job class or job group laid out in Financial Administration Act, this may be a precise enough and proper grounds for looking into inequitable pay and the need for losing the pay discrepancy.

The fourth subsection deals with the equitable compensation, as a matter, existing or not.

With the job group or job class precisely identified and the inequitable matter being seen as present based on the determination of the equitable compensation assessment, the equitable compensations can and should be pursued in order to rectify the inequity.

It is documents like these that provide a foundation for working and managing inequitable pay at a higher level within the country. Because it is important to protect yourself against the violations of inequitable pay, especially as those may, indeed, be based on sex as they have been in the not-too-recent past.

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2022-04-23

Article 10 (b) Through (d) of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/19

Article 10 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality;(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods;(d) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study grants;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women pertains to the equality of women with men. In particular, it deals with the appropriate measures that nations can take towards achieving that desired gender equality. Some of the many articles in the convention, the CEDAW, are large and require segmentation.

Article 10 is one such section of the CEDAW. Insofar as this is being split into more manageable pieces for this series on women’s rights to freedom from violence and discrimination, the tenth article provides series of statements relevant to the protection of women’s equality with men in the areas of education, stereotyping in education, and in the access to and provision of financial assistance.

Article 10(b), it states:

(b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality;

The identical curricula for the men and the women in the societies of the world. Not only in the access to the curricula, but also in the examinations given to men, the assertion if this was not done is that women would not be qualified in some manner to be given the same educational challenges as the men, which amounts to a cognitive assertion about adult women differing in cognitive capacity from the men in the country. Research show men and women, on average, have the same level of intelligence.

Then with the teaching staff, the educators and such, of the nation. Wome around the world deserve, and reserve the right to, the same educational provisions as those given to the men. They may be denied them on a number of fronts. They may have to work hard to acquire and retain those rights within their own nations.

Nonetheless, the fundamental axiomatic ethical claim is given within numerous documents in the world, and probably within their own nations as well, is the right to equal educational access and teaching staff quality. Those staff who would be educated on a grounds and in a classroom with textbooks and educational materials of the same quality as those given to the men.

This amounts to the basic claim of equality in the educational realm for women to be able to enjoy equality with the men of the world. If there is any discrepancy between the quality of education a woman receives with a man or a man receives with a woman, then this Article 10(b) has been violated, which, if enforceable due to the ratification by one’s nations, becomes something needing rectifying.

Article 10(c) states:

(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods;

This particular subsection of Article 10 pertains to the ideas in people’s minds and enacted in behavior to create social and cultural trends over time. They can be passed on via culture, parents, media, religious holy texts, educational curricula and institutions themselves, and the beliefs formed about one’s own role in the society – men or women, boys or girls who become men or women more properly as the belief formation probably occurs very, very early in life.

The stereotyped concepts of the roles of men and women are seen throughout the world and all areas of education. It is more complicated and seen as a more highly individualized form of statistical setup now. As in some areas of the world, girls and women have surpassed men as all areas of education, but only for a short period and often with only mid-level professional attainment as the result – based on a number of other barriers.

However, in most of the world’s population, and for most of the history of the known human civilizations, women had only a subordinate role. They were less than, an afterthought, and not to be taken too seriously for their intellects. As we now know, this was an utter fallacy that led to the degradation of and potential flourishing of dozens of civilizations because they did not permit women to be on an equal footing with the men, educationally.

With these alterations to the historical norm in education for boys and girls, and women and men, in terms of their educational achievement, we can see the general differential between them. But in this difference, we should note the stereotypes about education and in education. In the case of the women performing better, we see boys and men seeing education as a girl or woman thing.

Then in the other cases, we see the complete restriction in the access to the educational world for women, where only the men can enter into this highly important arena. It becomes an evacuation of boys and men from education when women enter into it; it also becomes one where men and boys can be the only ones to enter into it.

That is, boys and men have this idea taught to them: either all men, or if women then no men. Also, as a caveat, if all men, this should be enforced by the religion or the state. In the case of if women then no men, you can see the declines in the men entering into education at the same time as women are working to be seen as equal partners in the fight for higher education – hell, even primary education for boys and girls – and the future world of work with advanced technology.

The sexism is prevalent and apparent, not in every case or completely ubiquitous and indeed improving; however, the general principle or primary mode of operation is boys and men seeing themselves as the owners of education and not in need of any challenge in education with the girls and women in their lives.

There do appear to be biological, psychological bases for developmental differences for the boys and the young men with the girls and the young men. But this should not excuse the attitudinal stances that are against the general idea of equality between the sexes.

With the school programmes and the teaching methods, insofar as there are stereotyped presentations of curricula and testing, or of teaching, these should be changed, based on this subsection stipulation, to better accommodate the rights-based arguments and stances of the CEDAW.

Then we come to Article 10(d), it states:

(d) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other study grants;

Inasmuch as one may want an education, the acquisition of aid education can be difficult without the requisite financial resources, which creates a number of problems for the people who continue to have policies and globalization schemes preventing their equal access to participation in the society.

In fact, one major blockade for women, and men for that matter, is increasing tuitions and decreases in decent wages to be able to pay for a formal education. This creates a number of problems for the lower classes and even the disappearing middle classes. Education costs a lot. It probably should not cost as much as it does, but it simply prevents people from entering education who, otherwise, have the talent and ability to pursue higher education.

The loss of talent is one thing, but the loss of talent based on the lack of economic resources for women based on their being women – or girls – is a travesty needing fixing. The same chances for educations may not churn out the same outcomes, but the same opportunities to compete for scholarships and other grants remain an integral part of the overall rights arguments for the ability to pursue and access formal education regardless of financial status.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-23

Being An Anonymous Ex-Muslim Young Woman in Turkey and From Yemen

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/19

Imagine being an ex-Muslim for a moment, named “Amy” (an anonymous name).

This is all based on a real, recent story. One that is ongoing for a 24-year-old young woman from Yemen, who currently lives in Turkey. Amy is an ex-Muslim. Like many ex-Muslims, her story is not uncommon and can be claimed as one sector of the non-religious population subjected to horrendous abuse and disownment by family and community simply for exercising their fundamental human rights to freedom of belief and freedom of religion. It is within their rights and part of their conscience that they do not share the beliefs of their family and community, by and large, and consider themselves ex-Muslims: apostates.

The questions then arise about what this means for the people who do not have a means by which to escape desperate circumstances based on religion. It could be on any number of matters, mind you, but the religious angle cannot be ignored because it is such an integral and important part of so many people’s lives around the world. As Islam is the second major world religion by the global population, behind Christianity by tens of millions, the consideration of the growing and vocal movement, in and out of Muslim majority countries, of ex-Muslims is important.

Amy is a black woman from a persecuted group in Yemen. A grouping that is systematically discriminated against in the country and openly called “Akhdam” or servants. Amy is one among that increasing population of vocal, but at times fearful, collective around the world known as ex-Muslims. In a sense, they are religion-rejecting diaspora. Other parts of Yemen refer to people of her skin color as slaves, as a direct reference to skin color.

She found the life in Yemen to be too dangerous and hopeless for her. She would daily hear insults based on the color of her skin in addition to having the very real risk of her father discovering that she did not adhere to the beliefs of Islam. She was an apostate in the closet. Yemen, according to Amy, is controlled by Islamist groups – or politically motivated versions of Islam – who would kill anyone wanting to or desiring to reform Islam. This is even a concern apart from wanting to leave Islam.

Her parents divorced, after which she lived with her mother. The mother’s (of Amy) husband and she have 6 children. Her own father maintains an Islamic mentality, which she considers common. The dad, apparently, reported Amy’s disappearance to the Yemeni police and then told them that she has secular ideas and values. She was studying mass communication at the University of Sana’a. However, prior to finishing her degree – right before, she had to flee Yemen.

Now, she lives in Turkey. However, she is under a particular level of duress with traveling to the country illegally, which came with a jail sentence of 4 months within the deportation center. They have tried to deport her back to Yemen several times. She refused to be deported. After 4 months, they released her with some papers, which only made her official for 15 days. She then went to Istanbul to continue the necessary procedure for procurement of residency and acquisition of official papers for guaranteeing a legal stay in Turkey.

Amy said, “I have tried so many times to get permission to stay in Turkey but Istanbul has rejected me, actually the employee there told me that I should leave Turkey and go back to Yemen, ‘You are not welcome here.’ Now, my existence in Turkey is illegal because the 15 days period to finish procedures has ended.”

She continued to state how she is financially broken and has made formal contact with the Yemeni Community Executive Director for assistance. However, he cannot do anything about it. She continued, “I have also told him that I need work and a place to stay. He said, ‘They have accommodation for Yemeni girls but we can’t accept you. Because you don’t wear Hijab.’ Of course, they did not provide me a job either. I have managed to borrow some money from people and rented an apartment. But without getting a job, how can I pay the rent every month?”

Amy is a desperate situation for a young woman of only 24. She is trying extremely hard to find some work anywhere, but she cannot as easily as other people within Turkey. The reason for this is the language barrier. Amy only knows a little bit of Turkish while also being completely isolated, alone, and in a state of utter desperation.

“I went to an NGO Called ASAM that is in partnership with UNCHR, but they told me to go to the UNCHR in Ankara. But I do not have the money to go theirs, and also I know that UNCHR only going to make it difficult for me,” Amy explained, “because after applying in UNCHR I will be forced to leave to a new city determined by the government of Turkey, but I do not have the money to go to any city and not gonna be able to rent an apartment again.”

She described how this would make it hard for her to get a job in the new city, which is where she is being asked to go to. The UNCHR does not help with money or accommodations. Then she later had to flee and hide because of the fear of being taken from Turkey and deported to Yemen. The fate for Amy would be an honor killing, as this socio-cultural-religious brand of Islam is an honor culture.

She wants to leave and actually complete her postsecondary degree. Amy wants to specialize as an asylum lawyer with a focus on women’s rights in order to help her seek asylum in any country. However, she, and many others like her, need help to leave Turkey.

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2022-04-22

Article 10(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/17

Article 10 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (a) The same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for access to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in educational establishments of all categories in rural as well as in urban areas; this equality shall be ensured in pre-school, general, technical, professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types of vocational training;

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) remains is a salient gender equality document, which covers an extensive range of topics emphasizing the numerous domains relevant to any discourse – or most of them at any rate – for the equality of the sexes and, more pertinently, of women with men.

It may not be true for every man; it may not be true for every woman. However, the general trend throughout the long history of the world is the gender inequality with the gender majority benefits for men and the gender mostly negatives for women, where the equality of the sexes binds itself in documents and stand apart from the long dark night of history with, for one stark example, most women being considered public utilities for babies – hopefully, male – or as concubines.

Indeed, the main function of women was bound to their very identity attached to the males of the community and the family and community themselves rather than for simply being a human being. Women were chattel, property. Now, we are beginning to recognize the human status of women.

Now, the document continues with the emphasis, as it should, on the state actors or the countries of the world bound to the CEDAW. All appropriate measures will be taken and should in some sense be enforceable if seen as morally serious as a nation. Why not enforce that which one considers morally defensible? Something needing to be done and so then going about doing it.

Within that simple ethical thought experiment, we see the import of the notion of “all appropriate measures” in Article 10(a). Once more, and ad infinitum, the emphasis remains on the elimination of the discrimination against women for them to be equal with the men in the societies bound to the CEDAW.

For Article 10, the emphasis is in the area of education. In particular, in Article 10(a), we find the career and vocational guidance for the equality of men and women as an important part of it. Males and females should be bound within the same conditions for the access to studies.

The ability to enter into the educational arena and, subsequently, compete on an equal playing field with the men in the educational curricula of the world is not a trivial point. In fact, it is a highly individualized and important domain because not all educational curricula are the same, nor are they equivalently giving access to the women to them.

That is, the governments, the religions, the communities, and the cultures are stopping women from being able to access studies. The reasons seem inculcated in a number of domains. One, of course, and very old, is the idea that education is only for the man because his basis for identity is in providing for the family alone.

That leaves the women with their identities tied to a subordinate role in the home care and childcare and in submission for birthing and sexual activities usually on the male’s schedule and timetable. The educational arena becomes very, very important not to be understated in the least for its emotional and professional impact in the lives of adult women, and girls who watch them and older women who hope for them.

Insofar as the achievement of diplomas is a necessity for the equality of the sexes, we can see the rural and urban areas as the emphases. Of course, this is simply saying wherever a woman may be living. The ability to achieve diplomas from educational establishments remains a right and something both not to be taken for granted and also needing enforcement for the equality of the sexes.

The sciences and the humanities and the trades, all categories in the educational establishments shall be places for women to be able to achieve equality. Furthermore, the level of the education should not be an issue too.

Take the direct listing with the “pre-school, general, technical, professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types of vocational training.” That is to say, the women of the world should not be limited in their educational access, especially as the modern educational landscape provides the foundation for economic success.

The jobs in the middle of the economy are continuing to disappear and the ones at the lowest end and the highest end are where they are maintained or new ones are created; thus, we, the global community, are left in an interesting predicament of how to integrate into this modern and upcoming economy, where, unfortunately for the men and fortunately the women but based on individual choices, the people getting the educations and educational credentials/certifications/qualifications relevant to these higher-end technical jobs are the women.

The men have lost a huge amount of their economic power in the world and, therefore, their identities as the sole provider in the family, which creates ripple effects throughout their lives, families, communities, and societies – all over the world – as women continue to rise and the men continue to be on the decline.

The implications for the relations between the sexes are important but the fundamental issue is that this has never, ever been the case in the long march of recorded history, which leaves the sexes at an impasse but also on a basis for new ope and freedom in social and economic life.

That also means the roles will change and are changing, but these developments do not and should not negate the fundamental basis for the need of equality between the sexes as laid out in the CEDAW and other documents. In the relationship with the educational domains, the CEDAW Article 10 is highly involved and relevant and will continue to be covered, in The Good Men Project.

The issues to be discussed here are important because at the same time as there is a rise of women; there is an uprising of retrospective idealists and regressive political and social forces wanting women back in the home, at the behest of men for sex and children and home care.

The work to move forward in this new world organizational development provides a lot of hope, but needs our work to maintain and continue its march; otherwise, the regressive forces will fill the void.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

The Ninth Article of the CEDAW

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/17

Article 91. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is an important document not only for the equality of women with men but also for the implementation of men and women on an even playing field within the society.

Subsection (1) states:

1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.

As with the other prior discussed articles of the CEDAW, the emphasis remains the protections of individuals via the group categorization, women, through the relevant actors who remain bound to the convention, nations or the Member States – or “States Parties.”

In the first portions of this particular article, we can find the statements about the equal rights of women with men. As has been noted in some of the prior articles, the basis for the equality of the women within the society takes the form of a principle that then finds its manifestations in relevant and easily identifiable, and well-accepted ones too – mind you, domains of operation of the society.

The ability of a woman to be able to acquire nationality remains an important part of the narrative for the equality of women. In fact, we can see the developments for the equality of the women in the world through the provisions of the states of the globe bound to international rights documents.

It becomes imperative for them to give women rights never had before in the history of the world afforded almost always exclusively to men, informally; when finally implemented into the official canon of the world’s international consensus, we then see the formalization at the national level through its own documents – legal and otherwise, culture, and social life, which brings women and men into the same rights fold and so equal consideration as human beings in theory.

With the provision of nationalization for a woman, it can mean the ability to acquire what the state has to offer in its formal mechanisms. Without it, many women can be left bereft. Indeed, if a woman wants to flee to another country, and if she is unable to get the proper approval and documentation from the state, this can create problems for this crucial period of her life.

In the ability to change it, and in the possibility to retain nationality, a woman deserves the possibility of a more flexible life without the need for the stressors incorporated into life in the lack of any recourse for equality, where men have the right to free acquisition, alteration, and retainment of a nationality; a woman deserves the exact right as any man.

The document continues to speak about in the case of a marriage to an “alien” or a change of nationality by the husband will these necessarily imply the automatic change in the nationality of the wife. If this did happen, the wife could be stateless or even with the nationality of the husband.

This, in a direct potential threat to the health, safety, and well-being of the individual woman, should be born in mind. As the basic nature of the equality of the sexes requires the elimination of the dependence of one on another, the individuation for the independence of both – especially so in the case of the woman, and the in the potential for true interdependent lives of the wife and the husband.

Furthermore, the protection against the automatic change to nationality protects a woman’s connection to vital services provided by the state as well. These seem some of the most basic statements and implications for the equality of the sexes and of each and every individual woman around the world with various levels of potential vulnerability to these, by accident or deliberate conscious intent and action, automated nationality alterations.

Subsection (1) states:

2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.

Within the provisions of the document and so by extension the international community and then the individual nations tied to this document – who take it morally and legally seriously, the women in a nation should be protected in their nationality; this then extends to the children of both the man and the woman.

How this might play out in the case of a woman who is in a poverty condition as a single mother of four seems different in some respects than with the married mothers, the former case should not, as a vivid and increasingly common example, be impacted by either the marital status or the socio-economic status.

That is to say, as in the more privileged example of the married woman and in the lesser privileged state of the single mother of four, the conditions for the nationality of the mother should not be impacted by the marital status or the penury or lack thereof. In this sense, the gender equality is clearly delineated by the document.

Therein lies the importance of the equality of the sexes in the placement of the nationality of the individual because we can all gather up a million moments in our imaginations of the potential for women and their children to be exploited and lose their nationality or have it changed arbitrarily.

It could even be the same in the conditions of a women who may be vulnerable economically and geographically to the whims of an abusive husband or spouse who owns the property, makes the income, and controls the livelihood of the family through finance and geography, which leaves the children and the mother without much recourse for being able to leave such a situation.

Then expanded out as a thought experiment and generalized into a principle of possible vulnerability, we can see no matter the nation, the woman, or the marital and economic situation; every female deserves equal status with men in regards to their freedom and ability to acquire, change or retain their nationality.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

CEDAW: Article 8 and Gender Equality Around The World

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/16

Article 8States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure to women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the opportunity to represent their Governments at the international level and to participate in the work of international organizations.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women represents a foundational modern document from 1979 developed for the furtherance of the equality of the sexes in a number of domains, of which Canada ratified and thus becomes a vanguard to uphold its stated values through the implied set of actions and developments in individuals and structures within the society.

These include the ability of women to be able to work in and represent the government on the international level as well as the ability to work in the international organizations. It is important to note that the basis for women’s equality comes not only in the political and public life, as in Article 7, but also in the representation of the country – as representing one face of Canada, for instance – through the international community.

In Article 8, we find a single statement about the equality of the sexes, where the same emphasis is on all appropriate or reasonable measures pertaining to the nation’s bound to the document. For the gender equality desired by much of the world, the ability of women to participate in the international landscape through the national documents remains an important aspect to the equality of the sexes.

The women and men in accordance with the document deserve and reserve the same right to work on the same terms. Men, historically and in much of the present, do not have to work on equal terms with women; women have had to work extra hard to get the respect, education, and experience necessary to garner the equal terms with the men.

It was, and is, no doubt harder for women with fewer opportunities to be able to move up the ladder and with a smaller number of role models from which to take a cue. That then makes each individual woman needs to build their own plan and work their own course in life. Of course, some will not make it; life becomes harder without much of a roadmap in the form of a living idol.

The emphasis in Article 8 is relevant to all women but most importantly to the women wanting to take the place in governments and thus also participate in the work of the international organizations of the world. This makes the inclusion of women in the world of international relations and politics of utmost importance and something of which they can strive for.

No joke: the women of the world were shut out of some of the highest decision-making bodies of the world for centuries and centuries, and continue to be right into the present. Let’s make no mistake about it. The role of women for a long history of the world was as subordinates and never as real leaders.

The modern world and documents such as the CEDAW provide, at least, some basis from which women can take their aims and stake their claims for the highest offices in the world. But then the next parts of the problems come not from the statements of the CEDAW but, rather, from the implementation of the social and cultural, and especially in this case the political, reactions to the work of women trying to enter into the political world of work in governments and in the international organizations.

The fundamental nature of the equality of the sexes with women wanting to treated as men are treated in the world of governmental work and in international relations comes through in Article 8 of the CEDAW in clear, ditinct language and needing no more than a single statement about it. The questions that may arise for some people about the gender equality the future will come from three directions.

One will be the ability of women to be able to compete equally with men in these domains and so the social and cultural questions around the right for equal work. Some men may feel uncomfortable and so make women feel the same when they work with them.

A second will be in the potential for these rights being removed or retracted in some form. That may take the form of a formal process of elimination of the documents that fight for the elimination of discrimination against women themselves.

A third issue will be what form the future documents will take in order to ensure wome are treated equally in the world of governmental work and the new ways of life that may necessitate new documents to cover the needed extension of the fundamental rights stipulated in Article 8 of the CEDAW.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

The 7th Article of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/16

Article 7States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right: (a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies;(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government;(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

The equality of the sexes includes a number of domains not only within the consideration of the international context but also in the relevant and identifiable domains of the operations of the nation. In the case of the equality of the sexes, it can be political and public life. Within the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, we can see Article 7 articulating the concerns around the inclusion of women in the political life of the country.

In an examination of the first statements within Article 7 before the sub-sections of this portion of the CEDAW, of which Canada ratified, the precision of the terminology within the document is important. For instance, if we look into the relevant actors or agents, the scale comes in the form of the Stats Parties, which simply means the nation.

From the nation, the means by which the country will employ the workings of the state in order to attain equality become “all appropriate measures,” which provides quite a bit of wiggle room and could change over time and in the context given the flexibility and socio-cultural dependency of the term “appropriate.”

Nonetheless, the measures to be taken for the elimination of discrimination against women in the political and public life of the nation remain highly important and in some ways contingent on the efforts of the global community as a whole rather than individual nations.

The political and public life advancements of many women keep them bound in many ways and unable to unleash their full potential. In fact, in many of the cases where the men have begun to decline and the women have been seen to flourish on some limited metrics, the flourishing is relative to the men being in decline, so the increase in apparent achievement appears highly contingent.

Many nations’ leaders, public intellectuals, and cultural commentators will see the decline in men as a means by which to manipulate and coerce the dialogue of the country towards the need to parry women back, even returning into the home. Others will see this as a great boon not only to the economy for women entering into the political and public life but also an area for further freedom of both sexes to be free of a singular burden, whether childcare or economic livelihood alone.

As Article 7 clearly articulates the ensuring of the equal terms of women with men, Article 7(a), in particular, indicates the ability for women to “vote in all elections and public referenda.” As with the one individuals seeing only turtles, turtles, turtles all the way down, we can see democratic processes down to the bottom too.

In any relevant public or political decision within the society, the women deserve the right to vote in it, or simply have a say equal to those of men. That also includes women being eligible for the elections into the publicly elected bodies.

That is, it remains different for the areas of the private businesses or the corporations but remains the same as the men in the public arena because, as per any democratic process or organizational structure, everyone gets an equal say who is an adult – individual man or woman.

Article 7(b) states in full:

Article 7 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right: (b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government;

Therein, we find another articulation of the ability to participate in another important area of civic life, of political and public life of many nations, which is the “formulation of government policy.” Any policy that may, as an explicit example, impact the reproductive lives of women across the country should have women represented and having a say in that.

Otherwise, you may have men who do not understand or even at a minimum know how a woman’s reproductive health life first-hand. It would seem an important fact to take into consideration the health and wellbeing of women there.

Not only is it important for women to have the equal and free ability to formulate the policy, it becomes salient for the implementation of said policy; as without the implementation or force of the document, the entire enterprise seems an exercise in futility.

Insofar as the holding of the public offices of a nation and the performance of the functions at all levels of the government, there are a set of important considerations there. That no matter the area of the government – a public organization – shall a woman be kept from holding the office if of equal qualification and so on.

That is the fundamental statement of Article 7(c):

(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.

The equality of the sexes truly is a complicated affair and made no less complex with the inclusion of several documents with articles, articles with subsections, and subsections requiring description.

All maintain a certain decent level of precision in their terminology in order to permit the women of the world have not only legal and rights documentation and representation internationally but a solid foundation upon which to stand for them.

The CEDAW is no less such a document for the equality of women with men, but the fundamental basis for the gender equality stated in the Sustainable Development Goals and international rights documents comes from basic ethical precepts held by most people throughout the history of the world.

The work here and elsewhere amounts to the ongoing work to expand the ethical precepts to their limits, have them catalogued, and see them realized for our and future generations.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

Article 6 of the CEDAW for Equality of the Sexes

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/15

Article 6

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

As this article remains rather short, it does not detract from its import nor its moral weight and ethical relevance; the areas where the fundamentalist religious and the moderate religious seem aligned – and not, unfortunately, the liberal and political left including purported conservatives and libertarians who use the badge “Classical Liberal” without knowing the first thing about it – comes in the form of the open, vigorous, and consistent calling out of the degradation and humiliation of the female form and of women themselves in activities such as prostitution and pornography, which come associated or linked to trafficking of women and exploitation in prostitution.

This is a public good by my lights. Women deserve better; families and societies should work with those willing to work hard for the protection of women in these rather unsavory circumstances. Within the context of the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the emphasis for this article becomes, once more, the state or the governments and their duties and responsibilities to the public. In particular, the ethical obligations to the women of the country.

If women are undergoing trafficking due to an individual or familial desperation and unequal circumstances, or if the women are vulnerable and actually undergoing prostitution in an exploitative setting, then the rights to equality and freedom are being violated for the women.

Their health and wellbeing can be at risk at the same time. This is, quite obviously from the data, the rhetoric, and the coverage in the international documents, more of a problem for the women and girls of the world than of the men and the boys. It creates numerous problems in the areas of equality because of the discrimination based solely on the basest of levels, which is the bodies of women.

Note the emphasis in Article 6:

…all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.

The basis for the equality of the sexes comes in the form of the complete list of appropriate measures or “all appropriate measures,” which is a common phrase to many of the articles in the CEDAW. Continuing on its emphases, the biggest one is in the trafficking and exploitation.

That is to say, women are taken against their will from one place to another and/or taken advantage of. The forms of the travel are not listed but this could any number of illegal means of taken someone physically from one place to another, e.g., flight, by sea, by car or truck, and so on.

The sheer act of thinking that one can take the body of another human being without their consent is quite remarkable, especially as the first emphasis is the trafficking and how this directly leads naturally and morally reprehensible into the second form in the exploitation.

It could be any number of forms of exploitation as women far outnumber men in the areas of exploitation in textile and sexual work, but the particular arena of concern here is the domain of sexuality. Prostitution is simply having sex with another person for pay, but this particular type of prostitution and most forms, in fact, take place in the power-over relationship of a pimp and a prostitute.

Women most often non-consensually or coercibly enter into a sexual relationship with a third party of customer and then have a large portion of the payment given to the pimp. The women are often not able to leave without some form of payment or abuse as a real possibility.

Not to mention, the intriguing characters paying for the objectification of the female form, of women’s bodies, for their own gratification. Many of the these ‘customers’ may have fetishes or other problems and disorders that the prostitutes themselves may have to go through; one might suspect the women who are prostitutes, especially over the long term, live with detachment from their bodies and a form of PTSD.

It is in this sense that we can find the nature of the power-over relationship as something of which women pay the majority costs. In its extreme form, the women are literally stolen and trafficked from place to place to be exploited sexually as basically sex-slaves for the pleasure of, mostly, men. These women are probably bilked too.

They are certainly not cosseted. The questions then become oriented around prevention and escape. The ways in which we can protect women within Article 6’s statement on the trafficking and exploitation of women in prostitution. The other is in the escape for the women.

There should be national provisions and multinational cooperation, and international consideration, of the problem of women’s trafficking and exploitation in prostitution. It is one of many almost uniquely female issues being dealt with historically and right into the present, daily.

The ways bodies are considered useful for pleasure of men and for the furtherance of the patriarchal lineage. It is all rather straightforward and tragic in a larger context but something that we have the tools to manage and deal with now more than ever, which makes the calling this to the attention of the international community through Article 6 all the more important, relevant, and hopeful.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women: Article 5

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/15

Article 5 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) becomes important circa 1979 and should have come far earlier in the history of the world. As has been covered in the previous 4 articles of the CEDAW, we can develop general theories about what has been considered acceptable in a historical context and what has now been seen as universally or mostly within the realm of the unspeakable with respect to the treatment of women, by men and, of course, by other women too.It is important to remember the role familial females play in the travesties around the world with non-consensual female genital mutilation. In Article 5, we can observe the continued emphasis on the states who are relevant to the document. This then carries forward in (a) into the relevant areas of the considerations of women’s equality within what is called “social and cultural patterns of conduct.”

In a sense, the social patterns overlap with the cultural patterns as culture is a set of patterns and the social life remains embedded in them. The social and cultural patterns considered together provide a sound foundation for the equality of the sexes conversation regarding the CEDAW as the document is intended to frame the thinking about the equality of women through not only the prevention but ultimately the elimination of violence against women.

As one reading prior related articles in this series, we can see a continual development of the ability of women to have formal national and international recourse for their protection from violence, and in particular gender-based violence. The means by which we can protect ourselves means that we can participate in all areas of a society without fear of injury or death because of who we are; in these cases, the fact of women being women becomes a basis for discrimination and violence.

It seems like a strange phrasing to even think of violence against the person on the basis of their sex to me, but it does not mean I can neglect the nature of the world and some of the – in Abrahamic terminology – fallen nature of human beings; where in the case of the female of the species, they undergo and have undergone centuries of violence against them simply for being women.

Thus within this context of a set of social and cultural patterns of the conduct of men and women, we are having a set of re-imaginings and, in fact, this creates a sense of terror as the dismantling of the systems of the past while, at the same time, providing something exhilarating where we can attempt to restructure and reimagine the forms of human relationships bounded by our natures.

With these modifications in the socio-cultural patterns, we can see the development of a more wholesome sense of life for everyone, whether atheist or theist or what-have-you; our natures bound us, but they do not by necessity have to bind us. As Article 5(a) states: Article 5 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;Some can note the sensitivity to the changes or the ‘modifications’ in the social and cultural patterns of the conduct of men and women in either those who want the status quo or in those who would want the complete restructuring of the conducts based on some idealized version of the world.While both have merit in their attempts, their fundamental substructure should be reached but then tempered by one another with the sense of a need for change as the current systems were based in massive systems and epochs of scarcity; in the other, we need to bear in mind that we are not angelic or demonic beings but, rather, biologically bounded organisms in need of some modifications but only insofar as our biologically bounded natures permit of us.Within the context of the Golden Rule and the Utilitarian ethics set forth by John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, we can see the necessity of a reduction and eventual elimination of the prejudices against either of the sexes; furthermore, this should extend into the areas of customs and practices deeming by default the inferior or superior nature of either of the sexes or in either of the stereotypical gender roles for men and women.We see men working in the caring fields and making homes as a profession of sorts; we women entering into the scientific and other professional disciplines and simply eschewing having children altogether. Although, at some future point, the birth rate below replacement level will be a concern for the overall structural changes in societies, as we see in Western Europe and East Asia and some of North America. The work being done for structural change tends to be coinciding with some changes to the emphasis on getting to the coveted 2.1 replacement level birth rate around the advanced industrial economies where this is a concern.However, in the process of the working towards the equality of the sexes and furtherance of general gender equality, there can be a dual-emphasis on the relationship between the sexes not having an assumed inferior or superior status while at the same time rubbing up against the hard realities of our biological limitations and need to maintain a society with a sufficient number of people. The outmoded customs and practices of most cultures now seem more like window dressing on the ways in which human beings define themselves because of the deeply interconnected world in terms of social mores and cultural traditions in addition to – as Lee Kuan Yew would say – the multipolar world in which we find ourselves.No one can reign absolute, supreme, and without question; the simple fact of the matter is the great interconnectivity of the modern world provides the basis for seeing beyond the thin veil of socio-cultural contexts of individual human beings and, therefore, see the essential equality of everyone in rights, especially in regards to the alteration of the social and cultural patterns that may deem one sex or the other automatically better or worse, inferior or superior.Article 5(b) states:Article 5 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.The family education should become part and parcel of an overall education on the nature of an individual human being. People who do not have this form of maternity as a social function education can appear uneducated or bereft of a proper and full education on the nature of a person and a family.That the responsibility to family and childcare, and homecare, comes not only in the relations beyond mother and child but also in the relation of the father and child; the family unit as a whole requires pluralistic roles for everyone with guardianship status. The nature of the relation of the sexes is changing, with those alterations comes a need to acknowledge the fundamental basis for agreement around the world with the CEDAW in the absolute need for responsibility of both mother and father for the healthy upbringing and overall wellbeing of the child.Furthermore, the best interest of the child becomes a “primordial consideration” and “in all cases,” which leaves most or all objections moot in the light of those final claims in Article 5. That fundamental responsibility to the child is paramount over mother or father, or to themselves, but to the child and so the family as a whole.This then connects to the first statements about the need for the fundamental equality of the sexes in not having one seen as inferior or superior, e.g., in the roles and responsibilities of parenting for the best interests of the child. –One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

From the National to the International in Canadian Gender Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/13

After considerations of the vote within Canadian society, we can find the general context of women beginning to earn not only the right as legal persons with Canadian democracy with said vote. But also, we can see the rise of women slowly but surely through the recent overturning in education and some of the slow and steady progression within the educational arena as well.

In the area of work, the job, or “labor,” an important step for the equality of women came from the Fair Employment Practices Act in 1951. Same with the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act in Ontario. Each gave a basis for further equality of women. This time in the area of education. If you look into the former, the Fair Employment Practices Act, the clear protections for women in the work sphere came from the attempts to eliminate discrimination.

The elimination of the discriminatory practices in the workplace from the instigation of financial penalties or fines for the companies or managers or employers who may be not paying the same amount for the same work, for example. In the case of the complaints system, we see the development of the ability for women to move forward and make a formal complaint or statement of concern about the potential or actual discriminatory aspect of a job, e.g. unequal pay for work of equal value.

With the implementation of the ability for women to be able to work their way into the main economy of the society, it implied the twiddle of the dials in some areas of the society for women’s equality with some known and others not so known – dials – changes to the society. Those changes included women moving out of the home and having the potential, though limited, for equal opportunity and non-discrimination in the workplace.

That alteration to the landscape of the society with the potential for economic freedom of women came with the adjunction of a change to the ways in which women are viewed at in the home because one of the main placements for women in the history of the country was seen to be solely and only in the home as maternal figures, e.g. doing childcare and homecare, and serving a public utility for the state in pleasure for the husband or of service for free in the home sphere.

It seems telling to think of historical examples of the forced provisions on women in many contexts throughout the history of the world and even if taken as historical enshrined, unfortunately, in the world’s religions and their religious texts. The women of the 50s could have a recourse for further economic equality and, more importantly and concomitantly, autonomy. That economic autonomy meant the world for many women probably ‘dying’ to come out into the workforce and been seen as a full working, voting human being.

With the Fair Employment Practices Act (1951), that provided the basis for those forms of recourse and some of those changes. And those would be difficult circumstances at the early stages of attempting to get some head start in life and independence when it was not simply going to be handed out to you, or meted out whole cloth because the culture had not changed much in its entirety and perspective on the role and the ‘proper’ (moral judgment) place of women.

Indeed, all Canadians only got the full right to vote – simply needing to be Canadian rather than particular groups or people – in 1960. The latter document – the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act – gave a foundation for women to seek the equivalent pay for equal work. If a woman was equally qualified and had the identical workload, then the woman had the ability to look into the second Act for the possibility of equal pay for equal work.

In particular relation between the two 1951 documents, the unequal pay for equal work could become something upon which an individual Canadian woman could use the latter to indicate unequal pay for equal work and then the former document to argue with a formal complaint in order to rectify the unequal pay. This is the history of Canadian work equity and pay equity in some of its earlier manifestations, which, as will be covered next, lead into the international rights an equality that women have begun to enjoy more and more as the timeline of the Canadian narrative has continued forward.

It means that the women of the society have provincial and territorial rights to vote and federal as well. The ability to pursue work and try to get equal pay for equal work and, indeed, be able to use formal mechanisms in order to do so. It is in this sense that Canadian society has been on a steady but difficult trajectory since its founding to provide greater and greater moorings for women to be able to have equality with the men.

One of the foundational means in all developing societies an in earlier Canadian society to be able to garner some power, influence, and prestige – and so respect – within the nation-state is to have the men see them as equals in the democracy, and so votes to be counted, and in the workplace, and so able to earn their keep on the job based on equal qualifications and performance.

The next steps within labour come to considerations of not only the national but also the international context of equality for the women in Canada.

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2022-04-22

Article 2 of The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/14

Article 2

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

( c ) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)

In the consideration of the history of the equality of the sexes, one of the most important things to take into account in the protection of women as persons are the idea of women as more vulnerable in certain ways. These can include in the bearing of the future generations of the species or in the violence enacted against them for a variety of reasons, of which culture, society, religion, law, economics, politics, social life, and individual men and women become an important consideration in said violence.

This violence comes in a variety of forms. Some of the more recognized ones are the physical forms of violence such as battering and prevention of free movement. If a woman is abused in the home by a husband’s or wife’s fist, this can become an issue for the health and well-being of this individual. Furthermore, there are the issues with the movement of women.

In the several Member States of the United Nations bound to various equal rights documents, we see the restriction on the movement of women within the context of the cultural and religious practices named Guardianship Laws. The idea being that women cannot move freely because they are a more vulnerable sex and so deserve protection from the evils of the world.

Said protection should come from the men in the women’s lives, this is the basis for a benevolent sexism with women being seen as obviously, from within the assertions and premises of the Guardianship Laws, needing protection from the men in their lives. That is, women must travel with a “guardian” or a male relative to be able to travel anywhere in the ways they see fit.

Then we come to Article 2 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. We see the delineation of equality for the first portions of the document with the scope of the violence in consideration. If not within this scope, then the act does not necessarily equate to violence against women but could be violence in another context. However, documents must be adhered to and, thus, require a certain rigidity in the definition.

In this, we see the equality in three domains as laid out in the sub-sections (a), (b), and (c). Each dealing with the aspects of violence against women based on their sex. In (a), it states:

Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

The forms of the violence considered legitimate within the context are the physical such as punching and kicking, the sexual such as marital rape, and the psychological such as threatening repeatedly to withdraw financial resources or leaving. Within this framework, we see the problems for the women and less for the men because the violence meted out to women is much worse for women because of the men being more physically imposing, having more influence in the society and family, and owning most of the financial resources of the state.

This makes the violence against women in these domains particularly of note because women often lack the ability to contend in those areas without the support of other men or women as a means of a group or general solidarity for protection from the men who are consistent abusers.

In (1), the statements list the forms of the abuse with the likes of battering and sexual abuse of female children, which, unfortunately, continues to happen to the very present, where women do not get much consideration for their equal status even as girls. Then there are financial issues around the considerations of the women being owned by the men or the family, or the religious community as dictated in the holy texts.

It is in this sense that we can see the development of harshness towards women who do not want to be a part of dowry but then this leads to backlash and in fact violence of the psychological, physical, and sexual form because many may consider the women in their lives as an object, chattel in other words, in their lives. Then the marital rape and female genital mutilation remain distantly linked but gravely associated acts against the female form.

In the girls and in the women, the point of the female genital mutilation – for tens of millions of women who have undergone it, especially non-consensually – is to reduce or eliminate sexual pleasure for the women in order for them to be less likely to cheat and leave their future or current husband for another man. It becomes an honor system of the family, enforced on the girls and women, and for the men as the husbands. It is what it is: violence – spade a spade.

Then there are all of the other myriad forms of violence against women not even completely covered within the document including the exploitation in one form or another, even the cultural traditions or practices inculcated and expected from a young age and intended to bring about certain attitudes and behaviours in women and girls that leave them in many senses subordinate and dependent on the traditions.

Article 2(b) becomes a furtherance of the prior sub-section with the descriptions of the three forms of the violence laid out before, as follows:

Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

As this violence against women, in the aforementioned three types, comes within the heading of the general community, or the socio-cultural milieu thereof, the extensions comes from not only the general or the familial particular but also into the world of work and education. If a woman is desperate for finances and does not have any other recourse or if the males in her or their life forces work for finances without any educational or work background, the woman or women may be forced into some of the lowest and most degrading forms of work found in the sex industry.

In Canada, there are several acts laid out for the protection of the women against the various forms of intimidation and violence in the workplace, where women finally have some form of possibilities for self-protection within the environment of the workplace and through the formal legal documents and mechanisms in the state. These give some protection, some, but not a tremendous amount for the women who have already moved well into their careers prior to these being implemented – or did not know about them, which takes a lot of time.

Because the creation of documents representative of the better conscience of the population for the equating of personhood with everyone in the species and not simply one sex or others who look a little different than you. Women for a long time, for an example, were thought unsuited for the educational realm and for the workplace. It became an assertion of women’s only place in the home with the kids and the homecare and left to idly chat about the goings on to and fro of the social life of the small town.

Did not necessarily have to be the case, but was the case for centuries and centuries, it simply kept women at a state of miserly ‘equality’; women left as something less than, owned, and reduced to a few servile duties including sexual pleasure for the man especially for reproductive purposes. Not much of a life, and not much to say of the society as well given that structure, as we now know, it can and women can be so much more.

Within Article 4(c), then we find more about violence but more tersely stated, it states in full:

Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

The State or the nation-state has been involved and deeply interested in the perpetration of violence against women. Not as a singular case or even a set of instances but as a principle, the coordination of the nation-state with religion to coerce and manipulate women into subordinate roles with the approval of the creator of the universe seems not accident and quite functional for those who do not uppity women thinking for themselves and going about their own lives, on their own terms, and for their own economic and educational reasons.

Women do not even get stated in the history books much, especially in the allegorical historical collections of books produced by and for, and as a part of, the religious traditions of the world. How many women play a lead role in the Bible or the Quran for two major examples? Not many, Mother Mary Magdalene, Fatima, and others; there are not many others, but their roles do not amount to the main character or narrative within most of the plots and, even in the case of Christianity, as a child bearer or someone who brought forth the saviour of the world, i.e., a subsidiary role for Mary.

And so on, the narratives that have been given to the women with such subordination and submissions to the men and the family, and the community and the society within many traditions could, with a slight change in perspective, amount to a psychological form of violence against women and girls. It limits their views of themselves through truncation of roles and role models.

Under Ceausescu, we saw Decree 770, where women were forced to bear a large number of children or else as that phrase goes. That was only a few decades ago. The nation’s governments and the world’s religions have always had an exquisite emphasis on the limitation of women intellectually, emotionally, psychologically, sexually, and physically. These kinds of articles state, in a crystallized sentence even, the import or salience of having a woman or girl be able to be free by any individual or governmental restriction on their capacity or capabilities within the society.

None of this is history alone, this is now and always potential in the future, even here in Canada. Be chary, be wary, but be strong.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

Section 4(1) & 4(2) of the The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/14

Equitable Compensation Assessment

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note: Equitable compensation assessment

4 (1) An equitable compensation assessment under this Act assesses, without gender bias, the value of work performed by employees in a job group or a job class and identifies, by taking into account the prescribed factors, whether an equitable compensation matter exists.
Marginal note: Determining value(2) The criteria to be applied in assessing the value of the work performed by employees in a job group or a job class are
- (a) the composite of the skill, effort and responsibility required in the performance of the work and the conditions under which the work is performed; and
- (b) the employer’s recruitment and retention needs in respect of employees in that job group or job class, taking into account the qualifications required to perform the work and the market forces operating in respect of employees with those qualifications.

The Public Sector Equita ble Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)The ways of equality are numerous and in need of extensive consideration for the ability of the men and the women in the society to be living on an equal playing field, but the whereabouts of the magical equality desired by many – and not others, as you might have noticed – comes in the formulation of a set of consideration crystallized into documents best suited for the times and the foreseeable future and then implemented into the legal frameworks.

Those crystallizations then become the basis for the hard work of maintaining a set of ideals meant for the equality of the sexes in the social and professional arena, in the area of work. Men and women require an equivalent playing field. For a long time, most Canadians did not have the right to equality in the country, as only about one century ago Canadians across the board earned the right to vote.

The last groups to garner the right to vote within the country were the Aboriginals in 1960. Many are still alive who saw the time when the country only gave them the most basic considerations as human beings in a democratic system to be considered human beings. But also, the world of work became another important domain for not only Aboriginal women but women as a general grouping.

Where the women in the society could not see the ways in which they could have any consideration for equal pay, demand knowledge of possible discrepancies, and also the means by which to formally submit a complaint, a complaint that could then be investigated and pursued proper recourse if it is so needed. But The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394), or the Act, gave a basis for consideration of the means of discrimination.Important, and duly, note, the fourth section, “Equitable Compensation Assessment,” of the Act is not in force. The portion of the Act devoted to gender non-bias for work comes in the value of the work. Within a defined job grouping or class, the performance of one individual should be able, theoretically, to be measured and compared, or simply contrasted, with other individuals in the job grouping or job class.

No specification of job grouping or class is given in this section of the document. That is, this amounts to a statement of principle rather than particulars about the performance on the job. If a woman is performing in some ways well, and if another man is performing in the same work, same qualifications, and producing equally valued work, then the man and the woman should be paid the same.

Some universities and other areas of work are beginning to provide raises too many women within their ranks because of discovered gender pay gaps on legitimate bases. Sometimes, the woman may work less, but other times the woman has the same qualifications, the same workload, and same performance while getting paid less than her male colleagues. This becomes a legitimate basis for complaints and then working to garner the equal pay for the job.

In section 4(2), we have subsection (a) and (b). In the opening statement, we can see the specification of the official and agreed upon criteria to be applied for the value of the work and the pay. As stated alongside the other parts:

(2) The criteria to be applied in assessing the value of the work performed by employees in a job group or a job class are

(a) the composite of the skill, effort and responsibility required in the performance of the work and the conditions under which the work is performed; and
(b) the employer’s recruitment and retention needs in respect of employees in that job group or job class, taking into account the qualifications required to perform the work and the market forces operating in respect of employees with those qualifications.

One statement exists around the assessment of the value of the work, as a “marginal note.” (Not central but important to bear in mind.) With skill, effort, and responsibility needed for the performance on the job, this can give an idea of what is needed for the equal status of the sexes on the job. In the case of the first value in “skill,” this can take a significant amount of time to build into the professional repertoire of an individual on the job.

In addition, a skill in the modern economy more and more does not necessarily mean and limit to the physical. A skill may not mean lumberjack skills or carpentry. It may more often than not mean knowledge plus proper application is given the need in the modern economy – sometimes called the Knowledge Economy or the Fourth Industrial Revolution – of more education and high-level technical skills and analysis, e.g., coding, programming, data analysis, interpretation of complex statistical data, and so on.

The document can stay the same but the frame of around it can change, which can necessitate a new viewing of the document itself. Therein lies a certain aspect of the need for the improved generality of content, where the general definitions remain well-accepted over the long haul, it is a sort of general particularism. We have the level of effort exerted in the midst of the work as well.

In the context of the work, the need for the deep effort is important because, as anyone with any job has noticed, not everyone tries at the same rate or exertion. In fact, they can change day-to-day. Same applies to ourselves, haven’t you noticed (speaking to your decaf self). The effort and the skill should be sufficiently equivalent to produce the same output and so the same pay for that particular job.

Then we come to the third and final part of it; in the form of “responsibility,” there is the assertion or implied case comparisons of janitors with managers of janitorial services, of Starbucks team members with the regional manager of operations, of the basketball player with the one who signs their cheques. It becomes a certain respect for the levels of difference between the high performing and the not-so-high performing.

Indeed, we can see this in those who are the presidents of universities. I have interviewed a number of them. We can the lesser responsibility of those who are more in the dark of the minutiae and the possible consequences of failure within the university such as vice presidents or the professors in this or that department. Responsibility turns out to be an important part of the criteria for consideration in the Equitable Compensation Assessment section of the Act.

Sub-section (b) points to the importance of the bringing in and keeping of the employees with respect to their job group or job class while keeping in mind the qualifications needed to perform the work, as well as the forces within the marketplace regarding, said employees with the relevant qualifications. It is a bit a long statement on the equality in pay.

However, it can be parsed. Looking at the statements, the employer has the ethical responsibility in two respects. One in the recruitment of the employees for the job class or the job grouping needed for performing in that job, given the market forces as well. Then they have the additional moral obligation – you could say – to retain those people. Something of particular note for the women in the society.

Because the basis for their equality within the society will need to be maintained in a number of areas, especially with the historical record of women’s oppression as stark, clear, and needing repetition. The work to hire and retain qualified employees in the light of the qualifications and the market forces seems important based on the unenforced idea of women deserving equal treatment within the society, and so the employers need to do this from their own end, especially if the individual woman or women applying for the job have equivalent qualifications as the men.

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2022-04-22

The Vote, Labour, and Equity in National and International Women’s Rights for Canadians

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/13

Following the various acts and provisions for women to vote and to work while having the ability to make a formal complaint within the system set up against them in some or many instances in Canadian society, the next steps for the equality of women came with some of the enforcement of equity for Canadian women in different work domains and within sub-set considerations of the workplace too.

Some of these other acts were fro 1953, 1956, and 1986, found in the Canada Fair Employment Practices Act. Each of these three subsequent acts gave another basis upon which women could build their proverbial rock, as the discrimination against women seems more than palpable. Indeed, the discrimination against women would require the acts in order to have a legal and rights basis, or set of bases, upon which to enforce equality or fight for equality in the cases of explicit, overt discrimination on the basis of sex.

The Canada Fair Employment Practices Act of 1953 was specifically applied within the context of the civil service. The Female Employees Equal Pay Act of 1956 formally mandated that any discriminatory pay scale based on sex was, in fact, what it was the whole time but with the possibility for legal recourse now, wage discrimination. That discriminatory wage on the basis of sex could be something for women to fight for and pursue equality in a formal context with a legitimate pretext in law.

Not only found within the law, the implications for the social life also remain significant over time. As we see with the access to the arena of education around the world for women decades prior, we see the emergence of the dominance of women in education compared to men in most or all developed nations at all or most educational levels from kindergarten through graduate school.

Coming into 1986, there was the implementation of the Employment Equity Act; something important for two purposes within the federally regulated employee-employer relationships. In that, there must be an identification (of what?) and elimination (and how?). The identification of the barriers to employment opportunities. Individuals who want to find their way into the mainstream of the society require the ability to take on work without superfluous and unneeded barriers to access.

Those positions that do have unnecessary boundaries to the work become discriminatory, especially, within the context of the topic today, in regards to sex. Each act, though decades apart even, provides a solid or sound foundation for one aspect needing to be covered in some way, shape, or form for the further equality of the sexes (and of others) in Canadian society, to, in essence, democratize not only the civic and political life of the society with the right to vote for everyone but also the workplace with the equal opportunity to take part in the mainstream of the society’s professional and economic life.

This then extends into the international world as well. Canada has been taking much of the lead in the world of the gender equality. A particular item of note on the pathway towards the achievement of the SDGs or the Sustainable Development Goals. Canadians should, maybe, harbor a sense of happiness over achievements and trend lines in these spheres for the nation.

Some of those international documents coincide with commissions and councils working for the equality of women around the world and specifically within Canadian borders and society as well. If you look at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, we can see a specific series of functions and operations based on documented stipulations for the commission to work for the equality of women in Canada.

Then we have the Human Rights Council from which Canadian women can have their rights further voiced for and enforced in a manner of speaking for the greater equality with the men in Canadian society. It amounts to an international context with national implications. In this, we can see the relation, or for starters one relationship, between the nature of equality within the country, Canada, and around the world, for the rights in some documents in the former connecting to the rights in the documents in the latter and vice versa.

International women’s rights link to national women’s rights and contrariwise. The nature of the logical reciprocal relationship provides a global consensus basis both within and beyond borders for the equality of the sexes. Then we can see this stipulated in various domains of human concern and life. If we look into the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Canada was one of the first countries to ratify the document. Good job, Canada.

The change, as with other documents and ratifications, in the social and cultural life also take some time. It is in this sense that we seen the standards set for the elimination of gender discrimination. These will take time and may only been seen in full after we are dead, gone, and dust. But then again, great societies and systems and ways of life can be instantiated as quickly as they can go away, and if not, why not?

Why not permit the possibility in the imagination’s horizon, immediate even, for equal status of women in the society at all levels right away, it could be tomorrow or the “tomorrow” spoken of in the hopeful messages of those others dead, gone, and dust of whom we are the those of needed some time and then only saw. It can be immediate, could take a long time, but remains an ever-present possibility while never an inevitability.

In 2002, entering and ushering in the new millennium, Canada ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, that was originally adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000. In this ratification, our country remains not only legally but also morally bound in a way to the dictates of the international moral consensus – close to but not quite objective and transcendent insofar as these functionally relate to the lives of individual human people around the world – see in this document and, as bears almost infinite repetition, others.

The status of the document and its responsibilities include a national report from Canada as a Member State to the United Nations per four years for the information about the status of women in Canada – and the progression towards equality – and for the observation about how well the measures have worked in the previous four years. More on this can be seen here and here. That is the short article series on the historical context for women’s equality in Canada. Now, we see the modern pushbacks. Will we slide down or crawl up? It all comes to a matter of human choices and honoring the progress from before or not.

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2022-04-22

More on the History of the Equality of the Sexes in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/12

Following and coinciding with the first woman in Canada appointed to the Senate in 1930, the developments for gender equality moved forward including the time of transition in the early 20th century, where women did not have the right to vote in provincial or federal elections. It becomes a big problem for wanting to be considered an equal in society or even having this on the horizon as a possibility. Something in the imagination of the young, for the dreamers.

In 1916, there began to be some changes in Canada for the furtherance of equality of the sexes. Women began to earn the right to vote in some provincial elections including Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. This became a provincial right to vote in British Columbia and Ontario following those points in history. Important to note, the basic rights for women as legal persons in a democratic, functioning society should have them as voting equals.

These rights do not produce equality in one go, in all domains of operation in the nation, or with equal force. As described in the prior article on the context of Canadian equality of the sexes, we find the late acceptance of women’s property rights in Francophone Canada compared to the rest of the nation. It takes time for social life, cultural living, legal institutions and documents, and economic systems to align themselves for the general aim of gender equality.

In fact, this is seen in the targeted objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals. In any reasonable examination of the situation, we can see the lack of equality of women in most or all societies and inequality in some or most domains of the society. This is the split between theory and practice. More women than men are subject to various forms of discrimination and inequality, which creates problems in terms of the access to the “levers of power” within societies.

Continuing on, we see the same year passing of the War-time Elections Act meant for military women who have male relatives that are fighting in World War I to have the right to vote. This is an extension of the right to own property for the married women. It is an extension of military women to be able to vote. Moving onward in 1918, we find the development for one specific ethnic group, Caucasians, and sex, women, getting the right to vote not only in the provincial elections as before but in the elections that matter the most: the federal ones.

If women are to have equality with the men in their lives, they are going to need some form of provisions not only with the vote but also eventually with work, education, and with the reproductive health rights (e.g., safe and equitable access to abortion based on the statements of Human Rights Watch). Two caveats to this; women were still denied the right to vote in some provincial elections. Same denial to the right to vote for minorities – many of them – across the board.

It does not amount to a democracy in this sense. The next steps following this included the notion of the right to vote in not only Anglophone Canada but also in Francophone Canada for the women in Quebec. Come 1940, women were finally permitted the right to vote in the provincial elections. It took more time than the other provinces. With the territories, the Northwest Territories was the final territory to grant the right to vote for women, which happened in 1951.

Slightly before the period of 1951, we see the provisions for the right to vote for some minority groups. Then came the big shocker to the generations of old, the right to vote all registered Canadians in 1960, which was extended to Aboriginal men and women. That is to say, there are Aboriginal men and women alive today born before, even potentially a decade or more before, the right to vote had been given by the Government of Canada.

In reflection on a similar consideration or more properly lack thereof of the Indigenous populations in Canada, we know the last Residential school was closed as recent as 1996. These are human being stripped of a culture and heritage and reduced to a fraction of prior population numbers considered last for placement within the democratic system of Canadian society.

Racism comes in the modern form with attitudes at times. However, the attitudes become treated as if as serious as the real, concrete racism seen of old and in many areas of the world without any mechanisms for recourse and justice. The hard racism – so to speak – spoken to in the prior fact comes in the form of a denial of equality in law, in the documents and bases for the functioning of a society.

The lack of the right to vote in a democratic system makes the person akin to a persona non grata, but more precisely a non-person or an unperson because their voice has no individual or collective state in the civic and political affairs of the nation. You can’t vote because of Aboriginal. Then the vote comes into play. Things then take time to run downstream because many people will not care to vote into a system that has stripped and then deprived, and outright forced on, them of so much.

So it has been more women in terms of the acknowledged differences between the sexes observed by prominent people and then this gets taken as justification for denial of women the same privileges and rights in the society. Women can’t drive, vote, work outside the home, and wear what they want, and must be sole childcare providers and homemakers for no pay, be public utilities in the bearing of children alone, be unable to get education, and kept in a state of abject misery and virtual concubine status compared to the men in the society. That has been a long history needing extirpation from, which continues apace.

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2022-04-22

Some Context in History on Gender Equality in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/12

Canadian women are a colorful bunch; hence, the above picture to indicate a diverse grouping. Throughout the history of Canada – shallow and not yet completed in its formation, women and girls have been placed at a disadvantage with many men feeling as if they can garner superiority through subjugation in education, through the state, via religious orthodoxy – much of them, or within the home life – where women are assumed to be only naturally suited in domestic life for the convenience of the dominance narrative of men. Even recent turnovers in some areas, they are highly new and not by necessity indicative of changes to the fundamental mentalities and expectations of women, by men or women.

In the late 19th century or 1800s, Canadian married women earned property rights, which was new. Those became the first steps in the snowball for equality with the men in the society. This started in Ontario – hurrah – in 1884 followed by Manitoba in 1900 – softer cheering (16 years?). There was an act associated with the property rights for married women no less called the Married Women’s Property Act. Surprise, surprise, it gave married women legal rights to own property.

A status in ownership to land equivalent to the men. It is minimal but a step towards the world now seen today. If you look into the statistics of the people purchasing property, many more young women are buying property compared to men. It is in this that we see the outgrowth and development of motions set forth over one century ago. How these legal agreements may have played out on the ground may have been a different narrative than the simple statement of equality in provisions for the married women to purchase the property; but nevertheless, there we have some equality movement for the sexes.

All other provinces and the territories continued in the same direction. Regarding the ability of women in Francophone Canada to own property, it was only signed in 1964, not too long ago and important to bear in mind in consideration of the history of women’s rights.

Moving forward… the next development came in the form of the Civil Code of Québec. The Code was amended for married women to have full legal and property rights in Quebec. An important development for the equality of married Francophone women within Canada akin to the equality seen for Anglophone women within the provinces of Canada as well as the territories too.

Then came the idea of persons in 1867 – jumping back to the main timeline now and not the fulfilments, the document was amended to give married women full legal and property rights. In this year of some of the population of Canada’s alleged Lord, under the British North America Act, we find the definition of “persons” as another advancement for women’s rights.

This continued in the progression for the equality of women with female heroines in the Canadian narrative fighting for gender equality. Those women were the “Famous Five, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby.” These women were the ones to set about petitioning of the Canadian government – federal – for the Supreme Court of Canada to make an executive decision for the inclusion or not of women within the definition of persons with the Act.

As they petitioned in 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the inclusion of women in the definition of person/persons. The Supreme Court of Canada provided some reasons. One included the idea of the British North America Act in 1928 having to maintain the traditional definition of persons from 1867. You can probably note the similar arguments being made around the world about the notion of marriage as between one man and one woman.

The woman as in the image of Eve and God and the man in the image of Adam and God seems assumed prior to this, too, as the basis of the claims made regarding the definition of marriage tends to come from the major Christian faith groups in North America, if we take that specific segmentation in national geography, including Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical. These sects or traditions have been strong proponents of marriage as defined above and opposed to the notion of homosexual couples being able to marry on that basis.

With one caveat of the one basis in a legal secular argument for the maintenance of a definition and then the other in a religious context for keeping the definition the same, each time, secular-legal and religious, utilized for the restriction of the equality of persons with others in the society. The assumption: women are not equal to men; homosexual marriage is not equal to heterosexual marriage (probably connected to the idea of marriage as intended for procreation – no spilling of “seed”). In this particular case, the very definition of a person, even based on the premise of women being given the right to vote through the hard work of suffragism.

Insofar as I am concerned, the equality of the sexes in a democratic society comes from the basis of women having a form of equality with men through an equal vote. Each person having equivalent votes – rich and poor, men and women, black and white, and so on. The other stipulation for the rejection by the Supreme Court of Canada – the second of three – was the basis of the common law, where women could not hold political office.

Where women could not hold political office, the idea, I suppose, is women should or could not be politicians and so could not be beholden to any form of responsibility by being holders of power and influence in civic and civil society through the prevailing political system.

The third and final reason given was that the British parliament only meant, constructed and purposed, for “qualified persons” to be included in section 24 of the Act; where if women, so the argument went, wanted to have been considered those self-same qualified persons within the Act, then the document would have stated as such. However, this was not explicitly stated in the Act under section 24 and so women were not considered qualified persons.

Following the three-reason basis for rejection, there was an appeal to the Privy Council. The appeal ended with the Privy Council deciding in 1929 that the specification of the meaning of “person” was not clear. That lead to work for a better understanding of the word “person.” Keep in mind, this is history and the lifeline of gender equality in Canadian society through the British North America Act based on not a statement but a word: “person.”

What is a person? How does a person exist in theory? What is the relation between a physical biological real person with thoughts, feelings, and targeted objectives, and the law or the theory? How does sex – mostly – dimorphism fit into this for men and women under the status of a person? Why should this matter in a democracy (can’t we simply have a plutocratic polyarchic patriarchy)?

Words matter. To paraphrase Margaret Atwood, a word after a word after a word is a bunch of words; each needs a definition. Those definitions give the power and the force, especially regarding the law of the land and this Act in particular. Thus, the British North America Act was given a wider umbrella of definition. Within this greater definition, we find women as persons within the Act and equals in this particular instance with yet still more work to be done for the equality.

After this point in 1930, we find Cairine Reay Wilson appointed as the first woman in the Senate. Neat, huh?

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2022-04-22

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Article I

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/11

Article 1

For the purposes of this Declaration, the term “violence against women” means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993)Here once more, we come to the documentation delineating the importance of the equality of women with men, where men have been using – and not by necessity in a conscious manner or morally abject and directed fashion – their general power over women in the home, in the family, in the community, in the workplace, in the educational institutions, and in the societies.

However, there exist documents pertaining to the import of women’s equality based on a sense of realization of the Golden Rule expanded or the moral sphere extended into the arena of the sexes and, in particular, to the less dominant one often seen as subjected, subjugated, expected to be in obeisance, and kept down based on their sex; who now, they can be brought into the major fold of the power centers of the world: women.

As noted in Article 4 of the CEDAW and in Article 25(2) of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, the nature of the special measures apply to women, especially in the instances of women who choose maternity (to be mothers), but remain temporary in their application in order to offset the historical unfairness against women and the historical injustices set upon them for simply being women.

As well, as noted by the CEDAW, women shall not be considered in any way having a greater advantage over men with these temporary special measures – whatever they may be and whenever they may be applied for a particular period of time – precisely because of two stipulations with the temporariness of them and also the intention to speed the trajectory of women’s equality with the men in their lives.

On December 20th, 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed Resolution 48/104 and, thus, became the actualization or instantiation of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This became a basis within the lifetime of many of the young readers – and, of course, the older ones as well – of The Good Men Project for the further protection of women from the discriminatory practices of old, which means yesterday or a blink of an eye in recorded historical terms.

The document speaks to the equality of women directly in the main portions of the document, where the equality of women with others becomes an imperative. That is, the equality, security, liberty, dignity, and integrity of women shall be ensured by the signatories to these declarations and conventions, and resolutions, including this declaration.

The purpose of the declaration is to support and enshrine those documents on the international stage affirming the right to equality of women with men. The affirmations of the international community in a host of documents provide some reason for hope in the equality of the sexes and in the MDG transition into the SDG focus on gender equality.

Some documents insisting on the need for the non-discrimination of women and the equality of the sexes in the adherence to their inherent value as human beings, whether inhered in the divine through associated and linkage with the transcendent or down on Earth in the biological and genetic connection in a common species, and, therefore, need to be given human rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960), The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993), Beijing Declaration (1995), United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000), The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003), and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011).

Each effective in different areas of the world and to different degrees based on the timing and the Member State taking the time to be a signatory to it. Whether an Indigenous woman – maybe 3-4% of the total population of the Earth by accepted expert estimates – or a non-Indigenous woman, the same rights and values as a human being apply for women with men based on these various documents.

With this particular declaration or the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Article I deals with the ways in which women, within the confines of the declaration, be assured in the precision and domain of the protections for their equality. In particular, the violence against women becomes any act of violence based on the gender of the individual. In these cases, far more often the violence gets meted out to the women.

The violence does not have to be regular; it does not have to be persistent, but could simply be a singular act in order to reduce the rights of women through an act of violence against her based on gender or sex alone. Based on the use of the overlay on top of biology with the term “gender” in place of “sex,” this seems to imply the manner of biological males who feel as if women who then transitioned into women while being biological males and also biological women who identify as women by gender.

Of course, the data seems clear with biological sex and gender attached to one another in some deep ways but not inextricably for all cases. The use of the term gender-based violence becomes quite salient in this light and the developments of socio-cultural life.

With respect to the violence based on gender, the next coverage enters into the area of the probabilistic with the statement of the likely result of physical harm or suffering of the woman. In fact, this being listed as the first of three types – with the other two, in order, as sexual and psychological – important to note. Because the violence against women, as women, comes in the form of physical harm, domestic violence, from men against women far more than other forms of violence.

In fact, the type of harm and violence exacted on women represents something noticeable in the markings on the body based on the severity. It is as Margaret Atwood notes about the mutual and distinct fears, but common emotion, of women about men and men and about women, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”

Indeed.

The next form of harm for women, as listed, is the sexual violence based on gender. Women undergo vaginal rape; men do not, obviously. Furthermore and more to the point, women undergo rape more than men in normal circumstances, even though I do not mention rape – or sexual misconduct or sexual violence – as a normal case as in a “norm” but, rather, as a standard environment and expectation of a context. In that environment and context, women undergo rape those forms of violence more than men. The statistics bear this out.

Of course, women abuse men at about equivalent rates but the violence takes the form of psychological, social, emotional, and verbal abuse against men in contrast to the main form of violence by men against women with physical and sexual violence found in domestic abuse and rape; nonetheless, the violence rates remain about equivalent and only differing in style. The sexual form, happily, is being proclaimed as universally bad and called out through various movements expedited via social media.

It amounts as a cleaning-up act for the world’s cultures.

The final form listed in Article I is the psychological harm or suffering inflicted on women. An example of this that many women may relate to comes in the manifestation of a man continually, repeatedly threatening to cut off financial backing or livelihood, or simply threatening to leave. These sorts of violence inflicted on women amount to another type of violence.

Women lack financial resources in most societies compared to men. Many women live subordinate in the family, community, society, and within the frameworks set out in large swathes of interpretations of the religions of the areas. The threats to enact the cessation of monetary resources or abscond relational and potential paternal duties becomes life-threatening for these women with only theoretical and not actualized rights.

In fact, even if they have the rights and the rights come into the discourse of the society and the laws, the women may still yet live in societal conditions in which the women themselves are not actualized; and so do not realize their own equality with the men before the national law and international documents, it becomes psychological. The final portions of the article give some further indication as to what is meant in the context of the document, as follows:

…including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

How this ties into the overarching referent point of gender equality, we see the threats, the coercion, and the deprivation of liberty, and importantly, in public or private indicate the ways in which the aspects of the right reduce the ability to abusers to take advantage of women with the threat of the force of law. Men or women partners can become severely punished for a violation of these rights stipulated in only the first article of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.

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2022-04-22

The Nature of Writing with Sarah Mills of Conatus News

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/11

Sarah Mills is a Writer and Editor at Conatus News, as well as a personal friend with whom I have written some articles. We did another interview prior. Here is a short interview talking about writing with her.

When I asked about the process of writing, Mills stated that she is continually re-evaluating personal positions. Even in further reflections on the positions held, her positions have developed significantly over time. She noted that writers can feel a bit “sheepish” in the admittance of changing personal positions and views on things. However, there can be a great strength in the reconsidering and change of positions.

Mills explained, “This past year has afforded me, through its challenges, the opportunity to reflect and also expand upon ideas I had previously taken for granted as indisputable or even noble. Writers are living creatures. They have to go through life to grow as writers, to write more deeply, more broadly, with greater wit, precision, and insight.”

Following this, I asked about the normal human impulse to not feel anything rather than deal with emotions head-on in order to cope with life. Mills stated that the past year has been particularly difficult and daunting for personal life struggles for her, where she notes the fundamental need to remain honest with oneself about the issues facing oneself.

“I personally feel that the solace found in distraction can be indulged in only once we have processed our traumas. Otherwise, distractions are a form of procrastination–we only put off healing until a later time,” Mills said, “To write is to be present and observant, but also to be vulnerable to the burden of empathy, introspection, and insight. If this sounds pretentious, it is not meant to be, I assure you. It is merely a tool of the trade to be able to put yourself in another’s shoes, to place yourself under scrutiny, and to see patterns in human behavior and world events.”

Those tools become important for the development of the character of the individual writer. This then leads into the trick of the trade of writing and editing. Mills remarked that there are no tricks, unfortunately, because the writer remains, at the end of their day, a reader. Same with the editing too. No shortcuts exist for good editing, where the vision of the work as a whole is important to bear in mind in order to edit and write well. She finds the editing of well-written work a “rare joy.”

The last question for this follow-up session was on the pluses and minuses of being an introspective person. Mills commented on the idea of meeting someone like you who does not cast judgment. However, she thinks that an excess of introspection and introversion can be unpleasant for people who happen to harbor those tendencies. It sounds like a cruel irony from the universe.

“Projecting outwards is sharing the heavy weight of existence and I envy those to whom it comes naturally. An introspective person will dissect her character and actions a hundred times a day and this only leaves her needing stitches. In the end, though, it could be argued she has a rich existence,” Mills concluded, “I am playing to stereotypes, of course, but introspection carries a positive only in virtue of its burdensome negative–the deeper you dig, the more you find. But you may not always like what you find–about yourself and others.”

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2022-04-22

The Fourth Article of Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/10

Article 4

1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity shall not be considered discriminatory.

Now, of the documents covered in the last week or so including The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2), Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13, and the Istanbul Convention Article 38 and Article 39.

The purpose of the CEDAW or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is based on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It is a set of independent experts who function as a body. That body is responsible for the monitoring of the implementation of the convention.

There are, internationally, 23 experts from around the world who have specializations in women’s rights. Inside of the convention, there are several instantiations, important ones, of women’s protections and the need for their equality.

Article 4 of the CEDAW contains two sub-sections representative of the equalities instantiated for women through adoptions by states parties. People signed onto this document, so remain bound to it; that means the adoptions cannot be ignored for the importance of the implementation of the rights. In reflection on the overall philosophy of the documents, we find the adoption by the representative and signatory nations an imperative to implement the documentation; while also acknowledging the fact of the lack of integration between the social contract underpinning of the documents and reality of their coming to fruition, especially as they pertain to the equality of women, the notion, at a minimum connected to general principles, comes to the fore in the representation of women in rights as equal to men but not in talents and temperaments for a start.

In Article 4(1), there exists he statements about the temporary measures for the acceleration of the equality between men and women. That does add some nuance to the discussion because not everyone agrees with the general conceptualization of seemingly imposed equality between the sexes.

In one sense, we find the imposition as an integral part to the equality of the sexes. Another sense seems to need to take into account the historical discrimination against women and how this has impacted progress right into the present and the ways in which women can be treated more as equals within the society through temporary measures to offset the impacts of those historical discriminations – only for them to be repealed because the counter-weight or opposition-balance has been set in motion through those temporary measures for the equality of women with men.

Those measures that can provide for the equality of women with men, as the equality is to have the means by which women can become equal with men – as delineated by Harriet Taylor Mill and John Stuart Mill decades ago. The notion of a reality is women as lesser than men for a long time and so the two trajectories continue on their trendline or due course of greater freedom but with the caveat or justification of women moving at a more rapid pace than men at present to indicate a greater tightening of the gap between men and women in general or overall – but, of course, some can note temporary declines or regresses in the equality of women with the men

The definitions of equality lay not only in other documents than the CEDAW but within this one itself, which leads to the genuine actualization from the paper presentation of equality of women with men.

To reiterate subsection (1) of Article 4:

Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

The first sections of Article 4(1) seem covered in their considerations, but the next portions pertain to the potential misapprehension of these temporary measures as outright discrimination or unbalanced in the provisions of the rights for women against men; the purpose of the convention and the statements therein lie with the intention to create a basis for some ideals in civil societies for greater equality of the women with the men for the women to be able to gather apace with the men.

Women deserve equality. If the men across the board did not have the right to vote or to work, or in some manner went through ubiquitous and pervasive discrimination based on the fact of their being men, e.g. the draft, then this would equally apply to them if such a convention was broad-based; however, within much of the current conversation and the historical considerations, the case has been as such for most women most of the time.

The measures thus were given to women for further equality then shall not be considered “unequal or separate standards” as they are temporary and so by definition not indefinite articles but only permanent statements within the CEDAW for period-bound implementations. Then the measures once implemented will undergo processes of cessation and atrophy as the equality in both “opportunity and treatment” becomes closer to a reality and achieved for the women of the world or in particular States Parties.

Article 4(2) continues in a similar pathway of thinking:

2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity shall not be considered discriminatory.

The Convention or CEDAW is not to be considered a loose document. It is intended to provide a basis for the equality of the sexes through the provision of some protections, which are present in pervasive values around the world in international documents but also represented within specific stipulations of the CEDAW itself. The special measures unique to women and also represented in documents such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Those stipulations or parts of articlesésections devoted to the protection of biological female concerns with childbirth and so maternity. You can see Article 25 in full here but in particular 25(2):

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Motherhood amount to things “entitled to special care and assistance.” Similar or itemizing and same principle behind the statements in the CEDAW for the protection of maternity for women, the special care provisions for maternity. Whatever form and whenever time the provisions for special care and assistance are considered for women’s maternity concerns, the international community who are signatories to these documents are required and indeed obligated to help women in these areas.

Without such protections, women have a much harder time to work against the discriminations traditionally found in the state, the community, the religion, and in many families around the world because women are seen as chattel, as property, and lesser than men and even their male children, which becomes a particularly stark problem for the implementation of those rights for women when most of their leaders and the advisors to those leaders are men without knowledge and, in fact, acknowledgement of the difficulties and pains of maternity for many women.

Even the lightest of help with the discrimination that can happen with maternity for women, these can work towards the implementation of Article 4 of the CEDAW and in more general terms the notions of women’s equality as provided by the international consensus on a universalist ethic and in the Golden Rule in a Utilitarian Consequentialist ethic found in John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

On Theology, Masculinity, and Opening Up About Health, with Melvin Lars

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/10

Mr. Melvin Lars is a native of Bossier City/Shreveport, Louisiana; he received several undergraduate and graduate academic degrees from various universities; La. Tech. (BS) Univ. & Centenary (Admin. Cert.) College) in Louisiana, Texas (Tx. Southern (MA) Univ), Michigan (Eastern, Mi Univ, & Saginaw Valley St. Univ.) and has done extensive educational studies in Ohio (Youngstown (Supt., cert.)St Univ) and California (Los Angeles, (CA. cert) City College).

Lars is a certified Violence Prevention/Intervention Specialist, receiving his certification and training through the prestigious Harvard University, with Dr. Renee Prothro-Stith.

He is a licensed/ordained Elder/Minister in both the C.O.G.I.C. & C.M.E. Churches. He is the CEO/founder of Brighter Futures Inc; a Family Wellness, Violence Prevention/Intervention and Academic Enhancement and entertainment Company; an affiliate representative for the NFL ALLPRODADS Initiative. Former interim; Executive Director of Urban League of Greater Muskegon, Former NAACP President of Muskegon County; 2007–2012, employed as a consultant to the Michigan Department of Education as a Compliance Monitor for the (NCLB Highly Qualified) initiative for Highly Qualified Teachers and works collaboratively with Hall of Famer Jim Brown and his Amer-I-Can Program and is a ten-time published author of various books, and self-help and academic articles. He is married to Ann Lars and is the father of one adult son, Ernest. Here we talk about theology and health in an uncensored and educational series, which continues from the article on faith and masculinity.

As we continued to talk about the issues of theology, we went into more on the idea of pseudocrap and the health concerns for Lars.

This session opened on the idea of men’s health and then men talking publicly about their own issues with health: psychological, emotional, and physical. In a public interview – audiovisual, Lars talked a major health issue with the potential to be fatal. Men do not talk about their health issues in American culture. The issue is too taboo. However, he talked about it, in a public forum broadcast and stored in YouTube.

He stated, “The reason for going public was because of our male pseudo crap [Laughing]. I, like most males, ignored symptoms. They were severe. I had a rash. It did not cure itself. I talked to a friend who is a physician. He thought it might be a food allergy. They found this to be leukemia. It was the white blood cells and lack of red blood cells. The rest was history. I wanted to talk about it. I wanted to inspire others. It had nothing to do with how masculine or tough I was. I could bench press 500 pounds or more, I could squat 600 pounds or more and I was the picture of health.”

He was able to do these incredible physical feats and work as a successful coach each and every day. But then he began to see red while driving at night. He thought that the vehicle in front of him was turning their brake lights on, but this was not the case. In fact, it was quite far from the reality, where he was seeing the red not because of the brakes but because of the blood leaking into the interior of his eyeballs. The red was his own blood.

Lars has an open goal of making men more conscious of their bodies and to get assistance in the light or potential health concerns for them. This brought to mind the idea of pseuocrap brought forward by him in earlier conversations. When I specified pseudocrap, I wanted to target this avenue of it. The avenue related to the men in our societies who do not want to admit weakness including health concerns.

“Scott, with the whole process as men, we do not whine, complain. We do not talk about uncomfortable things. Those ‘unmanly’ things. That, in and of itself, is a detriment to men and young boys getting in touch with their realities and they have a tendency to develop this sense of invincibility,” He continued, “Because we do not control what happens in the atmosphere, we do not control what happens to our bodies. Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a very rare form of leukemia and there is no known treatment for it. As the oncologist and I discussed this ailment and its causes, the oncologist stated; ‘We do not know what causes it, we theorize that it may be caused by stress.'”

Lars was left to deal with experimental procedures or simply go home and die. It was a bleak diagnosis and set of options for him. He began to get chemotherapy for about 2 years. The chemotherapy did not work on his cancer and leukemia appeared after a remission of only very brief periods of time. He attributes the survival of leukemia to the faith or religious belief and the adherence to a higher power in his life.

Lars stated, “None of the experiments worked. I was told. I would not see my 40th birthday. Evidently, they did not consult with God. I am 65. I turned 65 yesterday. From a male’s perspective, we cause more physical and mental damage to young boys and young men with all of this false machismo.”

This extended the conversation into the areas of veterans and young men who suffer from depression, suicidal tendencies, and so on. The idea of mental health and mental illness became one forefront of the dialogue with Mr. Lars.

He explained, “That is an interesting issue. We see mental health as a weakness. We see it as a flaw. Unfortunately, in a world of both men and women who perceive themselves to be this strong, invincible human specimen any form of perceived weakness is viewed as being flawed. They see mental health as a negative “human trait” in the individual. With PTSD sufferers who are veterans, no one ever discusses the fact, that, these problems were pre-war.”

This then leads to issues around the individuals who are going into the military. In further consideration of the individuals going into the military, Lars noted that the people who would be allowed to go in based on extensive psychological studies; they would probably be seen as unfit for duty. The damage done to the individual and others can be quite great.

He spoke on the staying alive in combat with bullets and mortars flying at you. It causes trauma. Those individuals who have some form of mental disability can be unfit. Think about if someone kills another human being; that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

He relayed personal experience, “One of my cousins, who is now a police officer did not pass the psychological aspect of the exam, However; he got a second chance to take the exam. This time [Laughing], he passes the exam. I think, “’f he is psychologically disqualified the first time, then he will be psychologically disqualified the second time.’ He will remember the questions and know not to answer the questions honestly. That is an atrocity and endangers provides a “war-zone” giving a green light to people that may ultimately hurt themselves and others. The psychological problem was already there.”

The head in the sands phenomena of the society is a huge issue. And then we do not even care enough about these people, where the veterans get unnoticed, ignored, and uncared for.

“One of the most irresponsible things people continually do is to ignore the signs of mental illness, disregard those that cannot help themselves, your congress and senate persons refuses to pass legislation to assist veteran homelessness, veterans health care, veteran joblessness not to mention; veteran suicides (22 suicides per day is being committed by veterans) rates, and then have the audacity to insult their intelligence was some empty self-serving statement as if they are paying homage to the military, by stating, ‘Thank you for the service,'” Lars explained.

He considers it an empty and then wasted statement. Because people are placing their lives on the lineup for a gamble with the crypt each and every day for our own sakes, and then on the Senate floor in the United States and with Congress bills are being proposed for military assistance but then not passed on the Senate floor. It shows a disjunction between the rhetoric in the public sphere and then actual work in contradistinction to said work in the legal and political arena.

Lars opined, “You have the audacity to tell people, ‘Thank you for your service.’ Then we do not want to pay them any money. This is a huge problem, as we talk about people being vulnerable with PTSD and mental illness. They commit suicide. Society has caused in individuals through constant bullying. We have damaged people with the constant bullying. They feel, ‘I cannot live up to the expectations. I might as well take my own life.'”

I noted that the men in the military will often be the poor of the country, the poor men of the nation, and the poor men often are the minority men, which then exacerbates the problems of the communities even more than before.

Lars explained, “Yes, as you shared the question, Scott, the warmongers in the office. People try to get angry with the messenger. If you have ever noticed, Scott, 99% of the people talking about being pro-war. They are never in the military. You cannot get them to go to war. There is something to be said about it. This patriotism and dying for the country. If I make the statement and am not willing to do it, what does this say about me? This is why you have so many men confused, who take their own lives.”

The lack of knowledge about how they will stack. Lars states that people should be careful about who they listen to and that the current president of the US has been an individual who dodged the military service all his life and then talks about “being tough.” It is another disjunction between the powerful and their public statements and then the actuality on the ground based on their personal and professional history of negligence in service of their fellow countrymen and countrywomen.

“That is where people need to be careful. They need to be careful when they vilify and talk about these young men being weak and not being good patriots. All that foolishness. When the person doing all the talking, they were the quintessential coward,” Lars said.

In reflection on the conversation, I saw two streams with the idea of historical inertia or men needing to fill the military. Men feeling as if they need to be part of the military. It is almost like an unconscious historical inertia.

Then I saw another one.

“Those who find a political benefit to themselves to make appropriate statements, for themselves, about national pride, military pride, saving the world, and so on. Usually, they or their children will not go into the military. They have the option, or the finances, to not have to go into the military. It is not an individual and familial risk for them. It may not be for them an aggressive thing. It may be them not reflecting on what they’re saying, something reflective,” I said, “If someone talks about patriot love and having national pride, what are the symbols? The military, the police, the administration — Republican or Democratic, these become markers of someone who is a true American, a real American. Those who may be conscientious objectors become anti-Americans. Someone saying this. It comes with certain benefits — in many cases, it seems. If they keep saying them, they become like the Lord’s Prayer or the Nicene Creed.”

I noted that someone may not know what to pray about on a particular day but will simply begin to pray the Lord’s Prayer as a sort of habit rather than out of a genuine and heartfelt concern for the spiritual well-being of themselves or another. Similar with the slogans of the ‘true patriot’ politician and others.

“You have stated very well, exactly what I am talking about. It is why I call it pseudo-crap. Because it is a conditioned response. Again, I am not a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, or psychologist, it is like the experiment of Pavlov with the dog. The bell rings, the dog thinks it’s dinner time and begins to salivates,” Lars stated, “It is a conditioned response. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Scott, it is like the bully on the playground. The bully on the playground knows who to pick a fight with. The bully looks for the attention of other people.”

Thus, the individual may pretend to be touch in order for the crowd to applaud and cheer for them while they are watching; however, the same individual would not fight but , rather, would talk about having other people fight for them. It is a double-standard of, in essence, sending poor men – often minority men – off to die and be maimed and traumatized in war and then come back as veterans and be ignored when they speak out about their personal metnal illnesses and mental health issues.

Lars said, “All of these people doing this big-bad, tough talking are just talk and no action. I will be very frank with you, man. My family is filled with military individuals. Two nephews retired, recently, my son was in the military. (I was not in the military). Several uncles and aunts, were also in the military; I see and hear over and over about the devastating mental and physical affects that they continue to endure as a direct result of having served in the military.”

He reflected on the ways people talk about themselves as true patriots but have never themselves been in the military or taken the chances. Rather, as Lars said, “They let someone else take the chance. So, they can continue to enjoy their lifestyles, wave their flags and fool themselves into believing that they are the epitome of patriotism. That is the biggest hypocrisy in the world, as I see it.”

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2022-04-22

Melvin Lars Speaks on Faith and Masculinity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/09

Lars is a certified Violence Prevention/Intervention Specialist, receiving his certification and training through the prestigious Harvard University, with Dr. Renee Prothro-Stith.

He is a licensed/ordained Elder/Minister in both the C.O.G.I.C. & C.M.E. Churches. He is the CEO/founder of Brighter Futures Inc; a Family Wellness, Violence Prevention/Intervention and Academic Enhancement and entertainment Company; an affiliate representative for the NFL ALLPRODADS Initiative. Former interim; Executive Director of Urban League of Greater Muskegon, Former NAACP President of Muskegon County; 2007–2012, employed as a consultant to the Michigan Department of Education as a Compliance Monitor for the (NCLB Highly Qualified) initiative for Highly Qualified Teachers and works collaboratively with Hall of Famer Jim Brown and his Amer-I-Can Program and is a ten-time published author of various books, and self-help and academic articles. He is married to Ann Lars and is the father of one adult son, Ernest. Here we talk about faith and masculinity in an uncensored and educational series.

When Lars and I discussed the traditional notions of the masculine, we talked for the beginning of the conversation at the ideas as presented and then interpreted in the Old Testament and the New Testament in Christianity. The notion of the stoic male was an important one for centuries and decades right into the present and continues to influence the ways in which men and boys see themselves and their proper role in societies and in families.

Lars stated, “I want to start with something that may offend men. I use the passage: ‘Man should love his wife as God loves the church.’ That trumps everything, when we talk about procreation, when we talk about how to treat our brother, and when we talk about the Golden Rule. Even though, one may not be married. One does understand. We are supposed to love our wives the way God loved the church. We know that God told Peter, ‘Upon this rock, I will build my church.'”

He talked about how this is not necessarily a physical rock spoken of by Peter but, rather, the nature of masculinity and a solid place and role for men to be able to affirm themselves and assure their contributing role to community and family, for example. He spoke of Man’s interpretation of God’s Word. Here we find the interesting setting for the nature of the relationship between the individual human interpretation of holy scripture and the eventual outcomes in the lives and identities of men, as one example.

“When we start to discuss Man’s interpretation of God’s Word, we should start with loving our wives as God loves the church,” Lars stated, “I would go back to the beginning, in Genesis it talks about how Man was created, God spoke the world into existence, It talks about God felt that Adam needed a help meet, he put Adam to sleep removed one of his ribs and fashioned a woman. We, as men, take the Bible and twist it. This assertion will anger many theologians, it angers Bible scholars and parishioners.”

That the individuals who consider themselves the experts on the Word of God amount to interpreters of said Word. Within that view or lens, we can see the critique of the particular reference of specific scriptures because of the problem of individual human limitations and the ways in which we as flawed creatures create interpretations making us vulnerable to influence whole generations of men who can act in unhealthy ways for not only themselves but also for the women and boys who interact with them.

The women deal with potentially domineering and overbearing men; the boys see and replicate or mimic the unhealthy male role models.

Lars continued, “When you cite specific scriptures, it is opened to individual interpretation. I will be honest with you, Scott. I am careful about citing specific scriptures. There are so many interpretations and as a result, people begin to argue about the Bible rather than discuss the Bible. When you start to pinpoint specific scripture, that is [Laughing] when the arguments start between people.”

He is one to make generalizations in order to not have a specific scripture or phrase, or word, in the statements about God’s Word beholden to misinterpretation or the limited interpretations of Man. Lars pointed to the fact that the Bible has been interpreted in several ways and came from decent but not perfect translations from other languages include Hebrew and other extant languages.

In the cases of personal experience, Lars related his educational experience in Spanish and French class in high school, where the languages do not perfectly translate the meaning behind the language in every case. It can, as you might imagine, produce problems for the specific interpretations of the scriptures within the context of the times or in the searching for the precise meaning of what God meant in his Word.

“I talk about the Bible in generalizations rather than through the citation of specific scriptures in order to engage individuals in a discussion rather than to attempt to show some misinformed expertise of God’s word,” Lars explained, “For example, I took French in high school, the mere structure of the language is drastically different from the English language, thus causing confusion and the mis prounciation of words, phrases and sentence structure. I took Spanish in high school as well and it presented the same frustrations and complications, I cannot speak it well at all. When you look at it, linguistically, it is different.”

These differences by analogy or methodological overlay imply the similar differences in the meanings with what the, for instance, Bible scholars, theologians, and preachers may state to their followers at any one moment in time. He made an astute point about belief and faith and the phrases many or most of us have heard at least once in our lives living in North America.

He stated, “You have the Bible scholars who shape it. They make the Bible say what they want the Bible to say to the congregation. This does not permit people the opportunity to think, nor to interpret it. Instead, people will say, ‘You have to have faith. You have to believe.’ I think that in and of itself is open to question simply because there is no defining, causation of complete understanding relative to; ‘faith’ and ‘belief.'”

This then leads the conversation into the common interpretations of the Bible within the North America context. Because there are outcomes in the stoic persona men take on, especially in the denial of their feelings; this denial gets seen as being a better and a stronger man than the ‘weaklings’ who express their emotions. HThis repression harms men of all backgrounds because this seems like a pathology of North American culture to me.

Lars affirmed, “Absolutely, my angle on this, Scott. I love the question. Although, you fashioned the question in the form of a statement. When you see men with these stoic attitude, and this pretentious since of being disconnected emotionally, I love to ask them a few simple questions; ‘If you feel that in order to display your prowess as a man, and that you should be stoic, and not show emotions; Why do you have that beer? Why do you have that whiskey? Why do you smoke the cigar? Why do you use tobacco?'”

These self-medicating actions of men shut them off their emotions and have them thinking of shutting down and cutting out their emotional lives makes them a better man in some way. However, it does not seem to be the case at all. Lars bluntly pointed out that if the men did not have these problems in repression of emotions then they would not need the whiskey and other substances for self-medication.

“Because, all of these foreign substances are used to replace something that is obviously missing in their lives. In essence, they are showing emotion. Even though, it may not show on the physical face, but inside, the emotions are racing out of control. There is a false persona. A false persona of not showing emotions, where the face appears emotionless — as if able to handle any difficulty,” Lars explained.

As the conversation came to a close, I focused on the impacts on boys and adolescent men who watch the adult men taking on this false persona. Lars was quite direct and blunt in the statement of the opinion that the boys and adolescent men are harmed, even more than the men who take on these false personas. Furthermore, the old men do not want to admit the potential damage they can cause the younger generations in their actions and behaviors in general.

Lars stated, “Any of us who are honest with ourselves understand that the loss of a loved one, the disappointment on the job or a sought-after career, even a young lady who we have interest in and who does not have interest in us can be devastating. As an example, if one is preparing for an exam, he spends three weeks burning the midnight oil studying for it. Then he barely has successful outcome if the outcome was successful.”

Emotions are real. They affect us all. The idea of sucking up emotions at a time of personal crisis. Or the notion of not showing emotions until the next time, what happens at the next time or prior to the next time? Black, White, Hispanic, and Indian/Indigenous men all suffer from this in North America only moderated in its flavor by sub-cultures. Lars talked about the things that the young men and boys are not left with someone to say, “Okay, let’s try it this way and do this to enhance what you did last time.”

It is difficult when the only thing the boys and young men hear is the following: “Go back and do it again, or you didn’t put in enough time.”But the young men want to be the boy or man the dad or guy next door is proud of knowing. It becomes the basis for young men facing their emotional pain and lives alone, which along with the lack of constructive encouragement causes, as Lars stated, an “inner destruction, which is unnecessary.”

Lars continued, “Men should be honest and say, ‘I am with you. I support you. I understand that you did what you thought was correct. Let me see if I can share something with you that may improve the process next time.'”

This lead into the media and the cultural representations of the hyper-masculine men including the Marvel comic movies, the tough Western cowboy, and the Hip-Hop and Rap thug, where women are subordinate and one-dimensional and the men are dominant and the heroes. He talked about this being “pseudo-crap.” It is an extension of this false representation and persona of the men in the world.

“[Laughing] Why is it a bunch of pseudo-crap? Because, if have your tough cowboys, and/or the tough thugs, what do they do? They use a foreign substance to gain ‘strength.’ I.e., alcohol, whiskey, cocaine, marijuana, etc. As much as I loved the Black Panther, he had to take a substance to materialize into this character,” Lars elaborated, “The Cowboys, you have to be this tough guy. You have to ask, ‘Barkeep, give me a whiskey’ [Laughing]. You got to have courage from the alcohol. Sylvester Stallone, you are eating raw eggs, which are supposed to enhance your strength and stamina.”

He continued to state, “[Laughing] It is all a bunch of pseudo-crap, Scott. Unfortunately, human beings, especially the male human being, are not confident in ourselves. Because you know your flaws and vulnerabilities. Whereby now, you have to put on this façade of perfection.”

The notion of having weaknesses and needing to improve, and have made mistakes and need to learn, become a huge admission in denial of this “façade of perfection.” Men, in a sense, do this to themselves, where they see themselves as having to dominate others. The message for men who take on this stoic male persona; those who misinterpret God’s Word in the Bible, and who need to upgrade and update their sense of masculine identity should look into the things they most do not want to do for the sake of themselves and those around them and the upcoming generations: admit mistakes, feel, and constructively engage with the emotional world before them and inside of them.

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2022-04-22

Section 3 of The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/09

Obligation to Provide Equitable Compensation

The following provision is not in force.

Marginal note: Obligations of employers and bargaining agents

3 (1) An employer shall, in respect of its non-unionized employees, take measures to provide them with equitable compensation in accordance with this Act. In the case of unionized employees, the employer and the bargaining agent shall take measures to provide those employees with equitable compensation in accordance with this Act.
Marginal note: Notice to employees(2) Every employer shall post, in the prescribed manner, a notice setting out the text of subsection (1) and describing the rights employees have under this Act.

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394)

Through the discussion of the equality of the sexes, the literal breadth and variety but thematically focused number of documents devoted to the equality of the sexes implies a form of import not seen in many other areas in the country or the around the world, which implies a certain importance observed through the empirical research on multinational development and on the rightness of human rights, and women’s rights, on the international scene.

Within the Canadian context, this remains the same and not entirely different from the other contexts because of the need for the further development of the society in relative lockstep within the trends of development of the society akin to other nation-states around the world. In the recent past, we find these developments in the country right into the present including in the creation and approval of The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act (S.C. 2009, c. 2, s. 394).

The Act states that the nature of the employer-employee relation remains one needing to be of equality, equal provisions for the individual in question with the necessity for the equitable compensation for the work in question. Employers should want happier workers; employees want to be able to make a living. Insofar as the third section of the Act speaks to the need to provide equality for the women in the society, the equitable compensation is an important part of this as there appears two distinct misinterpretations of the data based on the metaphor of the Left-Right axis provides for us.

In particular, and acknowledging this axis comes within the framework enforced by the public relations system and is predictable within the propaganda model of the mass media, the Left, as a hypothetical abstract, defines the gender pay gap as a real and huge phenomena and the Right, as another Platonic object, describes this as non-existent and the meritocracy is in place. Both seem wrong.

The Left seems wrong based on the differences in preferences of the men and the women within the society. The talent, ability, length of work hours, hardness of work, skill level, demand of the skills and job, and the scale of the job and sacrifices made to attain it; those are empirical findings that, in fact, reduce the level of the gender pay gap given in my fellow feminists’ discourse on it.

However, the gap continues to exist even after taking into account the differences on these factors, where the Right becomes in a general way wrong because the claim is that the gender pay gap is non-existent; when, in fact, the gender pay gap is alive but not as well. It becomes an in-between situation for the equality of women within the society.

The important interpretation of the Act comes from the nature of the dealings between the employers and the bargaining agents – so-called – or, more properly, the companies and those who want to make a living, to work. The nature of the investment in the potential employee and of the employee into the company becomes essential for the equal consideration of the parties herein, that is, the searching employer and the hopeful employee.

The employer and the bargaining agent in the case of the Act have the fortunate circumstance of living in or doing business in Canada or both, and the equitable compensation for equal work is important in the consideration of the equality of the sexes. The purpose is to provide the employees with the equitable compensation within the constraints and provisions of the act, where the discriminatory pay scale based on sex shall not be permitted within the law as the law shall be enforceable upon the parties who discriminate against someone based on their sex.

This would equally apply to men but pertains to a historical and present emphasis on the women here because of the need to provide for the equal rights of the citizens of the country. This covers the descriptions of subsection (1) of section 3 of the Act. The Act contains another subsection, (2), working within the furtherance of equality in the compensation areas around the rights of the employee through the obligation of the employer.

As stated:

Marginal note: Notice to employees(2) Every employer shall post, in the prescribed manner, a notice setting out the text of subsection (1) and describing the rights employees have under this Act.

Relatively straightforward in its delineation of the responsibility of the employer to post the outlay of subsection (1) of section 3 of the Act. The responsibility lies not with the employee alone to learn and comprehend their rights to compensation within the Act. The employer has an equal and, indeed, the greater obligation to the employee within the constraints and imperatives of the Act to inform their employee.

This becomes a pivotal issue for the employer is the clear knowledge in the Act of their responsibility, duty, and obligation to their employees for their workers to know that they have fundamental rights within the Act to equitable compensation, without which the employee would or could have a lesser sense of economic security, sense of wellbeing, and equality of opportunity in the workplace through lack of equitable compensation.

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2022-04-22

Article 3 of CEDAW and Gender Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/08

Article 3 States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The purpose of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is based on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is a set of independent experts who function as a body. That body is responsible for the monitoring of the implementation of the convention.

There are other prominent documents devoted to the fundamental human rights and protections of the bodies of women. As stated in some other recent work, the documents around the world are integral to the maintenance of the increased equality and freedom for women.

In the opening section of Article 3, the standard operators are the states or the “States Parties” with the emphasis on the individual country and its duties and responsibilities for the protection of the individual citizens. With respect to the domains of discourse for these protections, we find the cultural, economic, political and social areas. These are important.

With the protections of the equality of women, we cannot simply espouse in one area on the international stage representative of a nation. The goal is to protect women in the areas of the culture, e.g., the media and in the home. The economic life of the individual woman, e.g., the access and possibility to be involved in some fashion within the world of work.

A big factor in the goals – for example, the former Millennium Development Goals and the ongoing Sustainable Development Goals – in the international stage are for the benefit of men and women through the economic empowerment of women. That includes the access to jobs and the lack of discrimination against women based on their wanting to have those jobs as women.

Women in overt and covert ways have been pushed out of the working world for a long time now. The means to improve the family and the community come from the empowerment of women because, especially in developing countries or community conditions, women will far more likely contribute the earned monies to the building of both the home life and the community.

Women build the communities and families through the investment of those funds more than the men, unfortunately for the image of the men; however, this is statistically the case. With respect to the political areas, women have similar problems of being pushed out. “Why are you here? What is your purpose? Shouldn’t you be in the home? Don’t you want a family? Politics isn’t for women…”

Women have relayed these messages based on conversations with older generations as to what is expected and considered appropriate of them. In many instances, the women lack the ability to build themselves because of the continual onslaughts on their sense of self and wellbeing. Take, for example, a prominent and respect minister in Canadian society.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna – who I like as a politician and a tough, respectable, upright, and moral person – works on dealing with climate change and dealt in a mature manner with the deliberate defaming, with the title “Climate Barbie,” and misinformation spread about climate change by Rebel Media and then calling out attempts to misinform the public on abortion rights (by Conservative MP Ted Falk). In both cases, an honorable calling out of deliberate misinformation – or potential ignorance – and deliberate defamation by title through a conservative MP and a news outlet run by Ezra Levant. Someone made an executive decision for the defamation.

Even within progressive Canada, we find differential treatment and difficulties in the maintenance of a political life for female politicians. The social life is another important part of the equality of women provided in Article 3 because of the need to give an equal treatment for women within interpersonal and intimate relations. Individual relationships will be integral to the changes needed in societies for the equality of the sexes with an admixture of traditional roles depending on the preferences of the couple without the typical veto power of men provided by culture and religion in home life.

The third article continues on in the similar vein to the other documents within the international stage with the importance of the all measures and the appropriate means including the legislation of the legal traditions and political life to document, list, and enforce the equality of the sexes, especially as this regards the “full development and advancement of women.”

This becomes a sticking point for many people involved in the political world with the nature of the political system geared towards the men and the majority of the economic weight held in the hands of the men in most societies, where women also lack the ability to pursue a basic education. The areas are broad swathes of important access and climbing points in the society for women to be able to develop in their full capacities.

The basis of these advancements and empowerment of women in these important domains of discourse or areas of operation of the society – cultural, economic, political, and social – mean women can earn equality in a more rapid pace with men in the society, where the emphasis becomes less on the equality of the sexes – an important referent – but more on the equality of women with men because the men held the power, influence, finances, and rights far ahead of women and so the equality entails a trajectory of women with the men in the society.

With the instantiation of the rights in the society for the ability to exercise those rights by women and for the enjoyment of the human rights of the women and for the acquisition of the fundamental freedoms with the men in the society based on the principle of equality, the nature of the relations between the sexes can be further developed and maintained with the force of law and legal documentation on the national and, in this case, the international arena.–One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

The Employment Equality Act in Canada and the Sexes

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/08

In the relative shallow history of the Canadian environment, social and employment-wise, the equality of the sexes has been an issue only reaching some level of parity and provision for particular domains of respect for women’s strengths and interests alongside men’s.As the country is young, the history is short, but the importance of the equality of the sexes holds no less important within this important context because the nature of the equality of the sexes comes in the form of numerous movements by and for women, and some men for women, with the eventual instantiation in print, or electronic copy, of equal rights to be reached and enshrined, in order to actualize the equality in rights of women with men.

It seems important to frame the equality as something within the nature of men already holding much of the rights and prestige with the movement towards men’s status of women; wherein, the moving forward of women towards further equality with men becomes an issue in the workplace.

Canadian society and legal systems deal with this issue on a number of fronts with the Canadian Human Rights Act, Canadian Human Rights Commission, and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal covered in recent prior articles.

Another unassociated but directly related by theme document in Canadian legal traditions is from 1995 with the Equal Employment Act. The purpose of the act is to achieve equality within the workplace, which amounts to a continuation, in law, of the Second Wave Feminism movement from the 60s and 70s with further instantiation in the legal traditions and subsequent implementation in the workplace.

The scope of the act is an important aspect of the equality from within the workplace for women with men. Herein, we can find the statements of the purpose to achieve equality for women who – historically speaking – have been subject to the denial of employment opportunities and so access to jobs and careers regardless of accomplishments, qualifications, and talents based on their sex.

It remains important to parse the precision of the statements within the act itself in order to delineate the forms of the equality implied and the scope and type too. For example, the phrasing of the “denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability” becomes a hefty statement as to the equality of women with men.

In order to achieve some modicum of equality with men in the workplace. The statement pertains to two forms of equality for women within the workplace including the opportunity or access, or more properly the improper denial thereof. The access to the job market is an important part of the equality. Because women, as noted, did not have the fundamental access to the world of work outside of the home and childcare, where their work was not considered work via the standards and values of the nation in the evaluation of a simple metric: pay.

Women went through the hard labour and struggle of raising kids in the midst of simply not having the equal access to the job market tied to the idea of women’s only place being in the home. The home as the fundamental area for women and the only basis for their status based on a form of servility to the state and the family in the form of the enforced home and family life.

Many women do not like this; in fact, the enforced nature of the affair and the coercion from the community, the religion, and society seemed to enforce this even further with the only or most appropriate place for women in the home cleaning and cooking and changing diapers for no pay. As the society has been advancing, we can now see the developments for women to be able to enter into the paid job market.

The paid market of employment, in my opinion, should be extended to childcare as this is an important contribution to the next generations of persons, was kept from women and the work they did do was not valued and so, by implication, devalued and not considered valuable enough to be worth any pay at all.

The other half of the statement describes the ways in which the – once the equal access or opportunity as a point is covered – access and benefits become based on ability and not on sex. That is, if a woman is equally qualified to fulfill a particular position, then the woman deserves the equal opportunity, as per the first statement, to attempt to get the job but then also the right to have the equal benefits of the workplace if the job is earned in the first place.

With respect to corrective measures for the further equality of the sexes, we find the need to “correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women” and the importance of the employment equity as important for the fundamental basis of equality. Finances permit someone to do more with their life. As someone can do more with their life, they can begin to live a more fulfilling existence apart from the prior enforced homelife.

Many women want a balanced life – more than men, but many others want to be able to gain access to the jobs market and only partially and recently have been developing some benefits of the equal employment opportunities within the society. There have only been marginal increases in earnings for the under 30 single women above and beyond the men. But for the most part, the women have the idea that they can achieve more and attend to more of the development of their own capacities through education.

These remain partial and not inexorable developments; if the religions as tools of the State and the socio-cultural context of men feeling as if they own women and women being treated as if they can only be in the home begin to work hard at the clamping down on the legal rights, social and cultural privileges, and economic freedoms won by sacrifices of women and men coming before them, the women of the current generation will be in for a rude awakening in the midst of a continuous and rapid slide back into the world of no rights and fewer provisions for their equal treatment within the society.

These do not come from above but from below and need diligence and vigilance in the maintenance of the freedoms and rights and privileges of women with men. The principle of employment equity enshrined in the Employment Equity Act implies a form of the development of the moral life of the individuals and the institutions within the society, which seems even more true for the Indigenous women within the culture – think of the hard work and resilience required and the maintenance of broad compassion and courage for honesty required for women such as Lee Maracle to found a large sector of writings to inspiration the next generations of Indigenous young women to achieve and pursue their means for independence and equality within a society even having difficulties coming to grips with the differential disappearance and abuse of Indigenous women and who, historically, were not even considered legal persons on two fronts with the denial of the right to vote for women and for Indigenous peoples throughout Turtle Island or the sector called Canada.

The basis for equality will need to be enshrined into the for future for the maintenance of the equality between the sexes with the “special measures and the accommodation of differences” within the society, even if the sex and gender of the individual in question. The act does provide a basis for further hope as this precisely defines the basis upon which we can all live in a more just and equal society.

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2022-04-22

Getting in Shape Like a Man

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/04

As per my usual go-to shop for health recommendations and advice, the Mayo Clinic remains the world’s top medical clinic in overall metrics. It may falter on an area here and there but still remains among the best in those areas. Similarly, it is the best on average ranking in the world for medical clinics.

When it recommends some things to do with health, it would do one good to listen to it. One of the main things that the clinic points to for the proper balance of a weight and good health comes from the proper consumption of calories. You should pay attention to the calories consumed and the calories burned in your day.

It adds up. One pound of fat amounts to 3,500 calories. Your daily intake will be around 2,000 calories. This becomes one of the important points to bear in mind for the real difficulty in the maintenance of a healthy weight. In that, the calories burned will require effort at the reduction in the amount taken in too.

If you do, you may not have to focus on the number of calories burned as much if you count the number of calories that you consume better. Calories are an indicator of what you need based on your age, weight, and sex plus activity level for each day. If you want to lose weight, then you can work hard to not consume as many calories.

Another reasonable means by which to reduce the unhealthy weight men begin to see as they begin to age is daily physical exercise whether on the bike, running, weightlifting, swimming, playing sports, or using the Wii. Each can help maintain good body weight and in turn good health.

Mne, in particular, can gain the hard fat seen in the gut as they become older. This makes the proper maintenance of a daily diet and exercise regimen important for men as they begin to get older. Additionally, men can take the plan to their doctor for recommendations as well as family and friends form some support.

The professional advice and the support of family and friends can be a great boost to the work towards finding a healthier weight as a man. Now, if you are, unfortunately, much heavier set than the norm, you should not tolerate being shamed for it. At the same time, the reality is a medical one, where numerous health complications can arise and often do emerge with a higher BMI.

A contact with a medical professional is always recommended, but, apparently, as the Mayo Clinic states, “…your doctor may suggest weight-loss surgery or medications for you. In this case, your doctor will discuss the potential benefits and the possible risks with you. But don’t forget the bottom line: The key to successful weight loss is a commitment to making changes in your diet and exercise habits.”

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2022-04-22

Peter Gajdics on “The Inheritance of Shame” and Conversion Therapy

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/08

Peter Gajdics is an award-winning writer whose essays, short memoir and poetry have appeared in Maclean’s, The Advocate, The Gay and Lesbian Review/Worldwide, New York Tyrant, Brevity, and Cosmonauts Avenue, among others. His first book, The Inheritance of Shame: A Memoir, published in May 2017, tells the story of his six-year journey through, and eventual recovery from, a form of “conversion therapy” in British Columbia, Canada. The Inheritance of Shame is the winner of the Silver Medal in LGBT Nonfiction from The Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was also nominated for The Publishing Triangle Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction. Peter lives in Vancouver, Canada. Here we talk about his life and views, and book.

Gajdics and I spoke on The Inheritance of Shame: A Memoir in order to open the conversation. In recollection of the contents of the text, Gajdics talked about the six years spent in a form of so-called “conversion therapy.” It was a grueling and long process for him because he eventually sued the psychiatrist for malpractice as well. Not something to wish on members of the sexual orientation and gender identity minorities community.

Gajdics stated, “Told over a period of decades, the book explores universal themes like childhood trauma, oppression, and intergenerational pain, and juxtaposes the story of my years in this “therapy” and its aftereffects with my parents’ own traumatic histories—my mother’s years in a communist concentration camp in post World War II Yugoslavia, and my father’s upbringing as an orphan in war-torn Hungary.”

He continued to speak on the reason and timing for the writing of the book at the time of the closing of the lawsuit in 2003. He stated that the writing helped him stay alive and to resist the silencing effects of the shame that the childhood sexual abuse brought on him. He also talked about the lie repeated in the public even now; that the abuse in childhood made him gay, which seems insulting, absurd, and factually incorrect on the psychological science of abuse and trauma.

“Eventually, I wrote to mine my own history and understand, to the best of my ability, what had brought me to that doctor’s doorstep, why I’d stayed for six long years, and what, if anything, I had learned. By about 2012,” Gajdics explained, “as conversion therapy began appearing in the media after California became the first world-wide jurisdiction to ban the discredited practice, I wrote as a political act—to try and prevent the recurrence of similar forms of torture.”

The conversation leads into the work of issues relevant about homosexuality and the inner workings of conversion therapy as a system, professional network, and purported therapy. Gajdics said that as he grew up Roman Catholic; he remembered the denouncements of homosexuality by the Roman Catholic priests in the sermons on Sunday. At the age of 6, he was sexually abused by a stranger and learn the sexual abuse ’caused’ the homosexuality.

“By the time I started to develop sexual feelings for other males, the fear that this abuse had created my desires was unrelenting. My father had Anglicized the pronunciation of his surname, Gajdics, after immigrating to Canada in the 1950’s, and so I also grew up pronouncing my surname “Gay-dicks” (instead of its proper Hungarian pronunciation, “Guy-ditch”), which of course resulted in all sorts of ridicule from my classmates,” Gajdics stated.

The name was one in which he could escape. The sense of “gay” was not one of being comfortable as is and with the same wellbeing expected within the average of the rest of the population. The gay felt by Gajdics, based on the messages from the media and culture and religion, was the gay being something bad and caused by abuse. It, from my interpretation, made the homosexuality associated with abuse and so a reaction to trauma, almost like a sickness in same-sex desire.

Gajdcics lamented, “All of this amounted to one incredible nightmare as a child. And all of these factors—the fear around my name and the belief that abuse had “caused” me to become who I was—contributed to the reasons for ending up in this “therapy,” though I could never have clearly articulated any of this at the time. On some level I wanted to not be myself, to undo the effects of abuse, to escape the torment of what I thought it meant to be gay, to not be my own name.”

The homosexuality as a problem of the self, the fundamental sense of one’s identity especially found – in part – in sexuality and sexual orientation, and, therefore, something demonized from the outside and then internalized as something at root wrong with himself. He notes the continuous battles against the onslaught, whether from the external world/the culture or the internal dynamics inculcated through repetitive ignorant messaging, against the “currents of shame and invisibility.”

“Our fight really is to stay alive, to retain our humanity, to resist the dehumanizing effects of oppression in its myriad incarnations,” Gajdics opined, “With respect to the “inner workings of conversion therapy”—I think that all of these treatments begin with some version of the same lie, which says that being gay or homosexual is a disease or immortal, a deviation, and must by “cured” in some way.”

Within the context of his own history, he noted that the basic experience of abuse and the shame and subsequent invisibility that came from it; that was further enforced by the work of the psychiatrist. The notion of the abused being the mono-causal phenomena, where the sexual abuse in childhood created the homosexual proclivities and same-sex desires. That is, these were wrong feelings, as they were diagnosed in a clinical way similar to the identification and labeling of a psychological and physical disease, and so needed immediate correction – or, rather, six years of work to be corrected.

Gajdics related, “Every person who ends up on one of these therapies will have their own story, and lie, but I think the premise is always the same—lies are what snare gay people into believing they need to try to become heterosexual, or that causes a parent to send their kids to one of these therapies. A person can build an entire life around a lie—until, of course, the lies come crashing down. Truth is always forcing its way back into our lives—we just have to remain open to it.”

The basis of a lie in a life is quicksand and bound to dry-drown the individual caught in it.

With the numerous years of conversion therapy for Gajdics, he wanted to know the ways in which someone could change themselves in a defunct theory. Although “defunct,” the therapy continues in its widespread use and at times outright ban – to the benefit of the those undergoing it. Many people continue to think the fundamental self can be changed through the conversion therapeutic practices.

However, as with Gajdics case, we can see the fundamental sexual self does not change but, rather, the alteration happens in the sense of wellbeing regarding the sexual identity from positive and comfortable to negative and attributed to false mono-causes. He spoke about the metaphor and the reality or the map and the territory as a fundamental confusion.

“The best way that I’ve been able to explain it all to myself is with metaphor of the map / territory confusion—’A map is not the territory it represents,’ which was first stated by philosopher Alfred Korzybski, even popularized by Deepak Chopra. Practitioners of ‘conversion therapy,’ and many people in these treatments, have confused the map of sexual identity with the territory of desire in that they think that a change to a person’s outer behaviour, their map, will result in a change to their inner self, their territory—but of course, that’s the lie,” Gajdics explained, “If I stand in Paris and call it Rome, really believe that it’s Rome, the place beneath my feet is still the place beneath my feet no matter what I think or call it. I am still standing where I was when it was called Paris. Changing a map will never change a territory, but we can invest years of effort and our firm belief into trying to do just that.”

I wanted to know some more of the internal associations and landscape of self-understanding for Gajdics. He related some of the important belief structures about shame, especially in the lives of the young and gay. However, the shame cannot be solely put into the categorical relationship between self-identity and homosexuality. In that, Gajdics saw a family history with a father as an orphan and even his father’s parents being placed in concentration camps.

He spoke on how oppressed minorities can feel a sense of shame because of being marginalized, teased, and bullied, even outright ridiculed as adults. This can make them internalize the outright sense of being the other in the society, which forms the basis for an unhealthy sense of self and communal identity for the minority populations. This ties into the idea of ostracization and segregations within the larger society based on the “institutionalized hatred and bigotry against said minorities.

“Sexuality overall is still very shame-based within our culture; even under the best of circumstances people’s sexuality is often compartmentalized. While the world is obviously more accepting of gays today, I think there is a danger in thinking that various laws or even increased visibility in the media means that on an individual level all is completely well. I don’t think it is,” Gajdics opined.

He thinks that the political does not by necessity translate into the personal, where the collective force of the “gay identity” is not overly subjective. He notes people continue in their own struggle, in their own way, with shame and guilt. However, Gajdics opined on the media representation of gay men and lesbian women as not necessarily always “honest and healthy.”

Gajdics opined, “Pride has little to do with marching in a parade once a year, or even in having a lot of sex. Quantity is not quality. The locus of attention in a healthy sense of self must start from within, not outside, not in magazines or on television, or else we’re always going to feel disoriented, caught in the eye of a social media storm. We will never “understand” ourselves if we always look to others for the answers about our own identity. “Being gay,” just like “being straight,” is largely illusory, and has little to do with being one’s self.”

As the interview drew to its closing portions, the dialogue continued into the areas of the source of the shame for the homosexual community tied to some of the symptoms of the shame for the individual gay person. Also, and more personalized per person, the idea of the rationalizations for the shame when there is no support network present at the time of the feeling the shame.

“Shame is definitely sourced in various places, including the family and its history, society, various religions, and each is always fighting for attention within one person’s life. It can take an enormous act of will to resist these invaders and to exert one’s own sense of self, free from shame and self-harm. For me in my own youth, shame manifested in the form of eating disorders, unsafe and sometimes compulsive sexual behaviour, and also of course depression and despair, thoughts of suicide,” Gajdics explained.

There can be a sense of hopelessness connected to zero feeling of agency and purpose. Gajdics considers this something coming from a multitude of factors outside of the individual homosexual rather than from the inside or something innate. Shame contains a certain dishonesty while maintaining an internal logic; he described how the sense of feeling shame in living a lie and self-destructing by living through the guise of the falsehood.

Gajdics said, “The danger is that some behaviour, which is founded in shame, can end up feeling seductive and pleasurable. Pain can often feel like pleasure. I would like to say that reaching out for help or finding community is the easy answer, but I know this is not always possible, or easy, and sometimes we don’t always know that we even need help. I look at my own life and there were years where I felt righteous in my own self-destructiveness.”

He relayed the personal life knowledge. That it took time; Gajdics needed to learn some life lessons. The writing down of his experiences and opinions, and thoughts and feelings in turn, probably saved his life from a negative spiral that can come as a consequence of shame, guilt, pain, trauma, and abuse. He notes the writing down was an important aspect of internalizing and then seeing things outside of himself, where the reflection permitted the re-framing of the trauma and then the ability to get a new source of power in a renewed identity: “…who I was and what I wasn’t—that I could not find in another person.”

The final question for this particular interview focused on the nature of homosexuality and then the popular conceptualizations of it. In particular, the pluses and minuses in the representation or the benevolent prejudices and the malevolent biases portrayed through the media and culture. When he reflected on the idea of the “nature of homosexuality,” he posed the idea of the nature of heterosexuality because one cannot exist without the other in a mutual interdependent definition.

“In this sense, I think we are really therefore talking about “the nature of sexuality.” Sexuality hasn’t always been divided into this kind of binary, and while language and definitions can give voice to the marginalized, in this case I think they are often used as instruments of lies—beneath the lies of “conversion therapy,” for example, homosexuality and heterosexuality are often used not descriptors of erotic desire, but of mutable identities; “change” is not genetic but taxonomically societal,” Gajdics stated.

He also made the observation that the discovery of someone as gay or coming out as homosexual is something that is still a news item. Gajdics thinks this explains a lot about how the culture views homosexuality and where the social context sits at the moment.

That is, “…there’s still a sense of scandal, or sleaze, compartmentalization, around all of it.”

For the range provided in the question about the “benevolent prejudices and malevolent biases,” Gajdics talked about the stereotypes that do seem rather benign with the gay community universally liking musicals, similar to the stereotype of straight men loving football en masse. He looked to the past for a malevolent stereotype in the “gay disease” of AIDs, where it was seen as something of the homosexual community alone.

Gajdics concluded, “…it was founded on the lie that said “we” are somehow separate and different from “you”—and we’re not. We are all one. Blood runs through us all. Lies like these result in millions of deaths.”

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2022-04-22

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/07

For the equality of the sexes in Canada, there not only needs to be a movement for the realization of those rights but also for the definitions and delineations of them too.

With some of the prior acts and statements, and the work described of the commission, before in the country, we can then move into the areas of the discussion relevant for the implementation of the rights. The movements provide the basis for the legal foundations. Those bases in law then move to provide some fundamentals in the areas of implementation with awareness of individual rights among the public.

Through the awareness and the speak out of the relevant organizations including the commission on issues of fundamental human rights in Canada, we can then create a steady recognition and respect for human rights in the culture. This becomes important for the maintenance of a modern society founded on democratic values. Because, in a manner of thinking, the respect and recognition of all Canadians’ human rights, we find the basic placement of every person equal to every other in dignity and value within the society regarding rights; although, of course, every person with equal rights does not translate into every person with equality ability, motivation, talent, and so on.

The organizations used for referrals from the commission in Canada for some human rights complaints are the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. The tribunal functions to “protect individuals from discrimination.” Within the statements provided in some prior writing about the Canadian Human Rights Commission, we have the fundamental rights to equality, opportunity, treatment, and a workplace free from discrimination.

As these were explored in some earlier writings, the four stipulations do not need much further extensive discussion other than the protection of individuals throughout the country – men and women – makes for a more just, fair, and equal society and means that the equality provided through the commission is integral to the decades and decades of efforts intended for further equality between and amongst persons in the country.

As with the normal dealings with rights and legal situations, the tribunals in Canada about to the bodies similar to courts of law with less formality and focused on the areas of individual discrimination in one or all of the stipulations and on 11 categories of persons by sex, age, ethnicity, and so on.

With the powers of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada Act, the tribunal became enforced and capable of enforcing on discrimination cases in the country circa November 1, 2014. The Government of Canada “is consolidating the provision of support services to eleven administrative tribunals – including the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) – into a single organization, the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC).”

Where this head into the future for potential excess bureaucratization but also the possibility for more equality, or both, the ATSSC and the tribunal forms a solid foundation for the protection of individual persons within the country as a referral body (the tribunal) for the discrimination allegations and complaints sent from the commission and then deliberated upon and sent to the tribunal.

However, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal mandate does not get affected in any way by this administrative change. The “Case matters will continue to be filed, managed and safeguarded in accordance with existing CHRT procedures.” That is, the operations will continue as always with the caveat of the changes to the higher-order organization, which appears to an amalgamation of power and influence oriented toward the enforcement of human rights in the workplace and elsewhere.

For the equality of the sexes with the right for women in vote almost a century ago to the provision of a human rights act for the workplace with specific stipulations on discrimination to the commission for the deliberation and consideration of the human rights (discrimination) complaints, to the tribunal for the referrals from the commission for decisions, the progressive changes over decades have civilized the nation for further equality between the sexes.

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2022-04-22

The Canadian Human Rights Act and Women’s Equality

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/06

The equality of women with men becomes an important subject matter not only for the men who want a more justice and fair world but also the outcomes of the upcoming generations. The Canadian Human Rights Act is an important part of a framework for the provision of the further equality of women with men.

From 1977, the Canadian Human Rights Act speaks to the right of equality for all persons and peoples within Canada. The equality for the sexes in this instance for both sexes. This extends into the right of equal opportunity. If a position exists within the society, then all Canadians – and so women and men – deserve equal access to the job.

Fair treatment is enshrined within the act as well. If someone had the equal chance to apply for the position, earned the station, then when on the job the individual deserves the fair treatment by employers and employees in comparison to others or coworkers and not in contrast. An important point of contact in terms of the individual human rights of people.

The equality as a right, the equally provided-for opportunities, and then the fairness in the treatment of the individuals, all salient for the improvement of the individual lives of workers. When some individuals and public intellectuals decry other Canadians arguing for their fundamental human rights, they simply work against fundamental bases for equal within the society.

Through arguing against human rights, whether formal arguments or emotional appeals with crying, individual persons deserve the right to equal access to the society and treatment within it. This seems particularly true of women who historically have had an extraordinarily difficult time in comparison to men in Canadian society.

The next section for the act comes in the form of an environment free of discrimination based on one’s own sex. Of course, sexual orientation and gender identity remain different but associated with the biological sex or the sex one is born with regarding, for example, genetics. It makes sense to not be discriminated against based on one’s sex.

It may seem obvious to others reading The Good Men Project, too. However, with long and hard experience, the clear line for one’s own discrimination based on sex can be present and, in the minds of a not-so-small minority, justified. It becomes a basis for a prejudice within the socio-cultural matrix of the nation, which the act and other similar documents like it form the basis for the protection of vulnerable individuals.

Those vulnerable individuals come from groups and communities and categorization accepted within the culture. Those with histories with influence into the present. The main basis for their protections as classifications but, at the end of the day, as individual persons come from the Canadian Human Rights Act and other documents covered in previous articles.

Those documents do not discriminate. They distinguish and make distinct the lines between categories for the subsequent strengthening of the trend towards equality in actuality. The documents amount to the car. We merely need to drive the car and bring as many people along as possible. The subtle form of this comes from a fair and equal workplace and life without discrimination based, in this narrowing of the broad topic, on one’s sex.

The act also speaks to the “sexual orientation, marital status and family status” of the individual in question. Whether on is employed by an organization or company, or receiving services from it, they deserve the equality, the access, the fairness of treatment, and the lack of discrimination based on sex within the confines of most domains or all areas within the country including the federal government, First Nations governments, and the “private companies that are regulated by the federal government like banks, trucking companies, broadcasters and telecommunications companies.”

These build into other topics include the Canadian Human Rights Commission utilized for the investigation and settlement of complaints oriented around those of discrimination. If a Jamaican-Canadian or a Dutch-Canadian undergoes discrimination based on their being of a particular national heritage within the Canadian context and the work environment, these human rights commissions provide the basis for recourse for the individuals who may need legal assistance and protections.

The documents are the fundamental help with this as well. Similar to the cases of the nationality and ethnic heritage, we can discover the same reasoning or ratiocination in the protection of one’s livelihood and equality of rights – and so status within the society, which, within environment of historical precedents and less than a century of women having equal legal status as voting person’s in the Canadian democratic system, provides the protections for women – as this does for Jamaican-Canadians or Dutch-Canadians who may undergo similar difficulties in their lives regarding equal in work, the privileges instantiated as rights, the fair treatment on the job, and the non-discrimination based on sex/national-ethnic heritage.

For further information and to be explored in further documents and articles in the coming days and weeks and months, we will look into more acts, tribunals, and conventions, and declarations within the national and international rights scenes in order to implement the protections of the rights and privileges – and so dignity and respect as persons and peoples – necessary for the fair and just future all people of conscience, including myself and I assume you, too (dear reader).

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2022-04-22

Equality of the Sexes and the Canadian Human Rights Commission

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/06

I want to speak this morning about the relevance of human rights in the provincial, territorial, federal, and international levels.

The stipulations in some documents provide the basis for non-discrimination in civic, political, and professional life. The individual protected life through the provisions of the equality of others in group identifications remains foundational but interrelated with the concrete notion of the embedded individual. Here, we find the notion of the individual within the group but also distinct and unique and aside from it. A neat conceptualization of a person, not quite group only as in some philosophies or as an individual rugged, alone, and striving seen in others.

Rather, we find the provision for the equal life of the individual citizen with the protection of them and their standard identifications, which seems reasonable within a bureaucratic system. They need classifications for collectives and individuals, which leads to the basis of the Canadian Human Rights Commission based on the Canadian Human Rights Act of 1977.

The act is purposed for the extension of the laws in effect within Canada. The intention comes from the “matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament.” It has a scope of all peoples and persons within Canadian society. Then these two directions come together for the equal opportunity and access for all peoples and persons within Canadian society without regard for the individual’s “race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered.”

With respect to the nature of the equality of the sexes, the equal access to the levers of the society through work becomes integral to the fundamental notion of the equality of the sexes. It does not lie in the separation of men and women or in the restriction in one and the enhancement of the other, but the recognition of the inherent equality in rights of men and women.

From this frame of mind or reference point, the equality provided for through the act becomes enforceable in various domains with the commission as one potential area in which to do it.

The work of the commission amounts to “an Agent of Parliament.” In this, the commission operates in an independent way apart from the government while also performing the function of a human rights observer: also known as a watchdog. The interest of the commission is the interest of the public with the holding of the Canadian government accountable on the matters of human rights.

In the case of work, for example, if there is an explicit mistreatment or inequality based on the sex of the individual, and if this happens with the workplace as an instance, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Act become important for the maintenance of the equality, which raises some questions about the work of the commission as the act is separate, but, granted, associated in some important ways.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission works to “research, raise awareness and speak out on any matter related to human rights in Canada.” That is, the documentation and the act of finding out what is really the case is an important aspect of the work of the commission. With the research component in place, the raising of awareness of an individual citizen’s rights is important as a function and process of the commission because this can provide individual Canadians with the ability to act on that knowledge.

If an individual Canadian citizen of any stripe of background does not know about their individual rights, then they would not have any recourse for dealing with any potential discrimination and violation of said rights because the basis of any action is information translated from knowledge into action. The awareness component is not a trivial aspect of the functions of the commission. In addition, the commission as an explicit interest and, indeed, duty to do its due diligence in acting and speaking out on the violations of the human rights of Canadian citizens.

The basis for the research, raising of awareness, and the speaking out on areas of discrimination, as provided in the act, comes from 11 grounds – one or more at once – with one including sex. While at work, the commission will receive complaints with the respondent and the complainant being responded to, in order to resolve the issue of the complaint through mediation.

In the cases where there is an inability to resolve a complaint through the mediation, the commission will further examine the complaint to see if there is a justification for further work. And in fact, if this develops far enough, the commission will then make a referral of the complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

The commission works on a number of fronts including the employers who have federal regulation because there needs to be an alignment with what the company or organization does and the statements in the Employment Equity Act. Through all of these mechanisms, there is the work to look into and settle the areas of potential discrimination against Canadian citizens.

These bases protect the equality of men and women in order for further equality and fairness to exist not only in the workplace, as per one example, but also across the country.

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2022-04-22

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 28

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/05

In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there exist the fundamental provisions for equality throughout the nation-state.

Many statements with easy interpretation for the furtherance of a more fair, just, and equal society. In the sentences, or in the manner of a few statements, millions of girls and women within the country earn and deserve fundamental equality and consideration with boys and men in the society.

Of course, the distributions of inequality imply sufficiently distinct but partially overlapping distributions of equality depending on the area of the country and the personal narratives taken into account. Nonetheless, the overwhelming emphasis and ethical arc of Canada remains the integration of equality for all peoples and persons in the nation.

With Section 28 of the Charter, we discover the fundamental notion for a super-operation or meta-process for the means by which to apply the document within Canadian society unto itself through the equal application for men and women for all parts and portions and sections of the Charter. As stated, the 28th section:

Section 28 guarantees that all rights covered in the Charter apply equally to men and women.

Not a complicated process oroperation; however, this gives a basis for the other sections to integrate into a singular set. A set where everyone acquires equal treatment, especially relevant given the historical treatment of women in this country, especially Indigenous women right into the present. History remains.

Duly note, these are guarantees for all rights within the Charter for women with equal application to the men. Women must, as a moral imperative, have the equal treatment without discrimination, as per Article 15, in their fundamental treatment within the society. The basis for the civil society becomes the basis for the equality of women.

Protecting Women’s Rights in Canada with Section 15 of the Charter

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/05

In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we find and the fundamental rights given to all Canadians.

Within this framework of a provision for rights, we can discover the means by which to protect the rights of women and men. In this particular instance, we can find the protection of the rights of women with the development of a thorough understanding of the Charter.

Through the Government of Canada, we can see the development of an important foundation for equality and justice for all.

Happiness becomes another issue. For the equality of women with men, there needs to be a consideration of the particular statements in sections of the Charter.

The one for some minor exploration and discussion today will be Section 15 of the Charter with an examination of its scope and limits and implications.

Section 15 of the Charter states:

Equality Rights

Marginal note: Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Marginal note: Affirmative action programs

(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

As can be seen in the description, the formal important of equality before the law as one truncation and then the equality under the law as the next one. The importance of the equal protection as a fundamental right both under and before the law.

In a manner of speaking, it states: all interpretations provide equal protection for every person.

Every person as women here too, of course, but this is new as women did not have the right to vote in a democracy until the early 1900s in Canada.

This for the basis for the legal persona non grata of women in Canada. If a woman cannot vote in a democracy, then the woman does not amount to a legal person in a democratic state.

The import of the provision of equality for women and men or every person becomes integral to Section 15 of the Charter. Furthermore, the protection within the law comes with extras or benefits within the law.

That is, regardless of one’s sex, a woman retains the right – and a man – right for equality before and under the law without discrimination on the basis of their being a man or a woman.

As to subsection (2) of Section 15, we find the statements about the specifications of the equality within the equal protection before and under the law.

The activities, laws, and programs designed for the reduction in the disadvantage of those with less in society remain protected and, indeed, extensions of the concerns and issues with Section 15(1).

Now, the three points of contact within the functions of the society would include the activities, laws, and programs.

Regarding activities, these, as can probably be inferred, incorporate any and all activities devoted for the reduction in inequality in the society. How can these take place? Under what circumstances?

Who can be the arbiter of the level of reduction in inequality? And so on. All valid questions with less generalizable answers and more specified within the context answers for the individuals to develop for themselves.

For the programs of decreased inequality, there have been some programs devoted to the IAT or the Implicit Association Test in order to detect some implicit biases rather than explicit ones. It amounts to the comparison of implicit is to explicit as prejudicial attitudes are to segregated schools and urinals.

It becomes psychological rather than legal-behavioural-educational (in one example).

I did have dinner with Anthony Greenwald who spearheaded the intellectual and psychological science around the IAT as a young psychology student, first-year psychology student invitation from Dr. Daniel Bernstein. Interesting experience.

The efficacy of the IAT comes under fire at the moment with some programs implemented to reduce the discrimination against those less seen or represented in the society.

In particular, the use in anti-discrimination work. The efficacy does not extend to individuals seen as discriminatory themselves. It amounts to a reaction time difference in positive and negative valence words relative to race, gender, class, age, and other categorizations of individuals.

The Left speaks of this as indicative of racial or other bias.

The Right talks of this as faux science or a pseudoscience akin phrenology where bumps and ridges on the head indicated personality traits and intelligence levels – interesting epistemology of the soul but wrong and too coarse. Not exactly positron emission tomography scans.

Left and Right stand tall, bold, courageous, and adamant in their positions… and wrong. The IAT measures the speed of cognitive processing or mental associations, not bias by necessity.

The speed from loose empirical findings into direct activism seems too hasty for the best of intentions; people want to reduce discrimination. Does this reduce the level of discrimination against individual persons in Canada?

Others work within legitimate frameworks for the decrease in discrimination based on identification while bearing in mind the need for a slower processing of it.

With the third category or the laws, the legal precedents set for the reduction in the discrimination against women. These give the basis for equality. It can enter into a variety of domains with some focus on the Charter itself through Section 15 and Section 28.

It can enter other domains in relation to international law, conventions, declarations, and other relevant documentation enforceable on Canadian society within a higher-order ethical justice system.

Section 15 of the Charter segments in a neat manner. It sets the grounds for the equality of all persons but also, and in this relevant sub-interpretation today, the equal treatment of women before and under the law.

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2022-04-22

On the Protection of Women’s Rights in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/04

With the moderate flame of Canadian discourse risen in some unhealthy ways, the need to keep in mind rights of the individual person through group identification becomes important. It becomes important insofar as the individuals work to reduce the implementation of women’s rights through various means in this country.

The stance of the Government of Canada regarding women’s rights remains that they are human rights. With the importance of equality, and with the unequal treatment Canadian women have faced in the history of Canada, the rights for women in this nation become more prescient, salient, and needing to be prominent for public discussion.

As noted by the Canadian government information resource in the above-paragraph link, we find several legal instruments for the equality of women within the country. One of the main ones, and the sole one to be covered in this article, is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. This document unequivocally states the constitutional protections of individual human rights, including women’s rights.

This means the constitutional protections for women’s rights within the context of the relationship between an individual Canadian woman and the Canadian federal government. The scope and limits of women’s equality with men in the society. Some other documents, not covered here, include the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and provincial and territorial human rights legislation.

As this remains an introductory article on the basis of equality for men and women within the country, the main sections of import for this coverage includes, in brief, Section 15 and Section 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. These two sections speak to the equality of women with men through the equal protection and benefit of the legal system and framework established within Canada, where women are not to be discriminated against for those equal protections and benefits of the law based on their sex.

The other section – 28 – speak to the guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom for equal application of the Charter to men and women. There is a rising tide against women in this as the deck of the country is shuffled based on technological shifts and changes, robotics and artificial intelligence infusion into the culture, and the impact on employment for men with globalization.

It seems relevant, to me, to bear these in mind.

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2022-04-22

On Becoming Involved in Student Politics with Shif Gadamsetti

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/03

Shif Gadamsetti is the Former President of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University, Support Staff for the Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, Former Chair of the Board of the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations and a Member of its Alumni Council. Here we look into her life, work, and views based on an interview in Canadian Atheist.

When the line of questioning with Gadamsetti began, the focus was the background in order to gauge where she was coming from. She was raised by two traditional Christian parents who were involved in the church life while she was growing up. that would mean the entire family would attend the Sunday sermons, being involved with the youth group and outreach, as well as the teaching of Sunday School linked with the worship team of the church.

Gadamsetti described, “My family immigrated to Canada from India in 2001, and settled in Calgary almost immediately. There was a certain gap in terms of finding cultural community to bridge with once we had moved. We only had one extended family in the city, and our primary social network was through the church, which did not have a significantly diverse cultural congregation at the time.”

I wanted to probe deeper, plumb the depths more, to see the ways in which this life path lead into leadership as a young woman. Gadamsetti explained how she was involved in leadership throughout youth. In that, the opportunities from within the Christian community and church provided the chance to explore leadership roles and expand horizons in said stations.

With traditionalist and immigrant parents, Gadamsetti recalled the ways her parents remained restrictive with her. However, this community became a place in which to integrate with Canadian culture while maintaining the religious roots of the family. Religious roots, to many people, retain the sense of community and history from generations ago.

Now, she works as a nurse. Gadamsetti explained, “I work with an interdisciplinary team – we always have at least one other nurse, an anesthesiologist, a surgeon, and other physicians, who either assist or residents that participate in our surgical cases. My responsibilities include a pre-operative assessment, including looking for any potential risks that could compromise the surgery – these range from substance use, underlying health conditions, something as simple as the patient ingesting food or drink prior to the surgery (which could complicate their intubation and present a choking hazard if they were to vomit), etc.”

With these particular cases, Gadamsetti “circulates” (the nurse who is not sterile) and then assists the surgeon and scrub nurse. The hep can come in the form of opening tools, sterility maintenance, and the documentation and monitoring work needed during the cases.

“If I am scrubbing in on the case, my primary role is to assist the surgeon with their procedure, which can range from anticipating their needs, positioning, preparing tools such as sutures or drills to be used, and tracking any of the materials used to ensure that we maintain the integrity of the procedure and don’t accidentally leave something in a patient, for example,” she said.

As well, Gadamsetti works for women’s rights through the Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse organization as a support staff. She relayed always having an interest in learning about and supporting the reduction in gender-based barriers and violence. She notes the sexual violence is a nuanced issue with the ongoing issues of the perpetuation of miseducation about it, the other mental health and relationship concerns surrounding it, and so on.

Gadamsetti stated, “There is so much that broader communities don’t understand, it is often considered a taboo topic, communities feel unequipped to have conversations that wholly support the victim, and the work is difficult – not everyone is cut out to handle such matters, which I do not fault them for. There’s a very difficult way to gauge my responsibilities – a ‘good’ day includes having a collaborative team, a client that feels supported, autonomous, and well managed for both the social and administrative work that goes into processing a case, but its never really a good day because my clients have been victims of sexual assault.”

Her hope is to become involved in the wider issues associated with the prevention of sexual violence and support for survivors including the pathways to solutions through policy development and education.

“I’ve learned so much and challenged many assumptions, despite how much work I’ve put into understanding the issue, and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity,” Gadamsetti opined in reflection.

Then she also held the position of the president of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU). The term is over. However, she spoke to the benefits in the infinite possibilities and potentialities provided by the role. In that, it was an honor to be elected, lead, and serve the best interests of the students.

She garnered experience in management and leadership, and other domains, in addition to building strong connections with other leaders in the postsecondary sector. She sees these networks as lasting a lifetime. Gadamsetti spoke to a shared vision and work ethic for the achievement of internal and external advocacy.

Then as the conversation shifted to its end, the focus went into the concerns of women on postsecondary campuses throughout the nation as well as means by which to solve them.

“I wouldn’t want to generalize – but perhaps, the ones that most students face are common across women as well – financial precarity, employment, etc. I would, however, point out that the common issues amongst students are exacerbated by gender-based barriers – sexualized violence can sometimes be a prevalent issue amongst women on campus for a variety of reasons – lack of education around consent in an environment where young people are discovering and establishing boundaries,” Gadamsetti said, “lack of institutional policy and supports available to help those who experience it, a lack of consent culture, perpetuation of toxic behaviours that develop into patterns that are harder to address when they become systemic or cultural.”

She also noted the other issues women face in their professional work with the risk to life and livelihood. Associated with this, the various marginalizations happening to women due to their race, sexuality, and so on. Then the continued barriers based solely on gender in the employment line, which show in the employment trends.

She opined the long-term nature of the solutions to these problems. Gadamsetti noted that some of these issues come to the root of the common perceptions of women as less qualified, and being unequal and even subservient to men and others. Then the ways this can influence the various discrimination and violence against women.

She continued, “I believe that institutions need to become bolder and take hard-line stances on the matter, while demonstrating their commitment to resolving these issues with comprehensive policies that support all students’ safety, regardless of how these opportunities might seem risky to the institution’s reputation.”

With regards to the sexual violence on campuses, Gadamsetti reflected on the largest problem being the inability of most of the leadership to admit, target, and work to solve the issues of sexualized violence faced far more often by women than men. In particular, this may be a problem because some in leadership, Gadamsetti noted, would need to admit to being part of the problem. Then there would need to be a massive overhaul of institutions to tackle the problem of sexual violence against women.

“Culture is important – when a zero tolerance stance without allowing loopholes or technicalities to exist is implemented, those perpetuating violence might think twice, and evaluate their own behavior before choosing to victimize someone in that way. At the same time, being transparent about problems and choosing to address issues by prioritizing victims over the institution as a whole would complement the approach well,” Gadamsetti stated.

Gadamsetti seeing the power of community to deal with the real problems facing us; she knows one of the better means by which to deal with large-scale problems in the postsecondary community, broadly speaking, would include a community effort. With a community, the institutions can be pressured to change, to adapt, to the prescient concerns of the community regarding women in particular and concerned men in general.

Then, of course, the conversation shifted to a senior high school or first-year woman student in postsecondary education who may want to become involved in the student political world as well as the potential responsibilities they should bear in mind that they will most certainly be taking on board in student politics.

Gadamsetti immediately directed attention to a student’s own students’ association. That the best place to learn more would be as student transitions into university, meets new people, and begins to find a place comfortable for them. Then a student can learn to familiarize themselves with the arena of student politics.

“Student association spaces have always provided me with great insight into what students care about, need, celebrate, and champion. I started getting involved with my faculty club, and branched out to others that suited my interests. You might not be interested in running for a position as a student executive after it’s all said and done, but I guarantee you that it will enrich and support your university experience like no other,” Gadamsetti concluded.

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2022-04-22

LGBTQ2IA+ and the Undergraduate Postsecondary Learning Environment with Aria Burrell

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/03

Aria Burrell (Twitter and Medium) is the Former Vice-President External of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU) with an interest in the LGBTQ2IA+ community. Burrell did not work on those issues while in the formal position or through it as much. However, with the work through the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations and SAMRU, Burrell has extensive experience in listening to the concerns of and know the lives of postsecondary students. Here we talk about the LGBTQ2IA+ community in postsecondary undergraduate environments.

When I asked about the issues affecting the LGBTQ2IA+ students, Burrell talked about the umbrella issue for the sexual orientation and gender identity minority in the postsecondary learning environment regarding undergraduates in particular. The concern of the relatively low levels of inclusion inside of the classroom and in the course content.

Burrell stated, “On its surface this doesn’t often register as a problem from the outside, from administrators and instructors who think in terms of cisgender, heteronormative defaults, but in aggregate it tells LGBTQ2IA+ people we’re not welcome in our schools or chosen fields. For instance, Statistics classrooms that continue to teach students to encode gender as a binary field, Psychology courses which continue to pathologize asexuality, English courses which continue to teach that gender-neutral ‘they’ is agrammatical, etc. don’t reflect the lived experiences of many students.”

She noted the social acceptance of the notion, in an academic setting, of Alice and Bob as the default names for a married couple, but not Claire and Alice. A lesbian couple is seen less in the academic textbooks or course materials provided to students. In that, these texts become out of date with the times, according to Burrell.

She continued, “Some students end up having to work under instructors who are not accepting of their identities and orientations, and this can make for a psychologically taxing classroom experience. Instructors who won’t use a transgender student’s chosen name or pronouns are more common than most institutions would like to admit.”

Burrell talked about the various experiences relayed in conversation after dialogue with those known to her. Where the instructors in the university begin to use the class as a place for ender essentialist and anti-equality talk, even “rants,” in the midst of individuals who are either queer or trans, she describes this as a source of stress for the LGBTQ2IA+ students in the classroom setting.

Furthermore, these students hoping for a civil environment with some moderate accommodations for them in the classroom do not get them. The accommodations are denied to the sexual orientation and gender identity minority students. Burrell notes this as a disheartening phenomenon for many students.

When I reflected on the prior line of questioning, I wanted to extend into the action items for those students who want to make a difference. A change for more inclusion and integration of the LGBTQ2IA+ in the postsecondary learning environment in the undergraduate level of schooling in Canada.

“Availability of gender-neutral restrooms is a must for non-binary students to be included in post-secondary given the stress that population faces around public, gendered spaces,” Burrell recommended, “Administrations should offer and instructors should participate in training for sensitivity to gender and sexual minority concerns and failures to support these students in terms of basic respect and accommodations should be met with appropriate responses from human resources.”

Furthermore, she suggested the departments within the universities should work to alter the curricula for the reduction in bias based on sexuality and gender. The burden, often, is set on the limited working hands and minds of the Women’s Studies and Sociology departments. It becomes an unfair burden for them. It should be broader for the sake of these communities,, especially in solidarity.

Burrell emphasized, “Particular to the two spirit identity, which I am not part of, I understand further efforts to Indigenize the academy are necessary alongside moves to ensure pre-colonial concepts of gender and sexuality are sufficiently represented and accommodated in disciplines beyond Indigenous Studies.”

Then the line of questioning went into the organizations to work with for further acceptance and equality of the community. Burrell spoke on organizations that work in LGBTQ2IA+ equality and acceptance efforts in post-secondary institutions across the country as being regional, especially regarinding the students’ associations.

She concluded, “These student-run bodies often are at the cutting edge of acceptance and support for marginalized populations on campus. LGBTQ2IA+ advocacy organizations often function at a federal or provincial/state level and can be great sources for basic educational materials. Many offer diversity training and can work with post-secondary institutions to develop appropriate training for course instructors.”

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2022-04-22

The Second Statements in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/02

Article 2

States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:

(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;

(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;

(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;

(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;

(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The purpose of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is grounded around the Committeeon the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is independent experts, as a body of them, who monitor the implementation of the convention.

There are 23 experts from around the world who have specializations in women’s rights. With the document, we find one of the more prominent documents devoted to the fundamental human rights and protections of the bodies of women. As stated in some other recent work, the documents around the world are integral to the maintenance of the increased equality and freedom for women.

In the opening section of Article 2, we find the statements about the condemnations by the relevant states, who sign onto it. Those states defy individuals or groups within their societies who would deny women equal status to the levers of the country in any form. It is about the prevention of discrimination against women. As stated:

Not the precision in the terminology about the condemnation of the discrimination of women in particular and all forms in general. Women.. in general… discrimination… and condemnation, these terms provide the thorough foundation for the equality of women in the world. Indeed, not only the condemnation of these discriminatory measures against women, which can be found in all areas of the world but also the means by which to do it.

“All appropriate means and without delay” meaning some flexibility of “appropriate” but any means in theory with haste as the operating time for the prevention of discrimination against women within the states who have signed onto the document. The purpose then, of course, lies in the matter of women as an equal of man, of men and women as equals insofar as the practice can reach the theoretical.

This leads to subsection (a), which states:

(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

This section speaks into the international norms around the “principle” to be embodied, an embodied principle in which women and men are seen as equals. Some religious faiths speak of a spiritual equality. It seems abstract in the sense of this principle while also playing into an embodied sense of equality between the sexes.

If men and women within their particular nations signatories to this convention, then the efforts work within the ethical precept bounds of an embodied equality. This can come in the form of a legislation or of a national constitution, or, of course, both. The purpose of having the formal national documentation comes from the need for an ensured equality in actuality or in the reality of the state.

In Article 2(b), we find the following:

(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;

The principle as an ethic or moral precept set into the constitution of the state and in legislation for the prevention of discrimination and the assurance of equality of men with women forms the basis in theory for the practical realization spoken in Article 2(a). The next part of the practical realization of equality emerges in the form of a formal adoption in legislation and elsewhere in the country for women’s equality.

In other cases, there will need to be the sanction of practices deemed unequal for women with men or for giving power without merit of men over women. For the former, we can look into the practice of sati. In these cases, we find the women thrown onto the funeral pyre to die a horrific death on fire, where the encomium may be stated for the husband and then the wife is thrown on his funeral pyre.

If the wife dies first, insofar as I know, the husband is not burned to death. In fact, the issue for the women seems far more brutal and unfair. In the case of a practice where men have more power than the women, we can find the obvious case in the Guardianship laws. The woman must travel with a male relative as a guardian to protect her, in theory.

The purpose is to purportedly protect women with the assertion or tacit assumption, or premise, of women as men’s unequal and weaker with men as predators and, therefore, women need to be protected and, in its core manifestation, owned by the men in where they can go, with who, for how long, and why what means in their lives.

The ending of these laws would provide further equality for women in terms of the unequal nature of the relations between men and women. We do not know the full capacities of women; indeed, we do not know the full capacities of men until the relations of the sexes comes to its realization, not by some inevitable force of the world but by the hard work of individuals with a hoped-for tomorrow.

With the national constitution and the legislation, and then the adoption of said, the development of the legal protection of women on an equal footing or basis with men can better be maintained or if violated then prosecuted as discrimination against women under Article 2 of the convention. This creates furtherance of a strong foundation for the legal equality of women.

In my own country, women did not have the equal right to vote for a very, very long time. It took several decades since the formal founding of the full country for the suffragists to win some ground and have women garner the right to vote. In a democracy, as far as I am concerned, if you do not have the right to vote, then you do not count as a legal person because a democracy amounts to, in more updated and modern parlance, one person one vote.

The state or national tribunals should remain competent. This seems in direct alignment and isomorphism with the idealized stance of an embodied principle or ethical precept inhered in the conceptualization of an equal stance of women and men. In order to maintain this and judge the validity or invalidity of purported injustices or justices, a competent arbiter or set of them needs to stand in the place of judge or judges to make these principles as realized in the world as possible.

Other public institutions can be used in this manner to protect women against unequal treatment, for feminists and allies, and other interested parties; the use of the public institutions and the need for a competent set of national tribunals seems necessary for the implementation of an equal society. In Canada, we can see movements to have those social and political movements attack themselves through the framing of the debates and public discussions.

If we take the phrase “radical left,” we can see the stance there. When, in fact, the right acts in radical ways through general assaults on the public whether the sexual education programs, the healthcare system, efforts to imbue public institutions and health programs with distrust, and to marginalize the dissident voices and demonize the poor and beatdown as the real criminals when others with power and influence and wealth can smoke crack in public office, work to dismantle the sexual education program consulted to and implemented with the assent of the general public and others.

This tangles the debates and shifts focus on real efforts to undermine the poor and marginalized from mobilizing to act in their best interests rather than the interests of the wealthy. We can see this in stoking of Cold War fears of communists, Marxists, and multiculturalists and efforts to reinstantiate magical thinking through vague definitions of terms and sloppy interdisciplinarity to formulate narratives to redirect attention from the undergirding problems in the society with attempts to attack women’s rights and the livelihood of poor children in this country.

This also shows in the work of the human rights tribunals and the demonization of them and then the work to take any partial mistake and blowing this particular out of proportion to derogate the class enemy. The academics and intellectuals work in line with this at times because this benefits them. All around, we see these attacks to distract attention, attempt to undermine coalition building between poorer peoples, and work to disenfranchise these people further and remove their sole methodologies for better lives and protection of their rights and interests.

If these people can be distracted through religious fundamentalism and magical thinking, this becomes the basis for the further marginalization of the general population that serves to disempower them. That would amount, in all this, to an attack on the general population from multiple angles, but the public is catching on and rejecting the institutional narratives fed through these channels that amount to lies.

The basis for the equality of women must come from these conventions and documents on an international stage to provide a higher-order mechanism to protect the least among us. The competent tribunals form one basis of this, for an “effective protection” of the rights and privileges of women.

Which then leads into Article 2 (d), as follows:

(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;

Within this particular article, we the “refrain” of an engagement in discrimination. Again, the term “any” is used, oft-used in the document, here to mean all. It amounts to a statement like “any and all” or “under any circumstance” found in other documents. The point is to keep on with the theme of the highest possible ideals, which does seem to imply a utilitarian ethic of a form.

In fact, John Stuart Mill, no doubt in conjunction with the help of Harriet Taylor Mill, mentioned the “Nazarene” (Jesus Christ) as another individual who developed an isomorphic ethic with him, similar morality, with the Golden Rule formulated in the New Testament Gospel accounts of the sayings of Christ.

Utilitarianism amounts to the Christian ethic. The ideals for non-discrimination against women become Abrahamic in religious tone and Utilitarian in secular garb. It seems interesting to note the similarities noted by the founder of one faith, or one claimed by many to found a faith, and another who founded an ethic and started much of the philosophical grounding for the modern women’s equality movement.

Ethics relates to how we deal with one another and not as individual atomized units. It does have a metaphysical quality about it. The obligation of acting in accordance with this highest good for all, in particular women in this case, through the reduction in harm via decreases in discrimination against women. Duly note, the public authorities and institutions have an obligation to act in accordance or conformity with the obligations set out in the convention.

(e) follows in this pattern for Article 2, stating:

(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;

No individual or collective entity may discriminate against women. It is one of the most efficient statements of a Golden Rule ethic in the document with the individual and collective levels of responsibility to women writ large, as a category. Again, the echoing of the sentiment with the “appropriate measures.”

Whether persons, organizations, or enterprises – public or private, individual or collective, everyone remains answerable to rules of equality.

In Article 2(f) of the convention, it states:

(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

The activism can take effect more thoroughly with further gravitas than otherwise. Because the emphasis is on the ability of the or the right of individuals, whether women or men, in a society bound to the convention to implement changes to the legislation. This could be in the modification of the current laws, which may need some form of alteration to make them better suited to the times.

Others may be completed outdated including Guardianship laws or the bans on abortion, where the abolishment of either would provide a stronger ability for women to exercise their rights to life and bodily autonomy. Often, women are denied those rights and privileges even when they are provided for men. It becomes an unbalanced equation unsuited to the modern world.

A world, probably, heading towards either authoritarianism or further freedom and autonomy of individual persons. The individual ability without precedent in the history of the world except insofar as that developed in some of the anarchist traditions of the Indigenous peoples around the world but with the caveat of a cleanliness and quality of life in abundance never before seen in the history of the world; while at the same time, we destroy many of the prospects for decent human existence in other forms and the abundance and diversity of life extant, organisms other than ourselves.

No custom or practice may be the basis for the discrimination against women. In addition, the customs of a culture standing in place to restrict the capacities and livelihood of women. The legal and social-cultural frameworks for the historic and present discrimination against women become untenable in the light of updated standards.

In a way, these do not by necessity reject the Golden Rule ethics found in religious traditions. With a recognition of a serious lack of women in the stories of the religious traditions and narratives, the religious traditions and narratives could inculcate an updated version of themselves with an expansion of the moral and ethical sphere to women as full person through the natural extension of the Golden Rule into heretofore unrecognized areas, especially in popular consciousness.

These decades-old documents represent some of it. They show work to expand the moral sphere to the other sex as others work to expand the same to children, labor, minorities, Indigenous peoples, and others, even artificial constructs or replicative intellects (“artilects”) in the future. The culture and the law can begin to change with the creation and adoption of the provisions necessary for women’s equality.

That leads to Article 2(g):

(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.

Any across-the-country provision for the discrimination against women forms the basis for something with the need for repeal. The world will take years and decades to do this. However, we see the news cycle with the provisions for women and then the restriction or retraction of those provisions for women.

The continual drawing of the lines here represents or indicates the shifts in the modern world with the third wave or fourth waves of feminism. The waves of the women’s movement devoted to the further shifts in the landscape with ownership to one’s body. The first wave came with the recognition of one’s identity as an equal in a democratic system with universal suffrage.

The next was in the workplace and the home for the ability to work and so on. The newer ones fragment far more than others as the distinctions become greater than the prior generations and, hence, the inability to cope with the complexity of the varieties of women’s rights movements throughout history in the social commentary and in the confusion of third wave and fourth wave.

The battle lines here will continue for some time, as the nations throughout the world with penal provisions constituting discrimination against women seem palpable and sex-distinct with the representation of women as one loose marker for the equality of women around the country. The lack of provisions for equitable and safe access to abortion, for example, amounts to one failure.

The repeal of the discriminations against women throughout the world continue apace and Article 2 represents an important historical document with modern relevance for the equality of women with men and, in turn, the ability for men to become more full human beings with the freedom provided for women and, thus, for themselves, where both sexes win.

—

One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

The Benefits of Some Bright and Sunny Days

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/02

Low levels of vitamin D can lead to various health problems to someone, especially if they are of advanced age. The ability of the skin to produce vitamin D begins to decrease with age. The skin becomes less and less efficient at the production of vitamin D, which is gradual and so happens over time.

As the Mayo Clinic notes about the problems of insufficient Sun exposure or vitamin d production, there is the issue of the deficiency. What are the problems that arise in general health without the sufficient amounts of vitamin D needed for optimal health?

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to problems with insulin production and immune function in addition to the as yet unknown ways in which this helps with the reduction of various chronic diseases and cancer. With low levels, your bones can become brittle and thin, even misshapen.

The article states, “Although the amount of vitamin D adults get from their diets is often less than what’s recommended, exposure to Sunlight can make up for the difference. For most adults, vitamin D deficiency is not a concern. However, some groups — particularly people who are obese, who have dark skin and who are older than age 65 — may have lower levels of vitamin D due to their diets, little Sun exposure or other factors.”

You can take supplements. However, as per usual with health, the best option for the maintenance of a healthy diet is nature. I do not mean au natural or the fame and fortune garnered by charlatans and food fad folks. I mean a well-balanced diet reflects the same with Sun exposure. It is about the proper amount of intake.

Some Sun exposure is the key to a happy and healthy life. Too much can harm your health, though, which we will cover in a moment.

But first, “The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults is 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. That goes up to 800 IU a day for those older than age 70. To meet this level, choose foods that are rich in vitamin D. For example, choose fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna and halibut, which offer higher amounts of vitamin D, or fortified foods, such as milk and yogurt,” the report explained.

Some of these, I did not even know about. There are some issues with the toxicity of vitamin D too.

The condition is known as hypervitaminosis D. It is rare. However, it would be instructive to cover a bit of time on it. Because it can be hazardous to personal health in the long-term if one has it. It can produce excess amounts of vitamin D in your body.

“Vitamin D toxicity is usually caused by megadoses of vitamin D supplements — not by diet or Sun exposure. That’s because your body regulates the amount of vitamin D produced by Sun exposure, and even fortified foods don’t contain large amounts of vitamin D,” the article explained.

With hypercalcemia or a buildup of calcium in the blood, the vitamin D toxicity can cause a variety of consequences. Some of these include frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, and weakness. Indeed, if these problems continue, you can develop bone pain and kidney problems with kidney stones. Some treatments would include the restriction on the intake of vitamin D and dietary calcium – sources mentioned above.

The article continued, “Taking 60,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity. This level is many times higher than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for most adults of 600 IU of vitamin D a day. Doses higher than the RDA are sometimes used to treat medical problems such as vitamin D deficiency, but these are given only under the care of a doctor for a specified time frame. Blood levels should be monitored while someone is taking high doses of vitamin D.”

In each case listed here, the main message is to be in touch with both your body but also your medical professional regarding supplementation and the potential health pitfalls of the Sun in this case

Also, if you are a normal person and have sensitive skin or are concerned about skin protection from Sun damage – you should be, then you should bear in mind the need for protection from it. Sun damage is permanent.

With the summer with us now, for most of us, though as a Canadian the timing was a little bit delayed (!), the importance of being smart about exposure to the Sun cannot be underestimated. Skin cancer risk is increased proportionally to sun exposure as sun exposure causes sun damage. Remember: the Sun is a nuclear furnace.

“In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, has tips to keep your skin safe and healthy in the Sun,” the clinic stated, “It is spring break time, and many people are headed to warmer climates to get much-needed R & R and some Sun, which means you could get sunburned. Sunburns can be painful, and they can increase your risk of skin cancer. So it’s important to slather on the sunscreen and expose your skin to the Sun gradually. But, with all the different products out there, how do you know what number Sun protection factor (SPF) to use — 15, 30 or 50-plus? Dr. Davis has recommendations.”

If some Sun exposure is coming your way, then you should be wearing some sunscreen as you. The Sun can be toxic if more than 15 minutes or so. It depends on the level of melanin in your skin, but it can be an issue regardless of ethnic background and skin tone – as skin is simply a variety of barrier of the sun and a producer of vitamin D.

But do not sweat it! A little Sun, and if a little more then a little sunscreen, then the Summer and Spring Sun are yours to soak up!

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2022-04-22

Should you use dietary supplements?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/01

Some considerations arose in the midst of reading an article about supplements. Are they for you?

The article was from the Mayo Clinic. The prominence of dietary supplements make the possible effects on the body of importance for any health conscious person. With a healthy diet, a normal and prime of life person will not need them. Then this leads to questions about what ifs. What if is you are not having a healthy diet or cannot maintain it for some reason? What if you are not prime of life?

These seem like legitimate questions altogether and associated for that matter. This then leads to some further questions. A nutritious diet prior to the age of 65 should be fine without supplements. However, once you do reach the are of 65, your ability to absorb a few nutrients such as calcium, vitamin b-12, and vitamin D can be limited.

That is, a multivitamin may be in order. It can improve immune function and decrease the risk of possible infections, apparently. No joke.

Then there is the case of the person who eats junk food or few good foods. A multivitamin will not fill the gap, especially regarding micronutrients, but you can work to impact our bad health habits a bit with some supplementation in that case. However, if you want the best health outcomes, a lot of fruits and vegetables connected to a general diet of healthier foods is ideal. I prefer the Mediterranean myself.

Other people may have some specific dietary needs. Those may, sometimes, only be covered with a single vitamin-mineral supplement.

“If you’re a vegetarian who eats no animal products from your diet, you may need vitamin B-12. And if you don’t eat dairy products and don’t get 15 minutes of sun on your skin two to three times a week, you may need to add calcium and vitamin D supplements to your diet,” the article recommended.

Then there are cases of women who have gone past menopause. Those women will need to get sufficient calcium and vitamin D with the bone loss acceleration and the increased need for calcium. Then the ability to absorb the relevant nutrients (calcium and vitamin D) decrease at the same time, which makes this a more difficult and harder process altogether.

The article continued, “Some health conditions and treatments make it difficult to digest or absorb nutrients. Examples include a disease of your liver, gallbladder, intestine, pancreas or kidney, or a surgery on your digestive tract. In such cases, your doctor may recommend that you take a vitamin or mineral supplement.”

The final note in the suggestions was that there may be medications that could interfere with the ways in which your body abords nutrients. Those were “Antacids, antibiotics, laxatives, diuretics or other medications.”

If you start today and stick to a life of healthier eating, unless over 65, you do not necessarily need supplements. But always consult with your medical professional.

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2022-04-22

Article I of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/01

Article I

For the purposes of the present Convention, the term “discrimination against women” shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

If you peer above, the first article emphasizes the sole purpose of it: non-discrimination against women. The prevention and reversal of the discrimination against women and human beings simply for being human beings. The basis is sex, not gender, in the documentation. So, individuals discriminated against based on biological sex rather than social, cultural, psychological, and emotional gender, which amounts to a complicated overlay and outgrowth of biology in connection with culture and other factors.

Of course, we are not amoebas or formless creatures, so biology connects to gender and sexuality – as we evolved and garnered capacities that come with concomitant limitations. The main emphasis here in the discrimination against women, which seems palpable around the world, begs several questions about the intentions or purposes of an international document devoted to the prevention of discrimination against women.

The forms of discrimination here include distinction, exclusion, or restriction. Each operation in the ways in which people may treat women, which can include how some women may treat some other women. These then extend into the world of purposeful impairment or nullification, either reduction or ignoring, of the contributions of women to the conversation.

These same operations work in regard to the enjoyment of a woman or the exercise of a woman. The broadest interpretation for enjoyment would be complete life satisfaction and wellbeing with eudaimonia found in the ancient Greek repertoire. If someone works to reduce the individual happiness of a woman, then the woman will be discriminated against there.

Same for the exercise of a woman. This does not mean working out (but it could, technically). This means the exercise of efforts by a woman in, for example, working for enjoyment in life.

To all the single ladies and the married women, it does not matter what your marital status; no man and no woman hold the right to withhold your own life from you. If they work to try to control you, then you have the right to leave them. They are in violation of this convention.

Same with the fundamental basis of equality. Women deserve it; men deserve it. This will be continued and elaborated on in coverage of subsequent Articles.

—

One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Article 39 of the Istanbul Convention

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/30

Article 39 – Forced abortion and forced sterilisation
Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following
intentional conducts are criminalised:

a performing an abortion on a woman without her prior and informed consent;
b performing surgery which has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to
naturally reproduce without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the
procedure.

The Istanbul Convention is an important document not only for the equality of the sexes, but also for the protection of women from culture, community, society, and fundamentalist religion opposed to bodily autonomy.

In the convention, the equality of women with men comes, in Article 39, in the form of prevention of female genital mutilation. In the examination of the two starting terms, we find the forced abortion and the forced sterilization as the opening terms. With the forced abortion, an adult woman, typically, cannot be forced to have an abortion.

This should include the coercion from a partner, family, or community because, as an adult, a woman has a right to bodily autonomy. The “forced” portion of “forced abortion” creates a foundation for consent with the violation inherent in the vernacular: “forced.” Then the “sterilisation” or, more properly in the context of the readers here, “sterilization” prevents women from ever becoming mothers.

It rejects the option of a person’s life. Women become unequal in this sense. Also, this founds another basis for the violation of bodily autonomy and, indeed, integrity. With consent implied in the first line and bodily autonomy and integrity integrated into the context as well, we come to the next line of Article 39 of the Istanbul Convention.

The relevant parties, for whenever and whoever, will create legislation for the criminalization of the abortion of a woman, as described in (a), without prior and informed consent. Prior and informed consent refers to two-party consent. The first with “prior” being the woman in question know beforehand what is going on, where, when, how, and so on. Basically, the woman has an idea as to what will happen to her in order to make a prior choice.

She is not being randomly taken for an abortion in blunt terms. The second with “informed” implies the knowledge of the woman who can make a choice with said knowledge. Together, the “prior” and “informed” mean before the actions are taken on the woman’s body regarding abortion or sterilization the woman in question must know ahead of time and have had made an informed choice in the matter.

Without those two, the abortion or the sterilization process violates the Istanbul Convention in Article 39. In fact, the nations around the world beholden to the convention have to criminalize that too. Women have the right. If someone argues against the right, they argue against women, whether from family, tradition, partner, culture, religion, or other excuses for the violations of women’s rights.

(b) is intriguing:

b performing surgery which has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to
naturally reproduce without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the
procedure.

The focus is on the prior and informed consent from before. However, this comes with an additional premise of “understanding the procedure” and keeping intact the woman’s ability to naturally reproduce. These are important, nuanced, and widely unimplemented provisions for the rights of women. They should know and be knowledgeable of everything beforehand.

This includes the procedure for her. These conventions and declarations are not to be trifled with, nor are the fundamental rights of women, or the responsibility of the international community to protect the bodily autonomy and integrity of women. It seems easy for some to mock or denigrate the work of the international community or the UN.

However, the conceptualization of rights is new. These are newer than the Divine Right of Kings, the Commons, the Charter of the Forest, the Ten Commandments, and the Golden Rule’s variations. In this, the important of the instantiation of new and more considered to the time’s standards is important.

Bear in mind, many in the world would prefer an ethic oriented around the fundamentalist interpretations of the Quran with Islamism or of the Bible with the Christian Dominionists or Reconstructionists, where this comes from the idea in Genesis 1:28 with God providing dominion over the Earth to Mankind.

Much of humankind differs of that interpretation, in particular, most of the world. The international secular consensus or universalist ethics provides the basis for individual and collective belief and the protection of the individual integrity and autonomy of the person. In the cases here with the Istanbul Convention and others, we find the protection of the integrity and autonomy of the individual woman.

That amounts to something worth protecting and within a modern context, as in human rights. Thus, to stand for the rights of others, as a man for women, you can then stand for the eventual protection of your own rights but also the rights as a concept worth valuing.

—

One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention and Article 38.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Unhealthy Belly Fat in Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/30

The Mayo Clinic reported on the excess belly fat in men.

It is an unhealthy thing to have in men. There are some important considerations to having excess belly fat in men. If you want to improve your overall ong-term health, the, men, you will probably want o keep in mind some of these trimming up recommendations and considerations in mind, courtesy of the clinic.

The article stated, “The trouble with belly fat is that it’s not limited to the extra layer of padding located just below the skin (subcutaneous fat). It also includes visceral fat — which lies deep inside your abdomen, surrounding your internal organs.”

It is like the belly iceberg. The fat there represents only a portion of the real problem in health linked to it. With more belly fatty, above and below the surface so to speak, the consequences to health comes with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, premature death from any cause, and sleep apnea.

The problem with weight comes from a garbage in and garbage out knowledge of the body and caloric value. If you eat more than your body burns in the day, including maintenance of life and exercise, then you will begin to gain weight, slowly, over time.

Loss of muscle mass from age can be a factor to consider from all this as well. As you slowly lose hormones and age, your body will gradually lose its definition and overall amount of muscle mass. Muscle burns calories, slowly over time by simply existing and more so than fatty tissue.

“According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, men in their 50s need about 200 fewer calories daily than they do in their 30s due to this muscle loss,” the article explained, “Your genes also can contribute to your chances of being overweight or obese, as well as play a role in where you store fat. However, balancing the calories you consume with activity can help prevent weight gain, despite your age and genetics.”

Other issues can be from the alcohol diet. It is known as the beer belly. Alcohol contains calories. These go to the gut. If you want to do a loose diagnostic, then you should stand in place with a tape measure and wrap that around your bare stomach from your hip bone.

Then you can have that measuring tape wrap snugly around you without putting pressure on the skin. Then you can relax and exhale and then measure the waist without sucking in your stomach (no cheating!). For the men, the healthy size is less than 40 inches. More than that is a sign of some potential health problems.

“You can tone abdominal muscles with crunches or other targeted abdominal exercises, but just doing these exercises won’t get rid of belly fat. However, visceral fat responds to the same diet and exercise strategies that can help you shed excess pounds and lower your total body fat,” the article stated.

In terms of life practices, some of the things to bear in mind will be a healthy diet, reasonable portions, replacement of sugary beverages, and then physical activity in your daily routine. If you make those a life practice, you will very likely have a decent chance at a healthier life.

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2022-04-22

The Purported “Supremacy of God” in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/29

The Freedom of Thought Report seems like one of the most comprehensive reports on – ahem – free thought known to me.

It provides great reportage in its Canada section. I highly recommended it. In the Constitution Act 1982, there is a statement:

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law

It amounts to a symbolic representation of God into the Constitution Act 1982. Note, the presumption, probably, at the time, given the demographics of the nation, amounted to an Abrahamic theistic God. It would seem, by implication, to leave out no gods, no Supreme Being stated as “God,” and non-Abrahamic gods.

That is, the symbol leaves out the non-religious who do not believe in gods or a God, the polytheistic, and the non-Abrahamic faiths. With the continued decline of the Christian religion and much of the Abrahamic religious cultural influence on Canadian society, this section may need new discussion, especially oriented around its removal.

The report also states, “…the French version of the national anthem references carrying a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. While these are symbolic, and aren’t used to justify discrimination, the preamble was used as an argument from city lawyers in Saguenay (see below) for allowing governments to endorse prayer/religion as part of public office.”

Again, find another case with the symbolic representation of a Deity or a Theity within formal Canadian public life. This seems unfair once more. At bottom, it seems rude. At the top, it represents some moderately serious concerns around equal representation through no representation or preference of any god or God within Canadian formal public life.

There has been some progress, for example, on the front of the purported or alleged supremacy of God. That is, the prohibition of the saying of prayers in the middle of municipal council business. In addition, there are formal and public, and vocal, supporters including the Mouvement Laïque Québécois. The case was brought forward by one resident in Saguenay in Quebec.

That Mouvement Laïque Québécois supported it. The questions then emerge for other areas in which further equality can be had through the retraction of discriminatory symbolic gestures, by implication, in favour of some belief preferences over others. A proposed revision of the Constitution Act of 1982 from the current|:

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law

To the following:

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the rule of law

It becomes more concise, to the point, and enjoyable to both the eyes and the efficiency gods (joke), also representative of the broad base of Canadian society (and a growing one for that matter) through no preferential symbolic representation. As a principle employed with a gentle gesture and nudge, in a Canadian tone, why not make the changes, please?

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2022-04-22

The Last Sections of Article 38 of the Istanbul Convention

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/29

Article 38 – Female genital mutilation
Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following
intentional conducts are criminalised:

a excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a
woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris;

b coercing or procuring a woman to undergo any of the acts listed in point a;

c inciting, coercing or procuring a girl to undergo any of the acts listed in point a

In the convention, some stark statements arise including ones related to the practices of female genital mutilation, of which tens of millions of women around the world are subject to and suffer from at the hands of religious and cultural practices entwined together. In Canada and elsewhere, we do not have to worry too much about unconsented to the mutilation of girls’ bodies. It can happen.

However, the cases do not emerge at consistent rates. The questions about the use and abuse of women’s bodies for cultural and religious practices are many and broad-ranging. The main ones here are about Article 38(b) and Article 38(c) of the Istanbul Convention. It deals with the coercion and procurement of women to get excision, infibulation, or other genital mutilation relevant to women’s bodies.

It does not matter if this is encouraged by religion culture, family or community. No one has the right to go out and mutilate a women’s body, but, again, tens of millions of girls and women around the world have undergone these procedures. Section (b) relates to (c) on that point but also to leads naturally into section (c).

As stated clearly in the documentation, the incitement and coercion, and procurement of a girl is also prohibited. That is, whether a woman or a girl, no one holds the right to deny a bodily autonomy to this person. That makes the religio-cultural context and familial and community pressure moot. If people, especially girls and young women, are pressured by community, the community and the family is violating the fundamental basis of Article 38 of the Istanbul Convention.

—

One can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on. Based on the personal analysis in conjunction with a colleague (Sarah Mills) in other publications, I find the following documents with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Men’s Health in 3 Minutes

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/28

The Mayo Clinic stated in a very, very short article the nature of the health threats for men and some other key items. Let’s run through them!

The big ones for men are cancer, heart disease, and unintentional injury. I believe the lattermost one comes from the vast majority of the most dangerous jobs being dominated by men. So, they will more probably be injured on the job by those things. With heart disease and cancer, there are definite genetic components to those.

However, these can be curbed with some healthy lifestyle choices and physical activity added into the routine for the day. There are some things that men do which are casual sex and drinking to excess. Those harm their health. It is part of the higher risk-taking of men, which harms them in general.

Men need to use seat belts and helmets, and use safety ladders too, in order to prevent injuries on the job or in recreation. Come on, guys!

Men age as with everything. They become less virile, more brittle, and more breakable than before. Systems in the body break down more. The aging guts that grow as one’s chronological numbers grow. The testosterone levels that drop inversely to the age increase.

So, the good news: these are avoidable problems for a while, for a healthy and long life – as a statistical bet on long-term health span.

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2022-04-22

Article 38(a) of the Istanbul Convention

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/28

International documents provide the basis for rights, for individuals and peoples. This includes the marginalized. This incorporates the majority, whoever and wherever. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention is a huge document.

However, when one examines the particular issues over 100 million and potentially 200 million girls and women around the world, potentially far, far more, but at least tens of millions of girls and women. They undergo this in unsanitary and forced conditions with the pressure of religion, family, culture, and community.

The 38th article of the document lays out the importance of this act. That is, it should be criminalized rather decriminalized or permitted in the first place.

Article 38(a) states:

Article 38 – Female genital mutilation
Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following
intentional conducts are criminalized:
a excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a
woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris;

That seems rather comprehensive and covers the main concerns regarding women’s health and the violation of their bodies. Regardless of the basis for it, this act should be criminalized in any of its forms and this document provides the basis for activism against it. Women can do something about it. Men can support them.

Especially for those men in more prominent positions, the “M” in “FGM” seems straightforward. It is mutilation often at a young age and without consent. It tends not to be an adult with fully informed consent and in unsafe and dirty conditions. Should this be permitted to happen to tens of millions of women?

The Istanbul Convention is a salient piece of international rights statements because of the continued retractions, currently, ongoing in spite of the vast strides made for the equality of women with men.

—

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/27

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was adopted, and so legitimized, through the United Nations General Assembly on December 16th, 1966. After ten years or so, all Member States of the United Nations became parties of the covenant. That remained the plan or projection, or extrapolation, as the case may be.

As it turns out, the document had the sufficient Member States in 1976 – tens years after 1966 or its adoption by the UN General Assembly – and became active as planned in 1976. The United States Senate ratified the ICCPR in June of 1992 with some exceptions to the treaty. Some of those included that the treaty will not be enforceable in the courts of the United States.

The introduction states, “Thus the United States Senate denied Americans the legal power to secure and enforce the human rights recognized by this international covenant.”

That is, the document may be enforced in the other Member States but most definitely not in the United States of America. With the social and legal and cultural and political equality of men and women on the international agenda more, especially with the rising inequality, nationalism, and authoritarianism, and outright sexism by secular and religious groups around the world, this document becomes ever-more important.

It becomes important with the civil and political rights rather than reproductive rights, which become different when in consideration of men and women, and trans-men and trans-women, e.g. in the cases of abortions and birth control provisions and the implications for men and women and some trans-men and some trans-women. Civil and political rights seem relatively straightforward as rights afforded in civil society and political life of the nation.

The main article from this document with direct relevance is Article 3, which talks about “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.” It is straightforward and in contradistinction to the obvious current treatments of men and women the world over in terms of rights.

When international and civil society organizations argue for human rights, and speak about the current inequality the rights of men and women, they speak with authority and in line with the documentation adopted by the United Nations decades and decades ago. Our parents’ generations were kids when this was ongoing.

In the denial of the right for women to drive, or the Guardianship laws grounded in culture and the Islamic faith fundamentalist interpretations, the retraction of equal rights in law, the restriction in the right to vote, to marry, to have a marriage with full adult consent, and so on, the various conventions and documents, such as this one – and especially in Article 3, continue to be violated.

They remain some of the stronges tools in Canada and elsewhere to argue for the full equal rights of men and women in civil and political life. We should use them to full force regardless if people use distractions, emotional appeals, logical fallacies, or force to deny said equality. We owe this to women; we owe this to men.

We are in a moment of minor retractions. Let’s change that.

—

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention in Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Manage Your Stress Before It Mismanages You

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/27

The Mayo Clinic remains the #1 medical clinic in the entire world. So, when they talk about something, they have the highest overall ranking in the world to substantiate their evidence and claims with a world-class staff too.

I want to talk for a short while today about stress. Because this is an affliction of modern society. There is a need for minimum or optimum levels of physiological and psychological stress. It keeps us alert during the day. That alertness helps us keep our jobs. We do not want to be fired. We do not want to crash the car or forget where we are.

A little stress can do you some good. However, it can move from a performance enhancer to some that harm health. Your wellbeing can go down. Your body and brain cannot cope with it as well. Then your overall performance in life begins to slip away and decline overall. Let’s have the Mayo Clinic have some say here.

It states, “Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. A small amount of stress can be good, motivating you to perform well. But multiple challenges daily, such as sitting in traffic, meeting deadlines and paying bills, can push you beyond your ability to cope.”

“Your brain comes hard-wired with an alarm system for your protection. When your brain perceives a threat, it signals your body to release a burst of hormones that increase your heart rate and raise your blood pressure. This “fight-or-flight” response fuels you to deal with the threat,” the article continued.

The point is to be relaxed in some ways and at some times and not at others. It is the Yerkes-Dodson curve of performance. Some activities require high arousal, moderate arousal, and minimal arousal. If you miss the mark of the level necessary for the task ahead of you, this creates some major problems for you.

“Once the threat is gone, your body is meant to return to a normal, relaxed state. Unfortunately, the nonstop complications of modern life mean that some people’s alarm systems rarely shut off,” the article said, “Stress management gives you a range of tools to reset your alarm system. It can help your mind and body adapt (resilience). Without it, your body might always be on high alert. Over time, chronic stress can lead to serious health problems.”

So do not forget to consider stress as a needed daily spike, but be chary or wary of a continuous possibility of health problems associated with it.

Don’t wait until stress damages your health, relationships or quality of life. Start practicing stress management techniques today.

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2022-04-22

The Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) Article 2

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/26

From the Convention Against Discrimination in Education in Paris, France December 14, 1960:

Recalling that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts the principle of non-discrimination and proclaims that every person has the right to education,

Considering that discrimination in education is a violation of rights enunciated in that Declaration,

Considering that, under the terms of its Constitution, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has the purpose of instituting collaboration among the nations with a view to furthering for all universal respect for human rights and equality of educational opportunity,

Recognizing that, consequently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, while respecting the diversity of national educational systems, has the duty not only to proscribe any form of discrimination in education but also to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for all in education,

Having before It proposals concerning the different aspects of discrimination in education, constituting item 17.1.4 of the agenda of the session,

Having decided at its tenth session that this question should be made the subject of an international convention as well as of recommendations to Member States,

Adopts this Convention on the fourteenth day of December 1960.

Rights form the foundation of an ethic to derive other ethics. In this exemplary sense, provide the basis for another form of meta-ethics. An ethic to permit other ethics. Formal metaethics deals with some issues.

This rights ethic derives from the foundation in international documentation. The means by which the global community does not come to total agreement on issues but, rather, comes to a consensus through mutual consideration, debate, discussion, and reflection on the issues of the day.

If rights to a belief or a religion, as an example, then the belief in the religious or non-religious ethic does not remain contained in the rights ethic. Instead, the rights derive consensus permission for the religious belief.

In consideration of the modern split in the world, the two sides split by a major partition in morals comes from a traditional conservative religious transcendent ethic inhered into the essential nature of a metaphysical being who either created the world or generated a world alongside its self-existence.

The other ethic instantiates in the universalist notions and consensus ethics with continual revisions and updates based on shared human values brought together through mutual respect in conversation about matters of value.

Documents including the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provide some basis for the universalist conceptualization of ethics.

In the national and international acceptance of these values, though not by and large completely implemented, the transcendent ethic can flourish freely; same with the other non-religious ethics or non-transcendentalist ethics associated with the religiously unaffiliated, typically.

With only the transcendentalist ethics inculcated within the society, the religiously unaffiliated ethics garner little to zero implementation or consideration. Cases in points, the theocratic institutions in some nations working to restrict and repress those with lack of religious affiliation with adherence to a transcendentalist ethic in government and law while rejecting the universalist ethics.

Regardless, this all relates to the work for equality in provisions through these universalist and international consensus based ethics. In the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, the second Article talks about the equality of men and women.

In Article 2’s opening, it states, “When permitted in a State, the following situations shall not be deemed to constitute discrimination, within the meaning of Article 1 of this Convention…”

“(a) The establishment or maintenance of separate educational systems or in-stitutions for pupils of the two sexes, if these systems or institutions offer equivalent access to education, provide a teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard as well as school premises and equipment of the same quality, and afford the opportunity to take the same or equivalent courses of study…” the convention continued.

With separate educational systems or institutions for the students of either sex, and equal provision of education with relatively equally qualified teaching staff, the educational system amounts to an equal one. Equipment should remain the same. Identical rule with course provisions.

Section (b) states, “The establishment or maintenance, for religious or linguistic reasons, of separate educational systems or institutions offering an education which is in keeping with the wishes of the pupil’s parents or legal guardians, if participation in such systems or attendance at such institutions is optional and if the education provided conforms to such standards as may be laid down or approved by the competent authorities, in particular for education of the same level…”

That is, the religious or linguistic separation of educational provisions do not prevent the proper education of the child. While also respecting the rights of the parents or legal guardians of the child, the systems for the educational institutions, if kept to normal standards of curricula, should be respected as a possible choice.

The final part (c) states, “The establishment or maintenance of private educational institutions, if the object of the institutions is not to secure the exclusion of any group but to provide educational facilities in addition to those provided by the public authorities, if the institutions are conducted in accordance with that object, and if the education provided conforms with such standards as may be laid down or approved by the competent authorities, in particular for education of the same level.”

The purpose of education remains the equal opportunities, access, and provisions of education for all children and others regardless of the background. The public authorities cannot exclude groups from one another, so not abrogating the right to discriminate individuals identified as belonging to a group in the process.

The main, and echoed point, in section (3) comes from the (re-)iteration of the competent authorities and quality standards in education across all levels. For the women around the world prevented from education for transcendentalist ethical notions about women’s inherent inferiority or only place and capacities being in the home, or for the fatherless and modern technology addicted young men who feel rudderless and without purpose, this convention remains a foundational document, and in particular Articles 1 and 2, for equality.

—

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention in Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Freeing Hearts and Freeing Minds with Yasmine Mohammed

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/26

Yasmine Mohammed is an activist, author, and ex-Muslim living in British Columbia, Canada. Her story is an intriguing one, to say the least. She recounts the personal story in the book entitled From Al-Qaeda to Atheism. In January 30, 2018, in an interview for Canadian Atheist, Yasmine and I talked about the life story for her, in brief. We have an extended interview upcoming in In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. Here we reproduce some of the publication in an article interview format.

When I opened the conversation, I noted the fact of Mohammed’s moderate levels of fame with Canada and North America. The reason: she married a member of Al-Qaeda. She was subsequently contacted by CSIS or the Canadian secret service. She described the personal narrative from there.

Mohammed stated, “As is typical, this marriage was coerced/forced. ‘Love marriages’, as they’re termed, are looked down upon. It means the couple was debaucherous enough to know each other prior to marriage.”

As Mohammed’s daughter turned one-year-old, Mohammed’s mother began to bleed from the nose and mouth. She called 911. She did not know if her mother would live or die. The ambulance took her away. However, Mohammed and her daughter went in the ambulance.

She notes. This was the first time that she had ever left the house without her husband by her side. As Mohammed sat in the waiting room, a man and woman, who explained that they were from CSIS, approached her.

“They told me that the man I married, Essam Hafez Marzouk, was an Al Qaeda operative who worked closely with Osama Bin Laden,” Mohammed stated, “In a pre-9/11 world, those words didn’t mean much to me. I knew he had been in Afghanistan before he came to Canada, so I suspected he had some ties to jihadis. Why else would an Egyptian teenager go to Afghanistan? But I had no idea of the extent of his involvement.”

When I queried about an equal partnership in the marriage for her, as a neutrally phrased question, she described the new marriage to her current partner as lucky because her current husband is a “wonderful man.”

In the previous relationships, she recalled being told that she was easy to please because she felt “over the moon if they didn’t abuse me! But I have come a long way. It was a slow process of rebuilding myself brick by brick.”

She took the hard road of self-reconstruction. The initiative to bit-by-bit, or brick-by-brick in her metaphor, to rebuild and remold herself. The notion of faking it until you make it was the beginning and the eventuality – faked and made. She crafted new values more to her authentic self.

“One of the things I faked was that I deserved a decent, loving boyfriend, and I would not accept anything less. My husband, of ten years, is most definitely decent and loving. He is exceptionally kind and he is confident enough to allow me to define my needs in our relationship,” Mohammed opined.

Now, she reacts swiftly to any scent of inequality in the marriage. She will never return to the submissive woman defined by lack of spine and a will co-opted for obeisance to the husband.

The conversation shifted into the more progressive and liberal forms of Islamic upbringing. However, Mohammed had difficulty in a proper response to the question because a progressive Muslim, in her opinion, is not one who follows the religion as closely as a conservative.

Mohammed quipped, “There is no such thing as progressive Islam, there are only progressive Muslims.”

I then recalled an experience with Haras Rafiq, who is the CEO of the Quilliam Foundation. I remember using the term moderate, which came from mainstream media discussions. If extremists exist, then moderates must be the opposite of them. It formed a non-conscious – not critically examined – binary view of the Muslims. He corrected me.

I feel glad about it. He noted the term ordinary, which makes more sense. So, I asked Mohammed about the importance of precision in the use of language in one of the emergent and important conversations now.

“Yes. I think precision is important. ‘Ordinary’ denotes that the type of person you are describing is the norm or the majority. And that is simply not true. If you refer to PEW research, you’ll find that so-called ‘moderate’ Muslims are very far from ordinary-in fact they are more of an anomaly,” Mohammed stated, “The ordinary Muslim is incredibly conservative and would not even consider a ‘moderate’ Muslim to be a Muslim. Anyone who veers from conservative Islam is killed. Ahmadis, Sufis, any other moderate sects of Muslims are killed.”

She reflected on 300 Sufis being killed as they prayed in their mosque.

Next in the discussion was the new initiative called Free Hearts, Free Minds (FHFM) and an, at the time, main focus of the written text, From Al Qaeda to Atheism, of Mohammed. The FHFM campaign works to support ex-Muslims in Muslim majority countries.

Mohammed said, “In a lot of Muslim-majority countries, one could be killed for leaving Islam. As such, people who find themselves denouncing the faith must be very quiet about it. It is an incredibly difficult journey for anyone-but it is 100 times worse when you are in a society that could jail you and execute you for leaving the religion you were born into.”

Some of the other work for FHFM will be connecting ex-Muslims in the Muslim world to have a marriage of convenience. That is, “…If people are going to be coerced into marriages anyway, then at least I can help them to get into a marriage with someone they share values with. There are similar websites for the LGBT community, so I’m hoping to mimic their platforms,” Mohammed explained.

In the conclusion, Mohammed made a call to those who are facing honor violence, female genital mutilation, and other violence to then reach out to the AHA Foundation. She further continued on those in the Muslim majority countries who can “contact me through my website.”

The organization will help them get involved with FHFM and to meet a ex-Muslim life coach to help find inner courage, fortitude, and to provide them with the means by which to fight back against their upbringing. and I will get you involved in my Free Hearts, Free Minds program that will match you up with an ex-Muslim life coach who will help you find your inner strength and will arm you with the tools you need to fight back.

Finally, she stated other organizations such as the Ex-Muslims in North America (EXMNA), Faith to Faithless in the UK, and Muslimish in the US.

—

Free Hearts Free Minds is committed to helping ex-Muslims to successfully transition out of Islam and into a happy, healthy life. We will be presenting ex-Muslims from Muslim Majority countries with the opportunity to receive coaching and mental health support. We are working with Jimmy from Integrated Wellness. An ex-Muslim Integrative Coach who has lived through the experience of leaving Islam.

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2022-04-22

If We’re Doing Ghost Tours, Why Not Angels, Demons, Hobgoblins, and Zombies?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/25

If you look into the cultural milieu of the most non-religious province in Canada known as British Columbia, we find a large number of SBNRs or “spiritual but not religious” citizens. Those SBNRs may also adhere to disjunct religious propositions and beliefs.

They may partake of yoga and meditation. They may also harbor beliefs apart from practices. Some beliefs, on the other hand, can include the community activities. Sometimes, these amount to entertainment for the kids. A sense of amusement akin to Santa and the cookies and milk left out at Christmas, and the letter sent with wishes for a bigger Nerf gun this year.

What about when this becomes less about entertainment and more about true unjustified belief? That which, in this context, gets held as true but without evidence and so unjustified as a proposition. This relates to ongoing practices within British Columbia, Canada.

I use this as a case study in the places where beliefs in ghosts influence behaviors and actions. Actions becoming the attendance at events including the haunted house and ghost tours. If these forms of events, of which serious scientists do not entertain too often or consider out of bounds in terms of evidence, these do not amount to crazy beliefs.

In a sense, these amount to a-evidential or non-evidentiary beliefs about the world. Akin to the ones about hobgoblins, angels, demons, and zombies, we see them in movies. We see them in spoofs. We watch poorly trained individuals masquerading as scientists in bad television and movies in a desperate search for the apparently unfindable.

That seems okay. People have a right to freedom of belief. However, if this becomes a norm, we find examples of small provincial income emergent in these activities, of which we may not or even probably should not take part. Imagine an adult who believes in and acts on the belief in Santa Claus, as per the earlier example, what becomes of this individual?

They become a person of mockery and ridicule, but in quiet fashion, unfortunately. It becomes a social faux pas to be the last kid to believe in Santa Claus and the elves. We become the fake Santa sitting in the mall with the kid on the lap and Will Ferrell the oversized elf whispering angrily, “You sit on a throne of lies!”

Let’s take the cases of British Columbia, Canada with Vancouver, Victoria, Vernon, and Fort Langley.

Vancouver has the Ghostly Gastown Tour and the Granville Tour. These are part of the Ghostly Vancouver Tours. The main city also has The Lost Souls of Gastown and Prohibition City as part of the Forbidden Vancouver ‘experience.’

There is the Haunted Vancouver Trolley Tour too. In Victoria, we have the Discover the Past with the Ghostly Walks, and Ghost Bus-Tours, and the Haunted Victoria Ghost Bus Tour in Victoria, BC. In Vernon, there are the Ghost Tours of Vernon. In Fort Langley National Historic Site, there are the Grave Tales. It is not ubiquitous, but prevalent within the province, whether population centres or historic sites.

Important to bear in mind, a significant portion of the Canadian population adheres to these a-evidential or non-evidentiary beliefs, like the Devil and the efficacy of exorcisms for the apparent non-problem but then are asserted as such, as truths. They act on them. They pay money for them. Sometimes, people bring kids for a one-off fun, which is a gentle and fun event. Or a couple goes on a date, which makes sense for young people. It probably feels fun to feel like a kid again or have a dark place to flirt. I get it.

Harmless stuff for the most part. The question arises about values inculcated, in this rather minor and semi-trivial example exemplifying a larger problematic trend, in the young through parental and adult figures engaged in beliefs without evidence or asserted evidence based on a misunderstanding about the ways in which the mind habitually forms false beliefs about the world or the way in which the world works on the most superficial of levels.

Should we stop attending these and, maybe, pick a better hobby or time out with the kids or with a partner on a date?

May I recommend Science World or a concert?

The province may be better off in terms of cultural maturity and socio-cultural sophistication without these haunted tours and ghost tours in British Columbia, Canada. If so, why not vote with your feet and your pocketbooks – attend them less and so the less they show up?

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2022-04-22

On Article 1 of the Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960)

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/25

From the Convention Against Discrimination in Education in Paris, France December 14, 1960:

Recalling that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts the principle of non-discrimination and proclaims that every person has the right to education,

Considering that discrimination in education is a violation of rights enunciated in that Declaration,

Having before It proposals concerning the different aspects of discrimination in education, constituting item 17.1.4 of the agenda of the session,

Having decided at its tenth session that this question should be made the subject of an international convention as well as of recommendations to Member States,

Adopts this Convention on the fourteenth day of December 1960.

The equality of men and women remains important around the world. It continues to garner attacks from ancient philosophies known as theologies, which come with modern developments and criticism and counter-arguments to the criticisms.

The reports tend to indicate the onslaught and attacks on women’s rights not incoming from religion in general, but religion in its conservative, fundamentalist manifestations. These religious fundamentalist elements of societies merge with conservative components of the nations.

Around the world, these become a multinational and, at times interconnection, an international coalition to attack equality of women with men through attacks of reproductive rights, for example.

Others come in the form of the restriction or denial of the right to education. This makes international documents relevant to education important as well. As noted in Article 1 Section 1 of the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, the convention outlines discriminations’ boundaries.

As stated, “For the purposes of this Convention, the term `discrimination’ includes any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic condition or birth, has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education and in particular.”

It seems to the point, concise, and all-encompassing. To the next portions of the first section of the first article, it, in (a), states, “Of depriving any person or group of persons of access to education of any type or at any level…”

Women and men deserve the right to equal access to education from Kindergarten through to graduate school. If men or women have restricted access, this becomes a violation of the convention.

More often, as seems known, men seem less motivated in advanced industrial nations for education. However, throughout the world, women have glass ceilings, secular sociocultural customs, and religious laws infused into the state government in order to prevent equal access to education.

It is important to focus on boys’ and young men’s lack of motivation. However, it seems more internationally salient to focus on the ways in which women remain restricted from access to education.

In section (b), it states, “Of limiting any person or group of persons to education of an inferior standard…” That is, everyone deserves equal access to, as in (a), and equal provisions in quality, as in (b), to education for boys and girls, and young men and young women.

One may assert for all age groups of either sex.

(c) and (d) state, “Subject to the provisions of Article 2 of this Convention, of establishing or maintaining separate educational systems or institutions for persons or groups of persons; or (d) Of inflicting on any person or group of persons conditions which are in-compatible with the dignity of man.”

No man or women, or child, deserves restrictions in access, limitations in quality, and separation in educational systems within a country and around the world. What does this mean for women given lesser education or means by which to access it?

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Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 2.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention in Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/24

One of the most endured and important documents of the 20^th and early 21^st century remains the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

It articulates the inherent dignity and equality of people, not in capacities, power, and so on, but, rather, in the rights of everyone. The basis for this creates “freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

In particular, some statements relate in the direct implication of theoretical considerations and practical manifestations of the equality of women with men and vice versa as a high ideal. Within the Preamble of the document, we find clear articulation.

It states, “Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom…”

In other words, the Member States of the United Nations affirmed the fundamental rights of men and women. This continues in the document into Article 16 Sections 1 through 3. In Article 16(1), it says, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.”

All women have the equal rights with men for marriage and the foundation of a family with equal rights, and considerations, prior to, during, and (sometimes, unfortunately,) the “dissolution” of a marriage.

Article 16(2) states, “Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” Article 16(3) continues, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”

The free and full consent of the spouses. This eliminates any ethical quandaries about forced marriage or people prior to the age of consent – children or adolescents. That is to say, adult women can marry and hold the right to consent or not to a marriage. Girls cannot or should not marry because of living prior to the age of consent.

A woman must be an adult and be within reasonable conditions for a free and fully consented to choice in a marriage. With respect to Article 16(3), the family, and not the individual, amounts to the fundamental group of a society with the individual as important but not a group.

Which implies, the individual as fundamental with the adult as the key component who can freely and fully consent to marriage and then the formation of a family – with or without children as implied dependent on the particular couple – as the fundamental group unit. Two basic units: the individual and the family.

Those two get protection from the society and the State.

Finally, and one with particular emphasis on biological women, Article 25(2) says, “Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.”

Whether born in or out of the fundamental group unit of a society, motherhood and childhood are to be entitled to the special care and assistance with children having social protection as well. Ongoing movements want women in the home or back in the home – who try through various overt and covert means, girls married prior to adulthood and without consent, women to be enforced into marriages, and these fundamental equalities to be violated, these rights documents list the protections from the social and political control of women and children.

These remain fundamental to the 21st century and essential to implement for a freer, more just, and equal world.

—

Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1 and Article 2.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3 and Article 13.
The Istanbul Convention in Article 38 and Article 39.
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(1993).
Beijing Declaration(1995).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).

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2022-04-22

On the Moral Education of Males: Men Should Attend to Women’s Rights as Human Rights

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/24

Women’s rights are partially overlapping but sufficiently distinct from human rights. The rights stated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and in other documents.

Women’s rights encapsulate reproductive health rights as well. Some forms of reproductive health rights not for biological males. On occasion, the world undergoes reversals in the considerations of women as equal.

Men should care about women’s rights. Why? Men, as with women, are our fellow human beings, haven’t you noticed. The denial of rights for one sex implies the denial for the other, eventually. As with the use of war machines against enemy states, those methodologies of war come to the home turf in surveillance apparatuses and force against the home civilian population. Protection of rights implies self and collective interest.

According to UN News, there exist “alarming pushbacks” based on the description of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice. The working group stated the forces working against women’s rights include an “alliance of conservative political ideologies and religious fundamentalisms.”

This was noted in a report sent to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

The working group stated, “Practices such as polygamy, child marriage, female genital mutilation, so-called honor killings, and criminalizing women for sexual and reproductive behavior, have no place in any society…there is no acceptable justification for waiting for the elimination of discrimination against women.”

The reasons come from the rise in authoritarianism, economic crises, and the increase in inequality in societies becoming unhealthily stratified. There are positive changes including the Irish referendum for the repealing of the almost total ban on safe and equitable access to abortion.

In those prior circumstances, women go underground to acquire abortions. Thousands die and thousands more are injured for life as a result of the illegality and unsafe provisions of abortions. If abortion is safe and equitable in terms of access, which is a fundamental human right as noted by Human Rights Watch, then abortion rates go down, fewer women and infants die, and women and families, and babies are happier and healthier.

Therefore, as per the empirical support for the pro-choice argument, the true pro-life – and pro-family for that matter – individuals who want to lower the numbers of abortions – on only that singular focus and narrow ethical conceptualization of an important issue to innumerable people around the world – would support the legalization of safe abortions with equitable access to them too.

The working group continued, “Through popular vote as well as legislative and judicial actions, efforts are being made, in particular, to secure reproductive rights, which is encouraging in a global context of retrogressions in this area.”

Other countries work to close the gender gap and to strengthen the criminalization of sexual violence, misconduct, and rape. These are wins, not to be ignored or diminished in the long fight for equality.

However, the march of social and political conservativism connected to religious fundamentalisms amount to the main methodologies or grounds for techniques of social control against host populations. These then clamp down on women’s progress through denial of women’s rights.

The UN report talks about the culture, family, reproductive health, and sexual health as the biggest battlegrounds, where the lines are continually being redrawn internationally in the struggle for equality.

“For 70 years, women’s equality has been enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; nearly 40 years ago the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted,” UN News explained, “… 25 years ago, on Monday, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action established that women’s rights are an indivisible part of human rights.”

The discrimination against women has not been eliminated in any country in the world, according to the experts’ report. This leaves room for vast improvement in the quality of life conditions for women in the world.

The further stated, “This should not be tolerated or normalized. There is an urgent need to protect past gains, and move forward to secure equality for women everywhere.”

As stated by John Stuart Mill, not exactly a fool, – and Harriet Taylor Mill, who he claimed was smarter than himself – in The Subjection of Women, on “The moral education of men,” stated:

My first answer is: the advantage of having the most universal and pervading of all human relations regulated by justice instead of injustice. That bare statement will tell anyone who attaches a moral meaning to words what a vast gain this would be for the human condition; it’s hardly possible to make it any stronger by any explanation or illustration. All of mankind’s selfish propensities, the self-worship, the unjust self-preference, are rooted in and nourished by the present constitution of the relation between men and women.

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2022-04-22

A Plan to Quit Smoking

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/23

According to common sense and the Mayo Clinic, tobacco is a killer drug comprised of poisonous chemicals. The people who smoke set themselves on the line for a shorter life.

The article stated, “People who smoke or use other forms of tobacco are more likely to develop disease and die earlier than are people who don’t use tobacco.” Lovely.

How can we begin to work as a society to reduce our smoking levels and eventually quit? It takes time. People have legitimate worries about health. They feel concern about the consequences to long-term health.

These are valid issues and concerns for health. As far as I can tell, smoking wears down the lungs and then constricts the circulatory system.

As noted in the article, “If you smoke, you may worry about what it’s doing to your health. You probably worry, too, about how hard it might be to stop smoking. Nicotine is highly addictive, and to quit smoking — especially without help — can be difficult. In fact, most people don’t succeed the first time they try to quit. It may take more than one try, but you can stop smoking.”

Every journey of quitting an addiction begins with a first step. It is like the old Dick Gregory bit, “Confucious say…” But less vulgar, the point is the importance of working on one stage at a time.

Most alcoholics and addicts quit one step at a time. They get a community. They get supports in other words. Those can help them develop in their capacities. One of the first steps is setting a quit date. So, let’s make a pact together, even though I do not smoke: take a piece of paper or your Google Calendar and add one day, one week, and one month, and one year if needed, then let’s call that the quit date.

There are resources to help you, too. The Mayo Clinic continued to talk about the residential treatment centers, the tobacco treatment specialists, and friends and family who want you to look and feel better.

It takes will and time, and a plan. Maybe, this can be a special first step. Plus… you promised!

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2022-04-22

Fish Oil as a Targeted, Partial Heart Health Support

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/23

Many people throughout developed nations, especially North America, intake supplements. Supplements, drugs, and prescription medications get used a lot. Questions arise about the efficacy of supplements.

Do these help?

Can they be harmful?

What degrees of help? In what areas?

These important questions arise in the free choices of North Americans and others about the effectiveness of supplements. One prominent case emerges with fish oil or omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Our bodies need omega-3 fatty acid for muscle activity, cell growth, and other things. Without this crucial portion of a diet, we do less well.

The Mayo Clinic states, “Omega-3 fatty acids are derived from food. They can’t be manufactured in the body. Fish oil contains two omega-3s called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Dietary sources of DHA and EPA are fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel and trout, and shellfish, such as mussels, oysters and crabs. Some nuts, seeds and vegetable oils contain another omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).”

The standard forms for the omega-3 supplements are capsule, liquid, and pill. For those with a risk of heart attacks and strokes, high triglycerides and blood pressure, they may want to take these based on some evidence to help reduce the risks to health.

Mayo Clinic explained, “Heart disease. Research shows that eating dietary sources of fish oil — such as tuna or salmon — twice a week is associated with a reduced risk of developing heart disease. Taking fish oil supplements for at least six months has been shown to reduce the risk of heart-related events (such as heart attack) and death in people who are at high risk of heart disease. Research also suggests that the risk of congestive heart failure is lower in older adults who have higher levels of EPA fatty acids.”

The article continued to talk about many studies speaking to the “modest reductions in blood pressure” for the individuals who take the fish oil supplement. Some greater effects for those suffering from moderate to severe hypertension compared to those with only mild hypertension.

“High triglycerides and cholesterol. There’s strong evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can significantly reduce blood triglyceride levels. There also appears to be a slight improvement in high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol, although an increase in levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol also was observed,” the report explained.

It comes with some similar benefits for rheumatoid arthritis. The fish oil supplements help to reduce pain, relieve the stiff of the morning and may reduce the need for some anti-inflammatory medications. The Mayo Clinic gives the green light to the fish oil supplementation market, apparently, with the benefit for those oils coming better from broiled or baked fish and not fried fish, but the supplementation is good as well.

The article concluded, “Fish oil supplements might be helpful if you have cardiovascular disease or an autoimmune disorder. Fish oil also appears to contain almost no mercury, which can be a cause for concern in certain types of fish. While generally safe, too much fish oil can increase your risk of bleeding and might suppress your immune response. Take fish oil supplements under a doctor’s supervision.”

For more information on safety and side effects, please see the article link for further information.

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2022-04-22

The Iranian Kurd Human Rights Case of Ramin Hossein Panahi

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/22

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have been working to save the life of Ramin Hossein Panahi from execution.

They continue to call for the annulment of the death sentence for the Iranian Kurd. He is only 24-years-old. The news reports have been speaking to Panahi being killed after the end of the month of Ramadan.

The original execution date was set for May 3. However, the date was postponed. The Iranian Supreme Court rejected the calls for a judicial review in late May. Following this decision, the Iranian Supreme Court referred to the decision made by them to the office responsible for the completion of the penalty.

“The Iranian authorities must now halt the execution of Mr. Panahi and annul the death sentence against him,” the UN human rights experts stated. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, talked about the issues for Panahi.

One of the main ones being the mistreatment connected to no fair trial. I was stated that he was tortured.

“While acknowledging the postponement of the sentence in May, we regret that Iran seems intent on executing Mr. Panahi, disregarding previous calls to annul the death sentence, and ensure he is given a fair trial,” Callamard explained.

Protests took place in Erbil, Kurdistan region. The protestors spoke out against the torture and mistreatment of Panahi. The statement talked about the gathering together to call on the United Nations to put strong pressure to halt the verdict against Ramin Hossein Panahi.

The charge that will result in his death if not stopped. They view the execution as an unjust verdict.

It should be added. Panahi was denied access to a lawyer and medical care. He was held incommunicado. He was mistreated and tortured and not given a fair trial. The UN human rights experts share the same sentiments as the protestors.

They showed concern over the charge of Panahi. The ways in which they did not meet the international standards. That the death penalty should be limited to the cases of intentional killing. However, Panahi was arrested. Why?

He joined a Kurdish nationalist group called Komala. Then he was convicted of “taking up arms against the State.” The Revolutionary Court then sentenced him to death in January 2018.

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2022-04-22

The Physical, Mental, and Social Health of Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/22

Men’s health is something of a personal responsibility to each and every man. It encompasses physical, mental, and social health, where mental includes emotional (no brain, no emotions).

At the same time, it is a place where we can help them.

It deals with their exercise routine for each day. It deals with their stress management strategies. It deals with their social life. More young men continue to fall in each of those categories of health with increases in obesity, depression and suicide, and lack of friends and social connectivity.

It is about self-management, self-care, and public presentation. How do I look to the outside world of my peers? It is also about the best men’s by which to remain healthy in spite of difficult circumstances.

If a man remains unkempt, unwashed, uncouth, and unwarranted, that amounts to his own problems, but with spillover issues to others around him. Without dietary and exercise discipline, a man can grow around the waist and lose muscular definition.

Lacking proper mental self-care, men can wander into the yonder woods of mental life with isolation and subsequent depression and anxiety issues. With poor efforts in building on the ties and relationships with others, professionally and personally, men can lose friends, even family.

Nothing in life is free. Same for family member ties and friendships. The ties can fray and the ships can sink.

Think about social life: sometimes, it is not pleasant to be around a rude person. Other times, the person is not rude but acting in an inappropriate way for a particular venue, though some overlap with rudeness there. This amounts to a certain social health.

So, this becomes a question for the men. Do you want to be any of these types of guys? The one with weight and so health issues. No one should be shamed for their weight. However, we should not deny the effects of higher BMI on health.

Same with the diet. Diet is important. Imagine all the empty calories consumed in this culture leading to lower life spans and shorter health spans.

That is today, even if a man lives longer than the average, he will live even unpleasantly for those short number of years.

Also, men live shorter than women as men’s poor health habits lead to shorter lifespans than women’s, too.

Mental health is being talked about more and more. It is helping provide a sense of being part of a larger community of caring individuals. Men need more of that.

Males with masculine identities work best in male company and with male therapists for men’s mental health problems.

But men need to get out into the world of these three areas, as at the end of the day these are their personal responsibilities.

If part of a faith community or if part of a secular church, then these amount to their own responsibilities.

On top of that personal responsibility, which many masculine males prefer and even need (need to feel needed), communities and families can work proactively with men and boys to work on these issues in their lives.

Most people notice issues with men. Once past the socially dysfunctional, personally abusive, and socially degenerative epithets thrown against men’s characters, the veneer of mockery gives way to non-functional young men.

We need them. They need to know it. They have begun, sadly and unfortunately, to opt out in various domains after the slow deterioration in their motivation for integration into the society at large.

If we work to help them get some bearings on social life, in mental life, and in physical life areas, we can begin to reverse an unhealthy trend.

A trend, typically, indicative of an increase in crime associated most often with males, failure in school, unemployment, the burden on the social safety nets, and damage to families and with all the aforementioned damage to communities.

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2022-04-22

Sedentary Early Grave Guarantee

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/20

According to the Mayo Clinic, the negative health conflicts in sitting can be profound.

A sedentary life is a guarantee of a premature death. If you are sitting most of the day, then your total energy burning will be less than it could be overall. In fact, you could develop a series of comorbid conditions including higher blood pressure, obesity risk, blood sugar, body fat on the wait, and highly abnormal cholesterol levels for the makeup of metabolic syndrome.

It can be a serious issue.

“Too much sitting overall and prolonged periods of sitting also seem to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer,” the Mayo Clinic stated, “Any extended sitting — such as at a desk, behind a wheel or in front of a screen — can be harmful. An analysis of 13 studies of sitting time and activity levels found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking.

So watch yourself, you never know when too much sedentary behaviour can increase the risk for a lower quality of life and healthspan.

With a study of over 1 million people, which is an enormous sample size, 60 to 75 minutes of moderate physical activity can counter the effects of sitting down too long in the say. For those most active, sitting did little for mortality difference for the most active people.

That means get active! Motion and aerobic exercise to have the body work properly is important for overall health. You can get up and watch around during work. You can have a weight set by work. You can take a walk into town for lunch. Lots of little things add up.

However, unlike some other studies, this analysis of data from more than 1 million people found that 60 to 75 minutes of moderately intense physical activity a day countered the effects of too much sitting. Another study found that sitting time contributed little to mortality for people who were most active.

The article concluded, “The impact of movement — even leisurely movement — can be profound. For starters, you’ll burn more calories. This might lead to weight loss and increased energy. Also, physical activity helps maintain muscle tone, your ability to move and your mental well-being, especially as you age.”

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2022-04-22

Getting Into Stretching

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/19

Jamie L. Friend wrote a good article in the Mayo Clinic on yoga. The ways in which to become involved in it. The benefits from it. The use of it. Friend relayed the experiences of students who come to yoga. They reflexively state their inability to turn into a pretzel.

They have a point. First of all, Friend would need a big oven. Second, that would take a lot of salt. The students feel as if they cannot stretch that much. Maybe, they are right. At the same time, maybe, they are wrong.

Much of yoga focuses on the breath. It improves the mindset of the individual and overall wellbeing. If one starts at any age, they can, in proportion to age and health expectations, probably improve their flexibility with the introduction of even light yoga practice.

Friend stated, “Thinking that you need to be flexible is a common misconception about yoga. The truth is, yoga is an ancient practice that encompasses many different elements beyond the poses you may be familiar with.”

The article goes on to the focus about yoga on the breathing, where the breathing is as important as of the functioning of the body and the relaxing of the mind.

“The foundation of yoga is deep, steady breathing. The reason: Your breath connects your mind and body. Here’s an example of how it works: Let’s say you’re sitting in a work meeting, and it’s not going well. Maybe deadlines aren’t being met or you don’t have enough resources,” Friend explained.

It reads as if the proper breathing techniques amount to dials for the relaxation of the mind and well-being of the body. The slow inhale, pause, exhale, inhale from the diaphragm, pause longer, exhale from the chest, and repeat, but deeper, and deeper, and longer.

The heart slows, the neck unwinds, the shoulders lower, and the jaw relaxes as the body becomes used to the activity of the breathing. The body works as a whole, so the activity in one system can impact another operation in the body.

“When you see photos and videos of yoga, you’re probably seeing the most complicated poses performed by experienced yoga teachers. But the beauty of yoga is in the basics,” Friend said, “Establish a strong base of movements that you can do with steadiness and ease. Some basic poses to start with include child’s pose, cat and cow pose, mountain pose, warrior two pose, bridge pose and tree pose.”

Those basic poses, apparently, add to a functional routine for yogic practices, which seems especially relevant for the novices. Even with the breathing techniques, you find relaxation and stress reduction on demand.

The important of a teacher was noted as well because working “with a teacher can be a great support when you’re new to yoga, no matter what your fitness level. A teacher can also be a great resource to help explore other aspects of yoga beyond the poses.”

In terms of finding a classroom for you, Friend recommended looking into the classes available. I would add to it. You may want to look into the details of the exercise if you feel more conscientious.

However, if you want to take a partner and jump into the class, then you can print a list, pin the paper to the wall, and throw a dart from across the room. These can help out. When you feel comfortable in one relationship with a teacher, then you may want to think about maintaining a positive relationship with them.

Also, if you do not find a class worth your time at the moment, then you can skim through the menus online and take sample classes or introductory versions of the types of yoga classes out there.

Some classes may drain you. Others may empower you. You feel regenerated and energized after them. It depends on you. Your feelings and your understanding of your body. If you hurt, you can discontinue it.

Try something else.

If all else fails, you can throw on a track suit and head to the fields and do some good old sit on your butt, spread the legs, and reach fingertips to toe tip. At any rate, that would be a start.

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2022-04-22

Happy and Healthy in Nature

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/20

The Mayo Clinic wrote a short article and produced a video emphasizing the benefits to health from living in the midst of nature. One study cited in the article indicates living by a “green space” can improve health span and life span. For example, for women, it can improve their mental health too.

Not associated with the research but Dr. Vandana Bhide, a Mayo Clinic internal medicine specialist, in terms of the research explained, “This was a large survey of nurses who were asked about where they live and how much green space nearby… Results suggest people who live in the greenest areas actually had a lower death rate.”

The argument by the research publication’s authors is that the men would have a similar reaction to the women. Jeff Olsen talks more in the video in the article here.

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2022-04-22

For Men: The Benefits of Regular and Proper Bench Pressing

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/19

Healthy Living wrote on the health benefits of bench pressing. Think about the big guys and gals lifting the bar with so much weight that the metal bends from the sheer pull from gravity on the weights. It is impressive feats.

Humans evolved to have muscles for movement, defense and attack. Our ancestral environments permitted and necessitated more exercise in the outdoors. However, our lives were short and violent on average.

Now, less so, the modern world comes with the development of conveniences. The car, the train, the plane, fast food, video games, and the like, each helps and entertains us. In the process of helping and entertaining, these made us travel with our muscle less and sit and lie down more.

These modern comforts are good. However, they limit the range of the possible for us. These conveniences can make us less healthy over time. That means, we need to take it upon ourselves to become healthier through conscious activity, by conscientiously engaging in an activity.

The article stated, “While the exercise chiefly works to build upper-body strength, some of the benefits of bench pressing – which range from improved cardiovascular health to a reduced chance of developing common diseases – may come as a welcome surprise.”

The bench press is one such exercise with benefits to upper body strength and overall health. The main muscle exercised in this form of workout is the pectoralis major muscles of the chest. If this is done with some regularity, then the pectoralis major muscle set will grow.

They will become thicker, more toned, and robust in the definition. Bench presses can help with the deltoids and the triceps as well. They act as, apparently, synergists of the muscles that help some of the other muscles to be able to develop.

“Additionally, this exercise also works the biceps, which serve as dynamic stabilizers by countering the force of the press. Finally, the bench press engages the rhomboids, rotator cuff and serratus anterior as secondary muscles,” the article continued.

There appears to be benefit to the bone and joint health from these weight training exercises too. The weight training helps with the increase in muscle mass, a decrease in fat, the strengthening of the bones and the flexibility of the body to a degree.

It also helps with the bone density. It is important, especially for the people who are getting on in years then, too. Regular training can reduce osteoarthritis.

“The positive effects of bench presses don’t end with the muscles and bones. In addition to increasing overall endurance, resistance training exercises such as the bench press lead to a reduction of “bad” cholesterol and an increase in “good” cholesterol levels,” the article explained, “according to the American Council on Exercise. Regular weight training helps the body process sugar, leading to a reduced risk of diabetes.”

This path of exercise should come with some cautions including overdoing it. Take into account age, current fitness, diet, time of the day, pre-existing conditions, and so on, bench pressing can help with health, but needs to be considered among other factors too.

The article concluded, “Practicing proper form – including keeping your feet firmly planted, maintaining a straight back and keeping your shoulders and glutes flat on the bench at all times – helps prevent these injuries. Seek the guidance of a certified trainer to learn proper form before incorporating the bench press into your regimen.”

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2022-04-22

The World of Mr. Aron Ra, Ex-Mormon and Famous Atheist

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/18

Mr. Aron Ra was born in Kingman, Arizona. He was baptised as a Mormon. He is the ex-President of Atheist Alliance of America. He is a public speaker, secular activist, and an advocate for reason in education. He hosts the Ra-Men podcast with Dan Arel and Mark Nebo of BeSecular. Here we talk about religion.

Ra began to challenge the religious people in his life. He has done so throughout his life. But as he began to experience the droll of the common and poor responses to religious faith, he wanted to challenge what he viewed as dangerous and bad ideas.

“So I started making a challenge to people: ‘Can you show me anything in your religious belief that you can show to be more accurate than any other religious belief?’ I would stress for people not just to show me where other religions are wrong, but to show me where theirs is right! So I have to define my terms very rigidly all the time.”

Ra was left to investigate the definition of Truth. To him, he found people, in conversation, they were less deep than they thought about the definition of truth. He sees truth as that which corresponds to reality. Facts amount to data points, which can be verified.

“A lot of people hate these definitions because it completely undermines their theology. They can’t make the assertions that they want to by saying anything is the absolute truth, because under the definition of either word no you don’t!” Ra exclaimed.

He views people more often pretending to believe something. He does not work to pretend to know something. However, if someone makes large-scale claims based on a theistic metaphysical view, in which a Theity – an intervening God – exists, then Ra challenges it.

The questions arise about the individuals holding the views less and more about the ideas and the premises in larger arguments. That seems to make the emphasis on ideas and arguments more than individual people.

“That’s the problem. People want to say what they know only what they believe. They pretend. There’s not a part of it that is honest. My biggest sticking point is that the only value that any information can have is however accurate you can show it to be, and if you can’t show that it is accurate at all then that information has no value at all. So it is just an empty assertion.”

He requires, in a discussion or debate format, the substantiation of claims made by religious believers. He will not accept any less than that.

Ra explained, “I can show you the truth of evolution. I can show you the facts of evolution. I can show you the positively indicative and physical evidence that is exclusively concordant with one conclusion over any other. I can do that all day, but religion can’t. No religion can because they’re all just made up. They don’t have any truth at all in them, none of them.”

He considers the best evidence given by religion is the anecdotal responses and then the citation of logical fallacies. He gave an example in the case of Kent Hovind’s son, Eric Hovind, who made the statement, to the effect, that if the Bible contains it then it is true.

“He said that we don’t need science to back us up. Wow!” Ra exclaimed, “That’s a hell of an admission. I do need science to back me up. They have to do this reversal of the burden of proof. If I don’t believe that claim that you’re making, that positive claims require positive evidence and the burden of proof is always on the person making the positive claim.”

He continues with the burden of proof line of thought. That the emphasis is on the person make the claim, according to Ra, to prove it or support it. Because the argument for the position comes from an assertion. If no assertion, then no burden of proof.

However, the believer asserts several premises for Ra to believe, which he does not agree with at all – or mostly.

He stated, “If you use religion for your reason for any action or a position, then you still haven’t given a reason because religion isn’t one. It is as far against and away from reason as one can possibly be. When people use religion as their only reason for whatever laws they want to impose of people or on other things, these are always mostly unjust.”

He cited the restrictions of everyone else’s freedom based on the brand or sect of one particular religion. The encroachment of religion into the public arena. At that point, it becomes an issue for the public of other religions, other religious sects and traditions, and the non-religious.

As an outspoken atheist, Ra will have issues with this because this limits his freedom, when religion becomes imposed in the public to restrict the lives and rights of the atheists in the United States.

If bad ideas or arguments go unchallenged, and without the public engagement work of individuals including Mr. Ra, then other religious faith believers and the non-religious can have their freedoms, rights, and liberties curtailed in the United States. That’s why these conversations matter for every concerned party.

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2022-04-22

Religion According to a Leading American Atheist

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/18

When Ra and I talked back in May of 2017 for Conatus News, Ra emphasized the situation in arguments with him. His life is marked by continual, non-stop debating with theists as an atheist. He is not the norm, but atheists do tend to debate.

For Ra, the nature of the debate format takes on a more informal flavor with him. Because of the nature of his ways in which to talk, discuss, and converse with believers of various formal and non-formal religions.

He, in the context of the personal predicament, explained, “When you’re talking to someone who, like me, knows both sides of the argument, when you start talking to someone like this about why they don’t believe, you have to make a choice whether to remain honest or whether to remain creationist, because it is no longer possible to be both.”

This means the renunciation of the creationist claims as fallacious or the creation of falsehoods to defend the faith. It amounts to a choice. Some will choose one path. Others will choose another by implication of Ra’s logic.

“There was a movie that came out a couple of years back I happen to have been in, which was in called ‘My Week in Atheism.’ It was made by a Christian named John Christy who was only pretending to be an atheist for a week,” Ra stated.

The person in the film travels to an atheist conference. He makes an analogy to what happens at the conference trip for the movie as to what happens in the churches. Described how people seem to see an even presentation with everyone on equal sides.

But there is the person at the end, who is purportedly not a plant. That person then proclaims how their mind has not been changed at all. Even going so far as to say, that their faith is even stronger now after the interaction with the atheist.

Ra takes this as a completely false front. He exclaimed, “This is pretend! That was the game in the first place! That it doesn’t matter what anybody says. You’re going to continue to believe. This is what I bring up in my book. If you look up any of the leading creationist organisations – creation.com, Creation Moments, Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research.”

These organizations have a statement of faith. The basic purpose of the statement of faith, according to Ra, is the prevention of critical thinking about the articles of faith. In short, it provides the basis for not having to question fundamental beliefs. One’s at odds with the vast majority of the practicing biologists, for example.

Ra related, “One of them put it that ‘wherever science and the Bible conflict, the science is wrong. The Bible is right.’ Another one says, ‘Whether it is archaeology, history, or any fact at all. If it refutes the Bible, it can’t. The Bible is always right.’”

Based on the personal narrative of Ra, this becomes the life experience for him. He related the debate viewed millions of times. The one between Bill Nye and Ken Ham. Bill Nye known as a science educator. Ken Ham known as a creationist educator.

“The leading apologetic debater makes the same argument. That whenever there is an obvious conflict between theology and science that science is wrong,” Ra stated, “It is like Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis said when they asked him and Bill Nye, ‘What would it take to change your mind?’ Bill Nye said, ‘Evidence.’ Ken Ham said, ‘Nothing.’ He’s going to believe what he wants to believe no matter what.”

The basis of the disagreement between fundamentalist beliefs and Ra’s atheism split there, deviate at that point. On the one, the respect of empirical information to inform, piece by piece, the framework for comprehension of the world.

On the other, the use of revelation and inspired writing in the purported word of God in the Bible as the foundation for knowledge of the world and then the empirical information will become conformed to the pre-existing, extant pattern of the text.

Hence, evidence changes one mind; revelation informs and conforms another.

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2022-04-21

Fatherless Sons – The Facts, The Figures

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/17

Dr. Edward Kruk wrote a decent article in Psychology Today on fatherlessness. In particular, I want to take some of the discussion in the article with some quotes and paraphrases for commentary on Father’s Day about the impacts of fatherlessness on sons.

Most reasonable people perceive a problem with the lives of modern boys and young men. Sometimes, they frame this from the compassionate view about boys and young men. Other times, and more often, they frame this in an ideological perspective directed towards the wellbeing of women.

How will the decline of boys and young men impact the lives of young women who want families and husbands? Answer: they may not want to have children based on the failures of men around them. Women also may choose to become single mothers. However, neither case, even combined, creates an enduring, lasting, and robust culture, historically speaking.

I want to frame this within the other perspective, though the declines do affect most women’s wellbeing and remain a concern and a valid perspective. However, how will fatherlessness impact boys and young men who become men?

Kruk said, “According to the 2007 UNICEF report on the well-being of children in economically advanced nations, children in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. rank extremely low in regard to social and emotional well-being in particular.”

He directed attention to several theories about it. The problems for the boys. The main issue of fatherlessness. The theorizations of the experts, who spend professional lives in care study. They sit. They wait for data. They do experiments. They compare data. They hypothesize other theories.

They examine other cultures. This is done for decades. Some theories point to child poverty, race, and social class as the variables for the problems in, for instance, boys. Father absence damages kids.

“First, a caveat: I do not wish to either disparage single mothers or blame non-residential fathers for this state of affairs. The sad fact is that parents in our society are not supported in the fulfillment of their parental responsibilities,” Kruk cautions, “and divorced parents in particular are often undermined as parents, as reflected in the large number of ‘non-custodial’ or ‘non-residential’ parents forcefully removed from their children’s lives, as daily caregivers, by misguided family court judgments.”

The importance of proper policy and laws to change the landscape of North American culture and several advanced industrial technologically advanced societies becomes more than noteworthy.

This can become a crucial linkage from the theories and evidence to the practical improvement of our lot. Children need mothers, as is known. They need fathers too, as is less acknowledged as an important factor.

Kruk stated, “More often than not, fathers are involuntarily relegated by family courts to the role of ‘accessory parents,’ valued for their role as financial providers rather than as active caregivers.”

He notes this with the fact of fathers sharing caregiving responsibilities with the mother prior to divorce in two-parent, intact families. Kruk continued, “This is both because fathers have taken up the slack while mothers work longer hours outside the home, and because fathers are no longer content to play a secondary role as parents.”

Modern dads continue to love the idea of being active, involved dads. Dads of prior eras may have wanted to become more involved with their children, but could not. They, in a sense, felt forced or compelled to work. They failed to be fathers by culture.

Women failed to be professionals by culture. Think about the lost time, love, care, and the vast regrets of those old, and now those dead and gone, fathers who wished to be fathers before they grew old, but could not. All of them gone – time and them. Distant memories and generations colored by regret.

“Most fathers today are keen to experience both the joys and challenges of parenthood, derive satisfaction from their parental role, and consider active and involved fatherhood to be the core component of their self-identity,” Kruk opined.

However, the institutional structures and supports of the culture do not permit the ability of parents to be fully engaged parents, argues Kruk. Children who lack fathers undergo a severe cascade of life tragedies and character failures.

He explained, “…children’s diminished self-concept, and compromised physical and emotional security (children consistently report feeling abandoned when their fathers are not involved in their lives, struggling with their emotions and episodic bouts of self-loathing).”

The children will have behavioral problems. We see this especially in the prison populations with the men who were troubled, fatherless boys and young men. The men who work to show off machismo as a mask for their real selves.

“…truancy and poor academic performance (71 per cent of high school dropouts are fatherless; fatherless children have more trouble academically, scoring poorly on tests of reading, mathematics, and thinking skills; children from father-absent homes are more likely to play truant from school, more likely to be excluded from school, more likely to leave school at age 16, and less likely to attain academic and professional qualifications in adulthood),” Kruk elaborated in depth.

The impacts of fatherlessness extend into the realm of delinquency and youth crime as well. With the 8% number of youth in prison having an absent father, the adults come from the same house arrangement. Fatherlessness becomes a predictor of being a prisoner.

This impacts the promiscuity and pregnancy rates too. “…fatherless children are more likely to experience problems with sexual health, including a greater likelihood of having intercourse before the age of 16, foregoing contraception during first intercourse, becoming teenage parents, and contracting sexually transmitted infection,” Kruk notes.

The shows in girls with an “object hunger” for males. They experience emotional loss of fathers, especially those who egocentrically reject them. Women become exploitable by the adult men in their lives. One may surmise the men become the exploiters with similar backgrounds, possibly.

The fatherless do drugs, drink, and smoke throughout life more than those with fathers. 90% of runaway children have an absent father. The majority of the homelessness are men. The exploitation and abuse probability rise as well.

Kruk explained, “…fatherless children are at greater risk of suffering physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, being five times more likely to have experienced physical abuse and emotional maltreatment, with a one hundred times higher risk of fatal abuse.”

Psychosomatic illnesses emerge more from the fatherless children too, e.g., asthma, chronic pain, headaches, and stomach aches. This comes to the mental health disorders too. Anxiety, depression, suicide, and mental health problems emerge from the fatherless sons.

If alcoholism amounts to a family disease, and if depression equates to an individual psychological disease, and if criminality is a moral and behavioral failing or disease in a way, and so on, then this would seem to imply fatherlessness as a total life disease along statistical and probabilistic lines based on the aforementioned risks.

“…life chances (as adults, fatherless children are more likely to experience unemployment, have low incomes, remain on social assistance, and experience homelessness),” Kruk explained, “… future relationships (father absent children tend to enter partnerships earlier, are more likely to divorce or dissolve their cohabiting unions, and are more likely to have children outside marriage or outside any partnership).”

It creates a cycle of lower lifespans too. Child die sooner. The fatherless live four years shorter over the lifespan. These problems of individuals, families, and societies correlate fatherlessness more than any other factor.

“…surpassing race, social class and poverty, father absence may well be the most critical social issue of our time. In Fatherless America, David Blankenhorn calls the crisis of fatherless children “the most destructive trend of our generation,” Kruk described.

Some identify this as a public health issue. That is, a society-wide problem of serious consideration now. The problem seems more pertinent for focus on during Father’s Day.

Leonard Sax, Philip Zimbardo, Nikita D. Coulombe, Christina Hoff Sommers, Hanna Rosin, Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Andrea Dworkin, and many unlisted others commented, in the past and present, on different facets – from sometimes vastly different angles – directly or indirectly associated with these problems of boys and young men and the men who they become in their futures.

“Many fathers’ advocates have stressed the need for fast, low-cost, effective ways for non-residential parents to have their court-ordered parenting time enforced,” Kruk said in a concluding statement, “While access enforcement is important, legislating for shared parenting would be a more effective measure to ensure the ongoing active involvement of both parents in children’s lives.”

This becomes the presumption of shared parenting as important with the primary parenting done by not one or the other parent, but both. Parents need respect and consideration. In particular, they need this in order for the best interests of the child, even if the parents separate. They can amicably deal with the shared responsibilities as the next generation, and their legacy, develops at any rate. We owe that to them: fathers, mothers, and sons and daughters.

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2022-04-21

Aron Ra on the Early Life of a Male Atheist

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/17

Ra and I talked about early life for him. He was born in Kingman, Arizona. He was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or the Mormons. Although, to remain polite, the term “Mormon” within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gets taken as an epithet or invective, not a term of endearment.

As a short social lesson, I would suggest, though may be wrong, not using the term “Mormon” in conversation or in the description based on the tone and perceived derision in the term “Mormon” to some or many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, I will use the term here, simply for ease and not for offense.

When we began the discussion, and as Ra remains one of the most prominent popularizers and speakers on mainline atheism and New Atheism in particular, which amounts to an outspoken form found in at least two subgroupings with Dr. Richard Dawkins in Militant Atheism and with David Silverman in Firebrand Atheism.

He stated, “Well, my family background largely identified as Mormon. Although, most don’t know what that means. We have some people in the family that do the whole magic underwear thing. Some even to the point of not drinking coffee or eating cinnamon, but those are very, very rare. Most Mormons are disciplined for the most part. And most of my family are (way) not.”

I laughed “way” part. He continued to speak on the family identification with Mormon. A lot of individuals within the family still identify as Mormon. The family members identify as Christian. Other denominations of Christianity do not view the Mormons as Christian.

Many do not view the Catholics as Christian, or the Eastern Orthodox as Christian. It comes from the same trend, of which Ra described to me.

“This was an advantage for me growing up. I got to see the interdenominational bigotry within Christianity,” Ra continued, “When we lived in places like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado that were Mormon dominant, they were places that the Mormons controlled everything. And if you were not a Mormon, you were not employed, at least not if you were white. There were places that were like that. Utah is rife with them. When we moved to other places, and I moved a lot as a kid, I moved an awful lot – up to 8 times a year.”

He would switch between parents moving from one house to another. There were different places. He moved to the Los Angeles area at one point. He found the Mormons did not control the area. Someone asked the question about faith to him.

He noted two issues there. One with individuals caring about his faith. Another with the ensuing or upcoming argument based on it. Because the assumptions in the statement about the title of a faith matter to people, especially in America – as the nation ranks off the spectrum in adherence and degree of religiosity compared to other advanced industrial nations.

Ra, based on the conversation from the question of personal faith, opined, “Mormons do believe ridiculous things… Every religion does, to be completely honest. But the Mormons have their own collection of ridiculous things that are exclusively Mormon that are not the same ridiculous things that other Christian denominations believe, but the accusations these people were making were ridiculous things that my family, so far as I could tell, did not believe – none of them. So my mum was always the most devout of all of the Mormons in my family that I could talk to.”

When he would invite them into the home to explain to his mother the things believed by them, they would always reject the invitation for some reason.

Ra said, “They would always refuse the invitation. The refusal of the invitation seemed telling. It shows that they know what they are telling me is not true. They knew how quickly it is that I could refute all of that. I have been involved in the religion versus anti-religion argument unknowingly my entire life.”

Furthermore, he remembered a series of conflicts with people because of religion at the ages of 5 and 8. Ra did not realize it. That is, this became a consistent theme throughout the entire life for him. He would ask about how Jesus Christ made water into wine and other things.

“But as it turned out, when I grew up I looked it up. It is only the difference of a carbon atom. The molecules are much more complex. But they involve oxygen, hydrogen, and some additional carbons. That’s it. But all I knew at the time, water is H2O, and alcohol and fruit juice are something else,” Ra explained, “How does Jesus turn water from H2O into H2O and whatever else? I thought someone would give me some kind of intelligible answer. Like how Jesus does that, whether he uses telekinesis or whatever he does.”

Ra found a consistent phenomenon. The individuals in conversations did not seem to want concrete, naturalistic explanations.

The common notion within the community emerged in the form of the stereotyping of skeptics. That is, they get seen as cynics. That can create problems. It can become a conversation stopper. Something to restrict full conversations in a healthy way, for the inter-belief conversations.

If someone prays, in other words, and if another person looking on doubts its efficacy, the doubter gets seen as a cynic rather than a skeptic. It amounts to an assertion about the other person problem. This happens to the non-religious community, often.

“They should’ve paraphrased this: People that make up stuff and call it truth have the power to imagine all kinds of nonsense. But that’s what it is all about. It really is make believe, and it took me the longest time to figure that out. I thought, honestly, naively, even into middle age. I was in my 30s before I realised there were some people who do not believe what they do for a reason,” Ra lamented.

He continued to state, “If you ask anybody, ‘Why do you believe X?’ They are going to give you a reason why they think X is true. I thought this was true for everyone. I thought that you couldn’t believe something for no reason because that’s stupid. You wouldn’t believe something against all reason. I have had people tell me exactly that. I get into more and more arguments moving into my 30s. I would identify as an activist since then, since around Y2K. I got into these arguments heavily on the internet, on Usenet.”

He was at a period of life with the unlimited use of the internet time. He has a 12 hour per day job. It permitted the use of the internet to learn and become obsessive about the topic of religion, atheism, and belief superstructures and metanarratives. The ways in which people’s total beliefs structure themselves and religious narratives orient people’s entire lives.

Ra stated, “And I get into these discussions, in-depth discussions with professional scientists and professional theologians on both sides. They are both giving me references to look into. So I did for a number of years. It was almost obsessive the amount of time that I dedicated to this subject, this argument. When I came across people and asked them, ‘Why do you believe this?’ I had never really bothered to ask them this. The answers people give are, ‘I believe this because I want to. I believe this because it makes me happy.’”

He sees the answer to the searches there. People believe what they do not think as true, tacitly. They state this as a truth. They act in certain ways. However, they feel an uncomfortableness about the entire endeavor of faith practices. That seems like a common realization in the earlier life of Ra.

Then when he points this out, he gets criticized.

Ra said, “They’d say, ‘Why can’t I believe what I want to believe?’ Why would you say that about something that I just proved is not true? Why would you want to believe something after finding out it is not even possibly or even probably true, in either case? It is not possibly true. It is not probably true. It is not indicated by anything. It is disputed by everything. There is no possibility here. This did not happen. There are no two ways about it. What the hell are you going on about? ‘But I want to believe that.’ Why [Laughing]?!”

Ra joked, “[Laughing] I want to believe I’m a multimillionaire. I do. I want to believe that I have time travel capabilities. Great! But that doesn’t make anything real. And it is insane to imagine that. It took me forever to realise that. I actually said this myself ahead of Peter Boghossian. He famously did a video on ‘faith is pretending to know what you don’t know.’ As if people know they don’t know it, and they’re pretending on purpose. But yes, I said something similar on video prior to that.”

The quote or statement was as follows:

But faith is often a matter of pretending to know what you know you really don’t know, and that no one even can know, and which you merely believe – often for no good reason at all.

Ra talked about how he did not make as much money from the particular statement. However, he does consider faith to be nothing more than make-believe in a literal way. He considers the belief in God and miracles magic.

That is, if someone believes in a higher power with omnipotence and similar traits and if the individual beliefs in the abrogation of the laws of nature, then, in Ra’s view, this amounts to the belief in magic. He considers this within the definitions of miracle and magic from a variety of dictionaries.

“You will discover that if you compare the definitions between a miracle and magic, you will see that they are both the ‘evocation of supernatural forces or entities to control or forecast natural events in ways which are inexplicable by science because they defy the laws of physics, meaning they are physically impossible,” Ra explained, “That’s what both miracle and magic mean. So miracle is the same things as magic in the same way a boat is a yacht is if it is big enough.”

He compared murders and assassinations and miracles and magic. If a murder is a very important person, then it is an assassination. A miracle amounts to that for the magical world.

Ra stated, “Let’s imagine that there’s some form of technology sometime in the future that can detect the essence of God and can measure it. We can confirm God exists, and importantly whose God it is. All of these people are making claims about this personal God and calling it Allah, or Krishna, but failing to call it Jesus. Jesus isn’t the only personal saviour out there. There’s a bunch. All of these people making absolute statements about what they know for absolute certain about this absolute God.”

He concluded on the idea that the beliefs are not mutually exclusive but, rather, mutually inclusive and so cannot be all true or all wrong. One of the belief systems has to be right and the other has to be wrong. Ra views the beliefs of the formal believers who grew in the religions as having been lied to their whole lives through propaganda.

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2022-04-21

On Mentors, Mentoring, and Mentees

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/16

Marilyn Price-Mitchell Ph.D. in Psychology Today talked about the importance of mentorship. The benefits to the mentee who receives the mentorship. A single adult who shows care and concern for a young person can change that young person’s life for decades. I know; other knows.

In fact, I know from both perspectives. Someone to listen your stories. A person to confide in. An individual to give guidance. To give and receive these gifts can be extraordinary, heartfelt, and life changing, I have been blessed to be able to mentor and lucky enough to have been mentored.

If the fit is right, the mentor-mentee relationship is extraordinary at times.

Price-Mitchell stated, “We understand the benefits of mentoring young people when we hear the powerful stories of teens whose lives have been changed by a single, caring adult. If you listen, those stories are everywhere.”

She relayed a similar great experience of being mentored by someone. Where the positives of the relationship accrued over time, she does have a doctorate after all.

“What we know about mentoring is that it matters to positive youth development. Now, one of the largest mentoring studies ever conducted continues to support this thinking and links mentoring to a reduction in bullying,” Price-Mitchell said.

There was a study done by Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada over five years. The children with the mentors were more confident with fewer behavioural problems.

Price-Mitchell continued, “Girls in the study were four times less likely to become bullies than those without a mentor and boys were two times less likely. In general, young people showed increased belief in their abilities to succeed in school and felt less anxiety related to peer pressure.”

This is all to the good. It shows the benefits for the mentorship that accrue compared to the control or no mentoring. These relationships require some finesse and remained quite complicated in their structure because every kid or adolescent is an individual.

“In my own research with teens who became engaged citizens, all of the young people in the study had naturally developed mentee-mentor relationships with adults sometime during their middle and high school years,” Price-Mitchell explained, “None were matched by organizations. Nonparent mentors – teachers, clergy, and civic leaders – were highly instrumental in how these teens learned to believe in themselves and tackle challenging goals – much like those in the Big Brothers Big Sisters study.”

The teens without typical help, e.g. poor whites, blacks, Native American kids, and especially currently boys. They then can benefit from these interventions. It can make a huge benefit to the other people in the process too. The mentors can grow individually in learning to give to others too.

She recounted research, “A study conducted by North Carolina State University showed that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely to attend college when they have a mentor, particularly a teacher.”

Those kids going through the greatest hardships can benefit the most from the interventions of others, especially because many minority kids and single parent kids can be subjet to worse social and emotional development.

They can suffer from discrimination, family stressors, and abuse.” Price-Mitchell stated, “While many studies have focused on the effects of mentoring disadvantaged teens, we know that ALL teens reap big developmental dividends from nonparent mentoring relationships during their high school years.”

If you want to grow as a person, whether in giving or receiving, a mentoring relationship can really change a life – for others and yourself. The qualities of a good mentor with youth, according to Price-Mitchell, are being supportive, an active listener, assertive in pushing the kid enough but not too much, having an authentic interest in the kid, working to foster self-decision making, and then also lending perspective and insight from an older person.

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2022-04-21

Bicycling Can Save Lives Across Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/16

Statistics Canada reported on bicycling in Canada.

Physical activity, moving, is an important part of a healthy day. That is to say, a good day comes from the workout in nature ideally too. It can come from walking, weightlifting (though hard to do outdoors), and the playing sports.

There are many ways to get it. But there for some, there are limitations in what they can do. For some, that can mean a limitation in the ways in which they are able to handle themselves in a sport where they do not have the skill.

They may have a tendon or ligament injury at the time, or surgery from years prior, that can limit their ability to play the sport with friends. Weight training can be similar, but can also be the source of injury.

As we age, we become less and less able physically and mentally to bounce back from the traumas. In terms of the physical traumas, to muscle, bone, ligament, and the like, we need to keep in mind the limitations of current physicality and of age.

There was a good article with lots of notes by Statistics Canada on the benefits of lower impact exercises found in a regular upright or recumbent biking or bicycling. The article bleakly opened on the note of the level of obesity in the general population.

“In an era when nearly a third of children and youth and just under two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, cycling for leisure or transport is a valuable form of exercise,” the report stated, Cycling is also good for the environment―commuting by bicycle helps to alleviate road congestion and noise pollution and reduces emissions.”

The benefits are for the health folks and for the environmentally minded. Not everyone is one or the other let alone both. However, there are noted risks with bicycling. Those include the possibilities of crashes.

“Strategies to protect cyclists include infrastructure such as bicycle paths, dedicated bike lanes and traffic calming; side guards for heavy trucks; driver behaviour, with an emphasis on sharing the road; and cyclist behaviour, including increased visibility and helmet use,” Statistics Canada explained.

It has been a rather quiet national debate. However, people care about the environment in a similar way in which they care about the health of themselves in general. One of the main concerns for Canadians is health care. It may be the big one for the population, especially with an aging population approaching the concerns of the Western European and East Asian nations.

The report continued, “Some resist legislated helmet use, at least for adults, on the grounds that helmets offer minimal protection and encourage risk-taking, and that such legislation impinges on personal freedom and reduces ridership; others dispute these claims. Medical, public health and other sectors recommend that all-age helmet use is legislated and enforced across Canada.”

The analysis showed the helmet and bicycle use of the Canadians aged 12 and older in 1994/1995 and 2012/2013. There was also some analysis of the cycling fatalities for the 1994-2012 period.

The behaviors of helmet users and non-user had examination and analysis as well. They were drinking alcohol, getting flu shots, seatbelt use, and smoking. A common and good methodology and analysis to see if people are healthier in their habits in general if they also use something health-wise or not.

“In 2013/2014, an estimated 12 million Canadians (41%) aged 12 or older reported that they had cycled in the previous year,” the article stated, “Cycling was more common at younger ages―82% among 12- to 14-year-olds versus 27% by age 50 or older―and among people in higher-education and -income households.”

Education and income reflect the cycling levels. It also may reflect residence. The neighborhoods with lower traffic due to particular traffic reduction implementations, bicycle paths for the ability to easily bike, and the perception of crime levels.

There may be more crime in some areas, but the individual residents may not feel as though there is as much crime in the area. Men bike more than women. Those in the cities were more probable to bike than the rural folk. It has a certain logic to it.

Although, women reported the amount of traffic as a boundary to full participation in the bicycling world.

“The decrease in cycling was evident in most age groups. Cycling was more common in Quebec (48%) and Manitoba (46%) than in the rest of Canada,” Statistics Canada explained, “It was less common in the Atlantic Provinces (from 18% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 32% in New Brunswick), Saskatchewan and Ontario (both 38%), and Nunavut (23%).”

According to the 2013/2014 estimations, about 7 million people biked in the previous 3 months, which is up about 500,000 people since 1994/1995. Could that be due to the increase in the total population, so a similar percent?

Statistics Canada stated, “Despite this numerical increase, cyclists comprised a diminishing percentage of the population: 24% in 2013/2014 versus 29% in 1994/1995 (Figure 1). Even when the aging population was taken into account, the decrease persisted: if the age structure had remained unchanged during the two decades, an estimated 25% of the population would have reported cycling in 2013/2014.”

With the apparent decrease in the physical activity, it seems important for Canadians to get back on their butts because general health can be improved through some simple aerobic activity on their inside recumbent or on an upright bike down the local bike trail. Do it!

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2022-04-21

The Rise of Single Fathers

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/15

The Pew Research Center reported on the rise of the single father rates. Apparently, the number has increase as much as 9 times in the last 5 or 6 decades, or since 1960. 8% of the households with minor children in the United States has a father as a sole head of the household.

It was only 1% in 1960. This is based on the analysis done by the Pew Research Center through the Decennial Census and American Community Survey data.

The report stated, “The number of single father households has increased about ninefold since 1960, from less than 300,000 to more than 2.6 million in 2011. In comparison, the number of single mother households increased more than fourfold during that time period, up to 8.6 million in 2011, from 1.9 million in 1960.”

That makes for more men as the heads of single parent households with a drastic increased in their numbers. There are still differences between the single mothers and the single fathers out there.

“Single fathers are more likely than single mothers to be living with a cohabiting partner (41% versus 16%). Single fathers, on average, have higher incomes than single mothers and are far less likely to be living at or below the poverty line—24% versus 43%,” the report explained, “Single fathers are also somewhat less educated than single mothers, older and more likely to be white.”

The single fathers tend to be younger while also less educated and financially less well off than their women single parent counterparts; their single mother counterparts. The fathers were men aged 15 and older, so quite young all the way to the much older.

“Fathers who are living in a household headed by someone else are excluded from the analysis, as are fathers whose children are not living with them,” the article stated, “The term ‘single father’ includes men in a variety of family circumstances.”

Half of them are divorced, separated, widowed, or never married. They are not living with a cohabiting partner either. About 40% or 2/5ths are living with a non-marital partner. One small share of them are married while also living away from their spouse.

The article continued, “Cohabiting single fathers are particularly disadvantaged on most socio-economic indicators. They are younger, less educated and more likely to be living in poverty than are fathers who are raising children without a spouse or partner in the household.”

About 2/3rds of the houses in the United States with children have two married parents, which is a drastic decline from the 9/10ths seen in 1960. There seem to be a number of factors associated with the decline in the number of married parent households.

The big one is the significant increase in the number of non-marital births. This may mean that marriage has less of a pull for the current generations compared for the several decades prior generations, where each subsequent generation saw marriage as less integral to the basis of having a child in the first place.

“And even though divorce rates have leveled off in recent decades, they remain higher than they were in the 1960s and 1970s,” the article explained, “Some experts suggest that changes in the legal system have led to more opportunities for fathers to gain at least partial custody of children in the event of a breakup, as well.”

A change or alteration in the standard gender roles is important to consider as well. Men are not only see as breadwinners. Women are not only seen as child caregivers. Women are further along in the dual-basis of a full life with childcare and work; whereas, men are getting there, but slower.

The reportage continued, “Analysis of long-term time use data shows that fathers are narrowing the still sizable gap with mothers in the amount of time they spend with their children. And Pew Research surveys find that the public believes that a father’s greatest role is to provide values to his children, followed by emotional support, discipline and income support.”

When it comes to the specific characteristics or traits of the single fathers, they are like the single mothers in being less educated and not as well-off. They are younger and tend to be less white. The single father households are better off financially in contrast to the single mother households.

The single fathers are much younger than the married fathers while also older than the single mothers. For example, only 8% of the married fathers are young than 30 years old. The number of much different for the single fathers and the single mothers – 18% and 23%, respectively.

However, 47% of the single fathers are over 40 years or older. This becomes 59% for married fathers and 38% for single mothers. It is a much different story for each demographic.

“Single father householders are more likely to be white than single mother householders, but less likely to be white than married father householders. Just over half (56%) of single fathers are white, as are 45% of single mothers and two-thirds (66%) of married fathers,” Pew Research Center elaborated.

Single fathers are less likely to be black at 15%, especially compared to black single mothers (28%). Hispanic single mothers is about 22% and the Hispanic single fathers is about 24%, about parity in fact.

The report continued, “The educational attainment of single father householders is markedly lower than that of married father householders. About one-fifth (19%) of single dads lack a high school diploma, while just 10% of married fathers lack one.”

The single mothers have it at about 15%. The Median annual adjusted income for the single fathers is $40,000 and for the single mothers it is $26,000. This compares starkly with the $70,000 of the households headed by the married fathers.

“The same pattern is reflected in poverty status across these household types. Almost one-fourth (24%) of single father households are living at or below the poverty level, compared with just 8% of married father households and fully 43% of single mother households,” the Pew Research Center explained.

The number of single fathers continues to decline with age. However, most younger single fathers will be cohabiting, for example. Poverty is a high positive correlate. If someone is a single father, or a single mother for that matter, then will quite likely be a poor or in the poverty line as well.

“Since 1990, the Census Bureau has collected data not only on the marital status of household heads, but also information regarding whether the head was living with a non-marital partner. This allows for a further differentiation of single fathers—those who have no spouse or partner living with them and those who are cohabiting,” the reportage continued.

The big rise in the single father rates, about 8 or 9 fold, leads to higher rates of poverty among the single fathers themselves and their families, but, even so, those men tend to be far poorer than their counterparts who are married across ethnicities but also richer than their single mother comparisons.

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2022-04-21

The Weight of Men’s Anxiety

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/15

Anxiety BC talked about the role of generalized and acute anxiety in the lives of men.

The organization spoke about the personal experience of one man named Bruno Feldeisen who was aged 34 at the time of a first anxiety attack. He lived in New York. He was a chef with a solid reputation. He won competitions and awards, and the respect of colleagues and friends.

Feldeisen stated, “The light dimmed, my vision got narrow, I couldn’t breathe… I thought I was having a heart attack.” Feldeisen has left his French home country for America several years earlier.

What was the source of this mans stress and strife? It came from the mind. He was an abused child by a drug-addicted mother.

“While Feldeisen had learned to suppress his trauma, the past caught had up with him. Even though the cardiologist reassured him his heart was fine, Feldeisen couldn’t stop worrying about his health,” the article explained.

Feldeisen talked about the mind focusing on the tight chest and the dizziness. The physical symptoms of the panic attack. These symptoms would in turn cause a panic attack. He continued to search for an illness on his body.

It is noted that his old life “melted away. He stopped going out in public because restaurants made his back spasm and busy streets caused hyperventilation. He quit his job, drifted, and eventually went bankrupt. ‘I didn’t enjoy life anymore,’ he said.’

These are common stories for men with anxiety. Men report anxiety half as much as women. This is according to the research director in the Thomson Anxiety Disorder Center at Toronto’s (Ontario) Sunnybrook Hospital, Dr. Neil Rector.

The article explained, “Data from the Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada show that one in four Canadians will have at least one anxiety disorder during their lifetime, which translates to one in six men, all of whom may suffer the same crippling consequences as Feldeisen: they can lose their jobs and damage their relationships, said Dr. Rector.”

This led to an internal question about the sex differences. The reasons for why women have less anxiety than the men. Dr. Mohamed Kabbaj, Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neurosciences at Florida State University, stated, “For men, the male hormone testosterone protects against anxiety.”

The role of testosterone in the reduction of anxiety results from neurotransmitter load differences based on the interactions of the male typical hormone with the brain. It boosts GABA and serotonin. Those two neurotransmitters are found in the low anxiety people.

It also reduces the level of activity in the fear center of the brain, the amygdala, important for the fight-or-flight phenomena. This means a reduction on several levels from a neurological and biochemical position. These lead to lower anxiety.

The article continued, “Additionally, it diminishes fear and anxiety by dampening the activity of the circuit linking the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis with the amygdala. Finally, testosterone modulates the release of the hormone cortisol, in response to stress.”

Lower fear, lower stress, and lower anxiety for men who tend to be higher in testosterone, men who do feel anxiety, though, feel something unbeknownst to the women, which is shame.

Dr. Rector said, “If you’re male and have been socialized to be active and controlling, anxiety is (perceived) as a sign of weakness.” Men have an internal dialogue oriented around weakness with viewing themselves as failing and vulnerable. This creates an embarrassment.

From that embarrassment, the men do not want to reach out. So, when men do reach out to the professional help, their condition appears far worse than the women.

For example, Feldeisen elaborated, “I was ashamed and disappointed in myself… I was not a masculine man (anymore)… If a man says ‘I have a mental illness’, that’s equal to craziness.” Can’t have that, men must be strong, so goes the narrative.

Men restrict themselves. Those around them may exacerbate this because they do not want to hear about this as well. It is not a judgment of the family and friends or on the men, but in the culture created through expectations and historical inertia.

“Many men with anxiety express similar feelings as Feldeisen. Instead of seeking help, 30% of men with anxiety turn to substances as a way to cope with their symptoms, said Dr. Jeffery Wardell,” Anxiety BC stated, “post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Men’s greater impulsivity also accounts for their higher reliance on substances.”

Women have fewer positive beliefs about alcohol. Men have higher positive beliefs about alcohol. The anxious women will turn to female friends in time of needing some substances while anxious.

The women will limit consumption because of the greater expectations and judgments on them. Men, in other words, are seen as engaging in male behaviour if they drink, even if it as a masculine self coping mechanism.

Dr. George Koob, Director of the US-based National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said, “People suffering from anxiety take substances in an effort to self-medicate.” Alcohol and similar substances of common overuse are ones that naturally hijack the reward centers of the brain, the mesolimbic dopamine reward system built for the pleasurable stimuli from food and sex.

There is an extra high from the substances. The user feels pleasure and so uses the substance more and more to quell greater and greater levels of anxiety. This is, apparently from the prior points, particularly true of the men.

“The ingestion of substances including alcohol, opioids, marijuana, and nicotine produces identical pleasure effects. When endorphins (the chemicals responsible for the “runner’s high”) are released by natural stimuli or by substances,” the reportage explained, “they bind to the same receptors as morphine, dulling emotional pain and calming the mind. It is this type of relaxation that people with anxiety are seeking when they turn to substances.”

Mr. Feldeisen went to the common one: alcohol. He drank two full glasses of wine at dinner in order to feel numb. Why numb? He wanted to rid himself of the anxious feelings after the first panic attack. It became an exogenous assistance in the prevention of coping with the anxiety.

The article continued, “While many men are reluctant to admit their anxiety, making it difficult for loved ones to find out what’s going on, there are some tell-tale clues, said Dr. Martin Antony, Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto.”

“If the man in your life starts to avoid things he used to enjoy or becomes irritable, these can be signs of an anxiety disorder. Anger is more acceptable for some men than anxiety,” Antony stated.

Men suffer too. However, they do not reach out. They reach out in silence. They experience anxiety and depression, like women, and even commit suicide at times, too. For those concerned about the men, they should look into the trouble in concentration, the difficult in sleeping, and the loss in an interest in sex as symptoms of potential anxiety of the men in their lives.

The men we all know and love, but who can, at times, be not succeeding all that well in coping with anxiety. Dr. Maureen Whittal, who is a psychologist in private practice in British Columbia, suggested, “Instead, reassure him that his condition is extremely common… Tell him ‘It doesn’t have to be this hard’. Find him a family doctor when he’s ready, and you can offer to accompany him. Suggest you treat the visit as an experiment, and don’t ask for a commitment to treatment.”

Feldeisen lacked a partner to motivate him. He has a son. However, the son was not at the age of being able to help him at the time. Feldeisen stated, “I told myself enough is enough… We need to fix this. My son needs me to be the best person I can be… My therapist is one of the best in Canada.”

Dr. Rector talked about the hope for the future for men. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an important methodology to help with some distorted thinking patterns. It is a first defense or intervention in the combatting of anxiety disorders.

Apparently, it works about 60-70% of the time. Rector said, “Some patients can also be treated with medication, while more severe cases may require both counseling and pills.”

Now, Feldeisen is a thribing person. That, potentially, makes him a better chef as a boss or colleague and a better dad. He concluded, “You don’t need to be ashamed of the life you’re living—by seeking treatment, you could fully live the life you want.”

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2022-04-21

The Maximization of Happiness and Life Satisfaction

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/14

Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, M.D., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D. is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist running his private practice in Thessaloniki, Greece. Having perceived the importance and impact of internet in our lives, he is also professionally active offering online psychotherapy and counseling for Psycall.com and Shezlong.com. He earned an M.D., Medical Doctor Diploma (2000), M.Sc., Medical Research Technology (2003), M.A., Philosophy (2012), and Ph.D., Psychopharmacology (2015), awarded by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Dr. Katsioulis is mostly challenged by expression, thinking and communication. Therefore, he is involved in writing articles, novels, quotes and screenplays. Since 2001, he is the Founder of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), an international organization targeting the detection, development and appreciation of abilities. Feeling a citizen of the world, he currently lives in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.

On January 1, 2015, we published an interview. Here, we talk about awards and happiness.

Katsioulis earned a number of awards. Of course, along with the various awards and recognition from the prizes, the awardee is expected to provide some form of commentary relevant to themselves and the focus of the award.

He had a statement, wherein he said:

I believe in the power of human mind and my works contribute to the facilitation of mind expressions, promotion of creativity and enhancement of productivity for a better life quality for everyone. Maximizing outcomes based on the appreciation and utilization of people’s potentials for the benefits of any individual and humanity in general.

Katsioulis describes the ways in which people can improve the life satisfaction of their lives. The ways in which individuals can maximize their lives, and how he can be a part of this in collaboration with others in the high general intelligence community.

I do not sense an arrogance or conceit around it. I noted a sense of service based on acknowledge of greater ability and so higher levels of duty to work on common problems. I asked about the motivation to help others.

Katsioulis stated, “Life is a continuous claim of happiness and satisfaction. There are plenty of distractions and attractions in life which can mislead and redirect people causing disorientation, targeting fake goals and resulting to low life quality. I am passionate with people and communication and that is the main reason I chose to be a Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist and a Founder of some communities and networks.”

All the aforementioned high-IQ – and other gifted and talented – societies function on this basis. To serve the gifted and talented population as identified by various means, and to cater to their needs, they then serve the general public, often in ways others cannot.

He continued, “I believe in self-awareness, self-appreciation, self-confidence and self-determination. Offering people an opportunity to look into themselves and grab the chance to evaluate their lives, attitudes and interests, is a challenge for me.”

Katsioulis went through these processes too. That is, he speaks from personal experience. He wants to provide the same psychological services for others. It seems to come from the same sense of duty. It feels as if a moral-bound, ethical, foundation.

“I support people and I believe in their abilities, talents and specialties. Psychologically speaking, I may provide what I would appreciate to have been provided,” Katsioulis elaborated.

In reflection on the statement in the award, I quoted him, “Humans are biological beings, life is a mystery, creation is still unknown. We live a miracle and we can only maximize this miracle’s impact in every single moment of our existence.”

That formed the basis for the conclusion of the interview with some final questions. He mentioned “miracle,” which raises hopes in some minds, anxiety in others, and discontented question marks in still others. Also, though more directly apprehended, the idea of the maximization of the moments of our lives was mentioned by him.

Katsioulis clarified, “Allow me to clearly mention that I do not wish to support any specific religion with my statement. I have the feeling that the advanced and complicated structure and function of life, considering even only a single cell, is itself a miracle.”

It becomes more concrete without support for a specific religion. As a background context, living in Greece, the majority religion remains Eastern Orthodox Christianity or the Greek Orthodox Church tradition within the Eastern Orthodox Church. This faith comprises about 90% of the population.

“I am using the word ‘miracle’ since mathematicians have proved that it is rather impossible all cell components to accidentally find themselves in the proper position and start functioning as a cell within the total duration of universe existence,” Katsioulis explained, “So the time elapsed since the creation of universe supports the non-accidental, thus miraculous nature of life.”

As noted in the response, Katsioulis seems to note a transcendent sentiment. Something external to and containing the natural and physical. The sense of the miraculous in the statistical improbability of functional life.

Katsioulis continued, “The specific rational for this miracle, a specific power, God, destiny, even the nature itself, has been a fascinating topic for many other specialists throughout all human history.”

He concluded on the idea of happiness and the operation of its maximization, or optimization. “The maximization of our life moments is a quality term, used to define appreciation of our time, life satisfaction and happiness. Since we know nothing about the reasons of our existence,” Katsioulis concluded, “we may solely take advantage of the fact that we are alive and experience the most out of it. In this context, we need to define what makes us excited and content and we should target and claim satisfaction and happiness.”

—

Dr. Katsioulis earned the best performance in the Cerebrals international contest (2009), best performance in the Cerebrals NVCP-R international contest (2003), best performance in physics for the national final exams in Greece (1993), and third place in the Maths national contest in Thessaloniki, Greece (1989).

Dr. Katsioulis scored some of the highest intelligence test scores (SD16) on international record with IQ scores of 205 on the NVCP-R [Rasch equated raw 49/54] in 2002, 196 on the Qoymans Multiple Choice #3 [ceiling] in 2003, 192 on the NVCP-E [Rasch equated raw 35/40] in 2002, 186 on the NVCP-R [Fluid Intelligence Index Score] in 2002, 183 on the NVCP-E [Fluid Intelligence Index Score] in 2002, 183 on the Cattell Culture Fair III A+B [ceiling-1] in 2003, 180+ on the Bonnardel BLS4 – 2T [ceiling] in 2003, and 180+ on the WAIS-R [extrapolated full scale] in 2002.

Subsequently, Dr. Katsioulis remains a member in over 60 high IQ societies. In addition, he is the president and founder of Anadeixi Academy of Abilities Assessment and World Intelligence Network (WIN), and OLYMPIQ, HELLIQ, CIVIQ, GRIQ, QIQ, IQID, GREEK high IQ societies. He talked here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

In one listing, Dr. Katsioulis is listed among other smartest people in the world including Paul Allen, Christopher Michael Langan, Judit Polgar, Marilyn vos Savant, John H. Sununu, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Kim Ung-Yong, Mislav Predavec, Manahel Thabet, Rick Rosner, Chris Hirata, Steven Pinker, Ivan Ivec, Garry Kasparov, Terence Tao, Scott Aaronson, Nikola Poljak, Alan Guth, Donald Knuth, Noam Chomsky, Magnus Carlsen, Shahriar Afshar, Akshay Venkatesh, Saul Kripke, Ruth Lawrence, Grigori Perelman, Andrew Wiles, and Edward Witten.

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2022-04-21

The Responsibility in Public Recognition of Excellence

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/14

Dr. Leo Igwe is the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement and former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. On May 27, 2018, we published an interview. Here, we talk on the responsibility that comes with public recognition of excellence.

Dr. Igwe and I were conversing on the subject of the widespread recognition in Nigeria and African, especially the non-religious and humanist communities for founding the movement.

The Nigerian Humanist Movement, the first person to enact this formal movement out of tens of millions. He is an ever-active activist for the non-religious and a spokesperson for the equality of men and women, of the need for the implementation of human rights, and the importance of critical thinking and scientific education.

With regards to the responsibility that comes from the public recognition for Dr. Igwe, he stated, “The widespread recognition means more responsibility and more work. It obligates me to exert more efforts and sustain the momentum to further humanist ideals and values. It entails devising new and more potent strategies to make humanism flourish, and mainstream the rights and interests of nonreligious persons.”

It means the sign of the improvement in performance and a track record for Igwe. It amounts to thanks for the public service and an identification of the excellence of the public service. He notes this as an enhanced sign of the importance of his life’s work: humanism.

“…an indication that a long forgotten, long overlooked need for a positive non-religious outlook is now being fulfilled. In a country such as Nigeria, religion has an overwhelming influence,” Igwe explained, “So it can be very difficult for humanist activists to make any significant impact because such an impression chips away on the rock of overbearing religions.”

He considers the recognition of excellence welcome. Igwe feels that this is a sign of hope and that this “should propel” him and other activists to work harder than before. Because the progress won to date took a long time.

It was something not in the realm of the possible centuries ago, but became one recently. That makes the consolidation of the progress never certain but easier to maintain than originally acquire in the first place.

The recognition of the peers and the youth makes this an especially important point of contact in his career, as, seems to me, he works from a harder vantage in Nigeria than in other countries such as Canada, where humanism has a long tradition.

“It means striving to ensure that humanism takes its rightful place on the table of religions, philosophies or life stances, and that humanists and other non-religious people can live their lives and go about their everyday business with less and less fear,” Igwe stated.

He continued to state that this means the end of the persecution and the discrimination of the non-religious people in the country and the region in order to secure a greater secularity in Nigeria.

Igwe said, “In Nigeria, those who identify as having no religion are in the minority; they are not reckoned with. Non-religious persons suffer systemic marginalization. For too long, persons without religion have been identified as a silent and sometimes, a non-existing minority.”

He feels the and thinks strongly that the mistreatment of the non-religious is unacceptable. He wants to work for a world where these people are not discriminated against.

“In the coming years, I want to work to ensure that Nigerians grow up understanding that religion is an option, and knowing that they can leave religion; that they can criticize religion. I want to make sure that people in Nigeria are aware that humanism and atheism as options that they can explore and embrace,” Igwe concluded.

—

Dr. Leo Igwe is the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement and former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He is among the most prominent African non-religious people from the African continent. When he speaks, many people listen in a serious way. He holds a Ph.D. from the Bayreuth International School of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, having earned a graduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. We have talked or I have written on Dr. Igwe here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

He talked here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

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2022-04-21

On a Humanist Masculinity with Dr. Leo Igwe

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/13

Dr. Leo Igwe is the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement and former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. On August 16, 2017, we published an interview. Here, we talk about gender roles.

Igwe and I had an extensive conversation on the nature of gender roles in the context of modern Nigerian. The sub-text of the conversation came from modern and Indigenous spiritualities of the African continent, the colonial religions seen in Islam and Christianity, and with the pre-text of humanism rejecting these Indigenous and colonial supernaturalisms to define gender.

When we began to talk more, the emphasis of the conversation focused on the humanist masculinity. What is it? What defines it? How is it constrained, defined, and set about in practical terms?

Igwe stated, “It is the idea of maleness that emphasizes the humanity of men and males, the fact that men are human like their female counterparts. That males have emotions, entertain fear and suffer pain like their female counterparts. Simply humanistic masculinity stands for maleness as humanness.”

There comes more emphasis on the care, compassion, and the cooperation of the masculine in a humanistic framework. That, as human beings, men can act in cruel, mean, domineering, and oppressive way.

That these can be cross-gender, or occurring in any gender, traits, which tend towards the personally and socially destructive. “The whole idea of humanist masculinity is vital in clearing this mistaken impression that associates ‘masculinism’ or masculinity with the subordination of women. There are cases of male oppression of women but is that masculinism? No, not at all,” Igwe said.

The idea being that basis for the humanistic man, the masculine self grounded in the philosophy and life stance of humanism, comes from the concrete rather than the supernatural and the non-subjection of women.

In modern vernacular, this means the empowerment of women and the inculcation of the notion and actuality of equality for men and women. Of course, as seems historically and presently the case, most males act masculine in one form or other; most females act feminine in one form or other. There should be flexibility within the humanistic frame while acknowledging some connections between the biological sex differences and the associated tendencies in thoughts and behaviours in genders. However, the bigger category remains human.

“Being manly should be within the ambient of humanity not without. Women do oppress men too but is oppression of men feminism? No. Subordination of men should not be identified as feminism. It is an aberration of feminism,” Igwe explained, “Just as feminism does not imply the oppression of men, masculinity should not be equated with the oppression of females. Thus humanist masculinity is – and should be–about the expression of hu-maleness or hu-manliness and not the humiliation and subordination of females.”

The conversation concluded on the ways in which to inculcate this other modern masculinity. Igwe lamented, “Unfortunately, this goal cannot be realized in the form of education we have in Nigeria at the moment. The educational process is manipulated to preserve certain religious and traditional values and interests. The educational system is used to reinforce notions of masculinity and femininity that are incompatible with humanist and human rights values.”

It leaves questions about an overhaul to the fostering and furtherance of a humanist or humanistic oriented educational system with the best interests of the child in mind.

—

He talked here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

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2022-04-21

Indigenous Nigerian Gender Roles Rooted in Supernaturalism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/13

Dr. Leo Igwe is the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement and former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. On August 16, 2017, we published an interview. Here, we talk about gender roles.

I asked Dr. Igwe about the designated roles from the Abrahamic traditions, which he corrected to the supernatural traditions. Why the expansion in the terminology? The intention was to extend into the Abrahamic “codifications” and the traditional pre-colonial traditions in the area known now as Nigeria.

This point extends to the whole of the African continent’s diaspora. He notes the supernatural definitions for the supported qualities of the masculine and the feminine, of the femaleness and the maleness of a particular individual.

Igwe stated, “In fact, traditional masculinity and femininity are embedded in indigenous religions that predate Abrahamic religious traditions in Africa. What we have in contemporary Africa is a situation where the faiths of Christianity and Islam only reinforce pre-existing religious and traditional notions of masculinity and femininity.”

Now, as Igwe founded an entire movement in humanism, the next natural query would follow into the humanistic. He had some interesting views on the traditional gender roles and the humanist perspective on this.

“A humanist perspective is the same with the traditional viewpoint in the sense that they are all human creations and constructions. They are all attempts by humans to define, designate and assign roles and duties,” Igwe explained, “Humanist and non-humanist ideas of manliness and womanliness are devices to make sense of human associations and interactions. But the humanist perspective is different because it is a product of critical evaluation, not of revelation or blind faith.”

This makes the supernatural elements in the traditional gender roles overlaid on biological sex differentiations less relevant. Because they do not become considerations. The humanistic perspective on the masculine and feminine, according to Igwe, becomes non-dogmatic.

Gender roles subject to challenge and critical questions. He considers the perception of a male and a female as something informed by human rights, reason, and science, which means non-conformist (to tradition) and non-orthodox (to the Abrahamic religions, for an example).

Igwe concluded, “Like traditional masculinity and femininity, humanist masculinity takes cognizance of the outlined duties and responsibilities. However, the humanist idea of manliness and womanliness is not cast in stone. The qualities and functions are subject to revision and rejection in the light of knowledge and individual freedom.”

—

He talked here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

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2022-04-21

The Traditional Nigerian Masculinity and Femininity

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/12

Dr. Leo Igwe is the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement and former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. On August 16, 2017, we published an interview. Here, we talk about gender roles.

Dr. Leo Igwe and I talked about the Nigerian Humanist Movement founded by Igwe and the traditional masculinity and femininity in Nigeria. Igwe, in the response, cautioned about the common and ever-present possibility of the misinterpretation of responses.

That is, the misunderstanding of talking about men and women in Nigerian meaning all men and all women in every context when referencing “men” or “women” rather than the statistical nature of the representation of the traditional masculinity and femininity.

“There is always a risk of conflation in responding to a question such as this because any answer could easily be taken to be all embracing and applicable to all. Definitely, an understanding of traditional masculinity or femininity that applies to over 170 million people in Nigeria with various cultures and beliefs presents a challenge,” Igwe stated.

His personal opinion of the nature of traditional femininity and masculinity within a highly diverse and populated society such as Nigeria. It is simply the idea handed down from the past. Some from a before when these were not necessarily highly scrutinized.

Igwe said, “This idea of what it is to be a man or a woman draws its moral and binding force from the fact that it was handed down to a generation that assumes it is expected to observe it, comply with it and pass it on without revision or alteration.”

It becomes a tradition with the sacrosanct nature of the maleness and femaleness. It becomes designated as the standards in social life or the norm for nurturance and cultivation in males and females – a social and cultural overlay on top of the sex differentiated characteristics.

“It is important to note that the idea of manliness and womanliness which people regard as the norm because they are handed down from the past differ from community to community, and sometimes from family to family, in fact from individual to individual. It is difficult to pin it down,” Igwe opined.

In Nigeria, the masculine is see as something with leadership, power, strength, and toughness; the feminine with weakness and vulnerability. Male seen as the head of the home and society. Some strong and capable. Some who can absorb pain and not cry. The man must be defense. Because he is needed to protect family against the dangers and threats of the world.

“Womanliness,” by contrast, “is associated with ‘weakness’ and vulnerability. Marriage, childcare, child bearing and domestic duties are also linked to womanhood,” Igwe explained, “Persons are brought up to fit into these roles and expectations. Unfortunately, the emphasis is often, on women and their designated subordinate and subjugated roles.”

Igwe noted the forgotten facts about males being raised by parents who include the mothers, and other family members such as nieces, sisters, and aunts who have them (the males) fit into some institutionalized, limited, gender roles.

Igwe, in that response, concluded, “They are pressured sometimes against their will to be manly. These designated manly and womanly roles are well spelled out and mainly applicable in rural areas and among uneducated folks, or in religiously conservative environments. In such situations and circumstances, ruralness, lack of education and faith constrain the ability of males and females to break away from the traditions.”

—

He talked here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal.

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2022-04-21

Biology, Machines, and Mind and Reality to a World Famous Psychiatrist

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/12

On January 1, 2015, we published an interview. Here, we talk about the potential for the merger between biology and machines, and the ultimate relationship between mind and reality.

Asking Katsioulis about the future of biology and machines, and the potential for the merger of the two, he remarked on the control of machines by humans. Although, we remain bound to biology, to the capacities and so limitations of our natures.

The machines may help with the replacement of some dysfunctional biological components or missing ones. As he stated, “We do control machines (for now), however we cannot control or overcome biological rules. Machines could substitute some missing, mistaken or dysfunctional biological structures, however we are in no position to support artificial life at least for now.”

Humans control the machines. The machines can help with the healthy and functional living of biological life, presumably our own mainly. Regardless, we seem in an unfit position to support said artificial life. In a way, we marginally handle ourselves – remaining barely kept from nuclear catastrophe, destruction of the climate and environment for decent human life, and so on.

Katsioulis continued, “Having in mind the science progress and knowledge advancement within the last century, we may soon manage to understand much more about life and even copy biology principles creating a kind of life.”

The target of the question came from the observation of the integration of biological systems and artificial systems. Noting a common interest, Katsioulis, with a tone of inquiry and insight about the interviewer (and humor), stated, “There are no limits in this integration. From your question, I could assume that we both like science fiction movies.”

When I turned attention from biological systems and artificial systems into the deeper question about the ultimate relationship between mind and reality, Katsioulis mentioned the mind as an information processor to help us. It seemed like a concrete definition with a psychological orientation for the definition.

Bearing in mind, the basis for Katsioulis, as a life work, comes from the desire to know the soul of a person, a human, or humankind. That is, this harkens back to the original goal of psychiatry with the intent to know the soul or the entire makeup of a person, a human, or humankind, not only the narrowed focus on the behavioral and the mental as in, for example, psychology.

“Mind is an advanced personal processor, responsible for the perception, reaction and adjustment in reality. We need mind to live our reality. I suppose we all know what is the condition of a body with a non-functioning mind,” Katsioulis elaborated, “Reality is an objective and independent set of conditions, events, happenings, incidents, people, principles, facts.”

The mind, to Katsioulis, amounts to something to make the objective something subjective. Katsioulis continued, “Our mind personalizes this objective information to a subjective representation in us. Mind function is influenced by factors, such as perceptual ability, reasoning, previous knowledge and experiences, psychological status and mental state.”

He notes the presence in an event, the comprehension of oneself and others, the difference in those states of perception of the same event, and the impacts these have on individual lives.

“For instance, we have all been present in an event and our understanding of what happened may significantly defer from what anyone else present states. So, we need mind to live our reality and we need reality to use our mind,” Katsioulis concluded.

—

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2022-04-21

Some Notes on Weight Training for Kids

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/11

Let’s talk about weight training for the kiddos today.

Do the accrued health benefits for health span, how long you stay able and capable – healthy, from weight training for adults help kids in the same or even a similar way?

It seems like an important question with the increased obesity of the population, especially the younger and the upcoming generations of kids and adolescents.

The Mayo Clinic reports that the strength training does, in fact, maintain some benefits for children with some caveats, justifications. It can, first and foremost and most important in the value structure of North American society, improve the way one looks and feels.

Kids want that, potentially even more than the adults. It would seem so with the adolescents. If the habits are inculcated early enough, then the kids may actually develop habits for a longer and healthier lifespan. They can stick around longer and walk and lift things while they do it.

The article states, “Don’t confuse strength training with weightlifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting. These activities are largely driven by competition, with participants vying to lift heavier weights or build bigger muscles than those of other athletes”

If a young person paces too much strain on the functional structure of their body, it can have long-term impacts, e.g. damage to the muscles, tendons and cartilage of the young person. The point is proper training, especially if going over the top with the amount of the weight for the young person.

“For kids, light resistance and controlled movements are best — with a special emphasis on proper technique and safety. Your child can do many strength training exercises with his or her own body weight or inexpensive resistance tubing. Free weights and machine weights are other options,” the professionals recommend.

If done with the proper technique, pace, and weight for the kid, this can, improve the endurance and strength and performance in a sport, strengthen the bones, protect muscles and joints from various sports-related injuries of the kid, even give them better technique and form for the future – as these properly developed techniques in early life.

In terms of the ‘right’ time to start with the training, the Mayo Clinic explained, “During childhood, kids improve their body awareness, control and balance through active play. As early as age 7 or 8, however, strength training can become a valuable part of an overall fitness plan — as long as the child is mature enough to follow directions and practice proper technique and form.”

Even with the preparedness of the child in terms of their mind set, it is important to bear in mind the forms in which damage or stress to their young tissues can take place. A parent or guardian should take caution in the potentials for injury, which may last a long time.

Not only this, the child should be warned in an assertive, caring, and compassionate manner as well, especially tone. You are the parent after all.

Some of the basic instructions from the article include the seeking of proper instruction for your child, a warm up and cool down series for the exercises – like an on and off switch, maintaining a light load, emphasizing the proper technique, supervision of the child while they lift heavy weights, and then the rest between workouts with the attitude of keeping this fun More details in full below:

Seek instruction. Start with a coach or personal trainer who has experience with youth strength training. The coach or trainer can create a safe, effective strength training program based on your child’s age, size, skills and sports interests. Or enroll your child in a strength training class designed for kids.

Warm up and cool down. Encourage your child to begin each strength training session with five to 10 minutes of light aerobic activity, such as walking, jogging in place or jumping rope. This warms the muscles and prepares them for more-vigorous activity. Gentle stretching after each session is a good idea, too.

Keep it light. Kids can safely lift adult-size weights, as long as the weight is light enough. In most cases, one or two sets of 12 to 15 repetitions is all it takes. The resistance doesn’t have to come from weights, either. Resistance tubing and body-weight exercises, such as pushups, are other effective options.

Stress proper technique. Rather than focusing on the amount of weight your child lifts, stress proper form and technique during each exercise. Your child can gradually increase the resistance or number of repetitions as he or she gets older.

Supervise. Adult supervision by someone who knows proper strength training technique is an important part of youth strength training. Don’t let your child go it alone.

Rest between workouts. Make sure your child rests at least one full day between exercising each specific muscle group. Two or three strength training sessions a week are plenty.

Keep it fun. Help your child vary the routine to prevent boredom.

Results won’t come overnight. Eventually, however, your child will notice a difference in muscle strength and endurance — which might fuel a fitness habit that lasts a lifetime.

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2022-04-21

Time for Rests, Naps, and Sleep

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/11

Rest okay.

Naps good.

Sleep great, especially in the proper amounts.

The Mayo Clinic commented on the need for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night for optimal health. In that, this amount of sleep for a healthy adult sets the rest of the day’s decisions on a particular course, e.g. more effective decision-making.

A bad sleep can affect one’s overall tone of day. The inability to focus on daily tasks can be a problem of this too. It affects the body and the mind in different but severe ways. A common experience of the overworked comes in the form of sleep deprivation.

As the article states, “Sleep deprivation can have a significant impact on both your mind and body. In addition to perpetuating serious health conditions, lack of sleep can negatively affect your mood and temperament, as well as your ability to focus on daily tasks. Plus, lack of sleep influences what and how much you eat.”

That is, the hormones throughout the body get regulated through proper sleep. That means the hunger hormones move into the outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt. You become hungrier, even hangrier.

People may stuff themselves with bagels and muffins in order to quell the increased cravings. The cravings arising from the lack of sleep, the sleep deprivation. This sleep permits the body and the mind to recover from a full day’s work. It becomes highly important for health.

“Furthermore, sleep allows time for your mind and body to recover from the day’s work, and these important processes are cut short when you don’t get ample shut-eye. During the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep,” the Mayo Clinic explained, “your brain sorts the important information from the unimportant and files long-term memory. If this stage of your sleep cycle is shortchanged, your mental focus and acuity may decrease.”

You can become ill-tempered and irascible as a result. With less than 7 hours of sleep per night, an individual can, over time, begin to suffer from depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, and weight gain. Other health consequences as ensue.

“In addition, when you don’t get enough sleep, you may experience increased body aches and pains, reduced immune function and impaired performance at work. All of these problems can have a ripple effect on your daily habits,” the Mayo Clinic said.

However, if an individual can make a habit of sleep as part of their daily routine, even with some forgiveness and room for slipping up or a late night work or school assignment, then health can improve.

The improvement would be on the all the above-mentioned health risks. It would be a reduction in them. Some tips from the staff at the Mayo Clinic include the setting of a sleep goal of a regular time and sleep duration at the recommended amount for your sex and age.

The next is to make a routine of the bedtime. Honor and respect yourself with the proper sleep goals. The next is to eat less processed food, have more fruits and vegetables and lean meats, and feel better with the healthier diet, and then feel better with the improved sleep from the good sleep due to not feeling hungry when going to sleep or waking up. Hunger interrupts sleep.

Another recommendation is to ease into your sleep regimen in order to feel better and more comfortable when finally finding the time to rest and catch some z-shaved sheep while counting them.

On the flip side, making sleep a priority can help you achieve your other wellness goals, such as stress management. When your body and mind are well-rested, you’ll be able to respond to life with greater perspective and understanding. Try these tips for getting better sleep and creating the foundation for your overall wellness.

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2022-04-21

On the Function of Society’s Systems Through Plato

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/10

On January 1, 2015, we published an interview. Here, we talk about the educational systems, the gifted, and the main global problem and its solution.

When I asked Katsioulis about the interactions of the numerous systems within society, those integrated concepts with common markers or widely accepted bases in everyday life. I wanted to target the ways in which the world functions and fails to work too.

The political life in which citizens want to organize the public life of the country. The economic system under which people buy and sell with one another. The religious practices and beliefs to motivate and inspire people’s lives. As per individual motivations, and the UN Charter, everyone reserves the right to freedom of belief and freedom of religion.

The corporate monoliths from which multinational and international trade and commerce take place. The educational systems from which values, knowledge, and skills get inculcated and nurtured in the young. Many more interlocked, interrelated, and interdependent systems function in societies.

All topics of intrigue on a large, societal scale. The question related to the proper development of a society from his perspective. Katsioulis opened the response, “I would say no more than what a great ancestor said 25 centuries ago. Plato suggested an ideal society based on the special abilities of the citizens.”

A society built on the more suited person for a particular position. The ablest for a particular function in a society should run that position in the society. For example, the strongest should help with the physical needs of the society.

“…a meritocracy should be in place. We should all contribute to the society well-functioning, if we intend to live in the society and benefit out of it,” Katsioulis stated, “The definition of one’s prosperity should be defined only in the context of the society prosperity. If we act against our nest, how should this nest be beneficial, protective and supportive for us.”

He laments those who only work with marketing skills and great influence. Those individuals with little to no skill except insofar as they can advertise themselves in a positive light and use power at whim. “We often see people who have no other than marketing skills or powerful backgrounds to guide societies, decide about millions of people, control people’s future, when many capable and talented others live in the shadow,” Katsioulis said.

Katsioulis indicated the importance of the individual in a society. That is, the citizen is the crucial element in any society, who should realize their individual and collective power.

“There is no society without citizens, there are no rules without people to follow them. People can claim their right to live their ideal society,” Katsioulis concluded.

—

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2022-04-21

On the Different Interests of Men and Women in Computer Science

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/10

Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Claus D. Volko, B.Sc. was born in 1983 in Vienna, Austria, Europe. He began to teach himself how to program at the age of eight. He started editing an electronic magazine at the age of 12: Hugi Magazine. After high school, he studied computer science and medicine at the same time.

Eventually, he became a software developer with some work, on leisure time, spent on medical research projects. Now, he maintains the website entitled 21st Century Headlines and founded, recently, Web Portal on Computational Biology. Here we talk about men and women in computer science from his personal experience.

Volko and I talked about the reasons for the sex split in the computer sciences. Volko made an opening guess that women tend to have less interest in computers for programming and software development.

“Another reason may be that they are not so self-confident about their computer science skills. Maybe they also think that computer programmers are somewhat lonely and they would rather prefer to work in a team of
people,” Volko said.

Then I asked further about the split with women liking graphic arts and music composition with computers more than programming, where men prefer the programming far more. Volko remarked women tend to have little interest in code optimization.

Volko stated, “In the demoscene, code optimization is one of the most important skills because one of the categories of artworks demosceners create is heavily size-optimized intros sized 64 kbytes or even 4 kbytes or less. This requires far more than being just able to write working code.”

He continued to say that a perfectionist attitude is necessary. It is something that requires someone to code for as many hours as possible. The purpose of which is to keep the code as small as possible. Volko commented on a woman programmer he knows from Hungary interested in this form of software development.

“But she is the only women I know who is into this field. I met some women in the demoscene who are actually not totally unskilled when it comes to programming, some of them even earning their income as web developers (employing PHP and JavaScript),” Volko explained, “but still they prefer to compose music or create graphics when it comes to spending their sparetime with computers in a creative way.”

When he reflected on men, they tend to be far more attracted to programming “because men are supposed to be smart, and programming is a way to prove that you are. And apparently, programming is more fun for men than for women.”

Women may find programming as more of a chore needing doing and will try to avoid it if at all possible. However, and by contrast, “many male programmers I know, including myself, actually seem to be enjoying what they are doing.”

Volko knows the psychometric data and statistics around IQs for men and women. For example, the average or mean IQs of men and women are about the same. However, when the detailed data is analyzed, there are differences, more in some areas than others.

“Some people consider it politically incorrect to talk about sex differences in IQ but there are some scientists who have done research into that field. Richard Lynn, for example, published about it,” Volko explained, “He
stated that while the average IQ of both sexes is about the same, the standard deviation is different – it is smaller for women, which means that there are (by proportion) fewer women who would have to be considered mentally retarded, but also fewer women who would have to be considered highly gifted.”

Volko notes that if Lynn is correct then this may describe how women tend to have less interest in the computer sciences than men. The average intelligence quotient of computer scientists is very high compared to other professions, according to Volko.

He noted that the average computer science student had an IQ of about 125. “It can, therefore, be assumed that the average computer science graduate has an even higher IQ, of 130 or higher. That makes 50% of all computer science graduates fall at least into the “gifted” range,” Volko described.

He continued to state that Lynn describes how there are fewer women than men in the “gifted” range, which may explain the difference in enrolment in the computer sciences for men and women. “Likewise, it may be that graphic design and music composition are less related to IQ than programming, and that might also explain the sex differences in the preference for activities regarding creative use of computers,” Volko stated.

Volko, as a medical graduate, did comment on the genetics of general intelligence as measured by IQ tests. He noted the genetics of intelligence is not a trait defined by an individual gene, but, rather, something researchers find correlated with many genes on the X chromosome.

He explained:

The special feature of the X chromosome is that healthy women have two of them, while healthy men have only one of them. This may explain the difference in the standard deviation of IQ between the sexes: Apparently a gene variant that would increase the intelligence of a male person already if this male person had only one copy of this gene variant needs to be present in both X chromosomes of the woman to have the same effect. Of course, the probability that both X chromosomes have the same gene variant is lower than the probability that the single X chromosome of the male has the gene variant in question.

Within this framework of an expert in computer science, and who has deep knowledge of medical sciences and intelligence testing, these may provide the basis for an explanation of all, most, or some of the differences in the different interests and enrolment in the computer sciences. It is not a vantage that I hear often.

—

Volko earned a score at an intelligence test score of 172, on the Equally Normed Numerical Derivation Tests (ENNDT) by Marco Ripà and Gaetano Morelli. It was on a standard deviation of 15. A sigma of 4.80 for Claus, which is a general intelligence rarity of 1 in 1,258,887.

Of course, if a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.

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2022-04-21

Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis on Educational Systems, the Gifted Population, and Global Problems

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/09

Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, M.D., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist running his private practice in Thessaloniki, Greece. Having perceived the importance and impact of internet in our lives, he is also professionally active offering online psychotherapy and counseling for Psycall.com and Shezlong.com. He earned an M.D., Medical Doctor Diploma (2000), M.Sc., Medical Research Technology (2003), M.A., Philosophy (2012), and Ph.D., Psychopharmacology (2015), awarded by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

On January 1, 2015, we published an interview. Here, we talk about the educational systems, the gifted, and the main global problem and its solution.

Katsioulis and I talked about the educational systems of the world and the provision for the needs of the gifted population. In terms of the help for the gifted population, he had a few targeted and direct means by which to improve their educational experience.

“The development of a more personal, more accurate and proper educational system is one of the target goals of Anadeixi. I strongly believe that not even 2 different persons can have the exact same profiles, characteristics, needs, personalities, interests, abilities, backgrounds and goals,” Katsioulis stated.

He directed attention to the diversity and the variety of the pupils’ personal profiles. People remain different from one another through life. They should receive education in a similar manner: individually.

Katsioulis judged, “It is rather an unfair, conforming generalization all of the students to participate in the exact same educational program. There should be an introductory level of the basic sciences offered to anyone and on top of this an additional specialized education program based on the personal needs and potencies of any of the participants.”

Other basics in the educational curricula of the world should include reading, writing, and simple math calculations. Also, students should learn a basic knowledge of geography, history, and the other domains of human inquiry and knowledge.

“However, some of the students have specific preferences and interests and the educational system should take these into consideration and respond accordingly,” Katsioulis stated. He proposed a hypothetical system through a diagram, a 2-dimensional representation, for this educational system.

Katsioulis explained, “The horizontal axis may include all the special fields of science, knowledge and interests and the vertical axis may demonstrate the various levels of performance and awareness. Thus, any participant can be allocated to the proper horizontal and vertical places based only on his interests, preferences, goals and current expertise and awareness.”

The power in this educational system comes from the lack of a place for restrictions of age or otherwise. The conversation moved into the global problems at the moment and means to solve them.

Katsioulis stated the main problem as an identity crisis. “People lost their identity, their orientation, their life quality standards.” People do not care about their real personality. They create false selves from the mainstream trends and waste their lives to adjust to only a few others’ expectations of them.

Katsioulis continued, “People have neither time nor any intention to realize what life is about. They are born and live to become consistent and excellent workers, minor pieces of a giant puzzle for some few strong people’s entertainment purposes and benefits. Therefore, they don’t care about the quality of their lives, about other lives, about relationships and the society in general, about our children’s future.”

He views this as both a fact and a pity. However, the proper education described before. This may help with “self-realization, awareness, knowledge, mental maturity, overcoming any external restrictions and limitations. As I usually say to my psychotherapy clients, the solution to any problem is to make a stop and one step back.”

—

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2022-04-21

The Differential Attendance of Men and Women in Computer Science

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/09

When I asked Volko about the experience of having more men than women in the computer sciences while a student, he commented on enrolling in university. Then he mentioned not feeling many surprises at there being fewer women classmates.

He estimates about 5% of the students who went the lectures on a regular basis were female, even potentially fewer. He was into computers since his early childhood. He was involved in an international computer art community called the demoscene, “so-called.”

Volko stated, “In the demoscene, there were hardly any girls or women, and most of the few ones were not programmers, but graphic artists or music composers. I actually never had any prejudice about women being less talented at mathematics, for example, which would be an explanation for them having a harder time getting their ideas implemented as programmers.”

He notes that the proportion between the sexes “spoke a clear language.” He did not consider being around mostly other men, as a young man, as the most please thing. Men, Volko said, tend to be interested in women with a desire for women as partners around that age.

That makes men at this age particularly fond of the opportunities to be able to get to know women, especially with the opportunities that may arise to know women interested in computers like them.

“The fact that few women study computer science may also be the reason why computer science students supposedly tend to be single more often than students of other academic disciplines,” Volko explained, “As a student majoring in one field, you usually do not get to meet students of other majors that often, so you are likely to either find your partner among the ones sharing the same major, or to be left without a partner.”

He may be an exception as he was enrolled in both computer science and medical school at the same time, which is a peculiarity in Austrian tertiary education. In the medical school, about 60% of the women were female. That meant it would not have been that hard for him to find a partner compared to his other classmates who were in computer science only.

In his time, he had two female partners. Both worked in computer science. His first was enrolled in medical school at the time. He got to know her there. Then she was also interested in computers too.

Volko said, “That might have been the reason why I chose her as a partner of all the women who had approached me. Soon after we split up, she abandoned medical school without a degree and started studying computer science; in fact she turned out to be far more talented than I had expected, as she now is a proud holder of a Ph.D. degree in computer science.”

His second partner, who he still spends weekends, has a Master’s degree in computer science, which she completed with distinction. The two of them were still students when they got to know one another. His second partner is also a member of Mensa, the world’s largest high-IQ society.

“Yet there were also some courses in her studies that were troublesome for her because she had attended business school prior to studying computer science, at which higher math had not been taught,” Volko explained.

Now, his second partner is involved with a semi-private company, where she works as a Java user interface developer. She is one of the few women who he knows is into programming. Volko does not view her as the typical “nerd” because she also has several other interests including on in Botany.

—

Of course, if a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.

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2022-04-21

Simple Exercise Tips for Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/09

The Mayo Clinic Staff mentioned a physical fitness program as one of the best things for health. Any basic fitness regimen scheduled daily, especially outside, can help with the reduction in the probability for ill health.

“…physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight, and even boost your self-esteem. And you can reap these benefits regardless of your age, sex or physical ability,” the Mayo Clinic noted.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services made some recommendations, which the Mayo Clinic echoed in the article. Healthy adults should include decent amounts of aerobic and strength training exercises into these regimens.

As stated:

At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity
Strength training exercises of all the major muscle groups at least twice a week

These simple steps do not amount to much. They can benefit whole body health. The work one does earlier on in life to make this a routine can develop a healthy habit to improve health for the long-term.

Not only a potentially longer lifespan but a definite longer health span, the number of years but also the number of quality years of life.

You can look and feel better. A regular exercise regimen helps with the reduction in heart disease and various cancers, strengthens the bones and muscles, and can help with the control of weight.

Which, if you have not noticed, North Americans are beginning to climb in their weight categories.

The Mayo Clinic cautions, “But if you haven’t exercised for some time and you have health concerns, you may want to talk to your doctor before starting a new fitness routine.”

Mayo Clinic staff also point to the fitness goals. What are they? How do you intend to develop them? What will you include? What things may be an off day? What will other ones be an on day? And so on.

Others things to bear in mind are the things that you prefer and the things that you do not prefer. Because if you continue to work out at specifics that you hate, then you may find these as barriers to the construction of a routine.

You can track your own personal progress and work to stay on the fitness regimen. It is important to remain on a fitness program. However, you do not need to stress yourself, so pace yourself, pick the good ones for you, and have fun why don’t ya!

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2022-04-21

The Personal Background and Professional Work of One of the World’s Most Gifted Men

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/08

On January 1, 2015, we published an interview. Here, we talk about personal views and professional life.

When I asked Katsioulis about the personal background from childhood through adolescence into adulthood, especially regarding the extraordinary giftedness, he stated, “Well, I didn’t have any forehead mark indicating that I have any special abilities, so my childhood was mainly full of activities that I enjoyed, such as reading literature, solving math, logical problems and puzzles, getting involved in discussions with adults and having rather many questions.”

He remarked on a time in childhood. When he was a boy, he made one assumption, reasonable at the time, about sheep. That is, white sheep produce white milk. So, by his thinking, black sheep should make cocoa milk. He spent lots of time alone rather than with friends. This continued into adolescence.

His teachers’ feedback remained “positive and promising at all stages” of his educational experience. “At this point, I should mention that I am very grateful to my parents, both teachers of the Greek language, who provided me a variety of mental stimuli and a proper hosting setting for my interests. During my adolescence, I had a distinction in the national Math exams in 1990 and in the national Physics Final exams in 1993 among some thousands of participants,” Katsioulis remarked.

On the first attempt at the School of Medicine, he was successful in the acceptance based on performance on the entrance examinations in 1993. He remained one of only six successful candidates who went and passed their examinations on their first attempt at it.

Indicative of the performances in scholastic achievements, Katsioulis scored some of the highest intelligence test scores on record, nationally and internationally. In many cases, he scored the highest. On the Physics National Final Exams (Greece, 1993), Cerebrals NVCP-R international contest (2003), and the Cerebrals international contest (2009), he earned the best performance in all three.

These points of the conversation led to the conversation about meeting other ultra-high IQ individuals and then feeling a sense of community.

“My ranking on the Physics National Final Exams is mainly the result of hard work and personal interest in Physics. Having scored quite well in some IQ tests and contests, I joined many High IQ Societies since 2001. I noticed that there were some difficulties in their proper functioning minimizing interactivity and subsidizing creativity,” Katsioulis stated, “Therefore, I took the initiative in 2001 to form a pioneer organization focused on promoting communication and enhancing productivity for the individuals with high cognitive abilities.”

This was the World Intelligence Network. It amounts to an international collective entity for the support of High IQ societies. At the time of the interview, there were 48 High IQ Societies affiliated with the World Intelligence Network. He took the initiative with five other organizations as well. Katsioulis sets a solid example for other gifted men and gifted people in general for perseverance, hard work, and service where little or no help exists.

Those five core organizations are for the 1^st through 5^th standard deviations, which, on a standard deviation of 15, amount to societies for the IQs of 115, 130, 145, 160, and 175. In order, these are QIQ, GRIQ, CIVIQ, HELLIQ, OLYMPIQ. There are two more for children and adolescents called IQID. Then one only for the Greek people, which is a “Greek NGO for abilities, giftedness, and high intelligence named Anadeixi.”

—

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2022-04-21

On Artificial Intelligence and Its Applications

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/07

Eventually, he became a software developer with some work, on leisure time, spent on medical research projects. Now, he maintains the website entitled 21st Century Headlines and founded, recently, Web Portal on Computational Biology. Here we talk about artificial intelligence and then some applications to everyday life for men and women.

Dr. Volko and I discussed the nature of computational intelligence and artificial intelligence. In particular, the system of his expertise, which amounts to evolutionary algorithms and neural networks. These evolutionary algorithms and neural networks become applied to artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence works in numerous movies. It works less functionally in real life in a general sense. However, artificial intelligence functions in many narrow senses in daily life. I asked about the expert consensus definition. Volko stated artificial intelligence as an intelligence displayed by computers and other machines.

“This contrasts with natural intelligence, which is displayed by humans and animals. As there are dozens of definitions of intelligence, there are also many things artificial intelligence may be,” Volko explained, “I like Jeff Hawkins’ definition that intelligence is the ability to make predictions. It is a pretty general definition and it encompasses what is measured by traditional, standardized intelligence tests.”

He mentioned a recent article, which makes a similar comment:

Our brains make sense of the world by predicting what we will see and then updating these predictions as the situation demands, according to Lars Muckli, professor of neuroscience at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in Glasgow, Scotland. He says that this predictive processing framework theory is as important to brain science as evolution is to biology.

Volko stated artificial intelligence, in a way, amounts to prediction done by computers. The unsupervised learning becomes a form of artificial intelligence. Here, “the machine automatically detects common properties of subsets of the given training data set and is able to classify new data accurately,” Volko stated.

That leads to some more specifics. The nature of a neural network becomes one. According to Volko, the basic premise comes from an artificial neuron in a computer. Each artificial neuron gets input. Artificial neurons link to one another. The output of one neuron becomes the input of another neuron.

Typically, the processing of the input comes from arithmetical operations, e.g., addition, multiplication, and subtraction.

Volko continued, “So, the way a neural network works is: There is some input; this input is sent to the first layer of artificial neurons; the output of these artificial neurons is then sent to the second layer of artificial neurons, and so on, until we get a final output value.”

One of the learning algorithms used to train a neural network is deep learning. Where a machine learns through modification of the neural network, the algorithm used to accomplish this: backpropagation. Each artificial neuron works with a weight. The weights per artificial neuron change “until the output of the network better fits the expectations. With the term weight I am referring to factors with which the input values are multiplied before they are added or subtracted,” Volko said.

The final two forms, relevant to the article domain of discussion, come in evolutionary algorithms and genetic programming. As a separate paradigm of research, though work is ongoing to merge evolutionary algorithms and neural networks Volko notes, evolutionary algorithms work with a mathematical function.

A mathematical function in need of improvement. “By various operations, you modify this function, generating several variants. Then you test which variants produce the best results. This process is called selection and it is inspired by natural (Darwinian) selection,” Volko stated.

Of the best “variants,” these generate novel variants for experimentation or testing. Volko said variant generation can be done through “mutation” and “recombination.” Both inspired by evolutionary theory. One variant on evolutionary algorithms emerges in the form of genetic programming.

Rather than a specific mathematical function, a whole program gets evolved.“I once wrote a program called “GPgl” which evolves a program that generates graphical output. Some of the results of this are quite fascinating, see: http://hugi.scene.org/adok/miscellaneous/gpgl.htm,” Volko said. Then this touched onto some of the applications for everyday people.

One came from dating sites. Volko notes numerous possible applications for the artificial intelligences. He argues the limit will come from the human imagination. He proposes the possibility of a dating site, which asks users to rate possible partners on a 1 to 10 scale.

Or, the users can rate several traits individually. “Based on these ratings, the dating site could compute which person would most probably be the best fit for the user as a partner,” Volko said, “Other applications include natural language processing (e.g.www.deepl.com), facial recognition, games (e.g. chess or Go), medical diagnosis,…”

Artificial intelligence is happening now, at least in a narrow fashion. However, the applications are broad. The continued encroachment of artificial intelligence into our lives needs more attention, especially as technology continues to shake and rattle the fabric of global society – even down to the nitty-gritty of our dating lives.

—

Of course, if a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.

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2022-04-21

Professor Anthony Pinn on Gender, Race, and Humanism

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/06

Professor Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities at Rice University. He earned his B.A. from Columbia University, and M.Div. and Ph.D. in the study of religion from Harvard University. He is an author, humanist, and public speaker. Also, and this is in no way a complete listing of titles or accomplishments, Pinn is the Founding Director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) at Rice University.

Here we talk about the gender, race, humanistic aesthetics, and more.

Professor Pinn and I talked about gender, race, and humanism. I appreciated the time taken by one of the foremost humanist thinkers in America, especially for a Canadian. When I asked about the manifestations of the more restricted gender roles for men and women, I framed the question within European-American and African-American communities.

Pinn responded from a different perspective. That is, the view of gender roles cutting across the construction of race in social life. He stated, “That is to say, the restricted and restrictive nature of, say, masculinity and femininity are not defined in terms of ‘blackness’ or ‘whiteness’ but rather in terms of the larger social framework of the Western World. The difference is this: for African Americans, for instance, these restrictive gender roles are also tied to certain forms of stigma associated with race and class.”

I then asked about the humanistic outlook. The ways in which humanism may provide a broader set of possibilities for gender roles for men and women.

“Humanism doesn’t necessarily provide a broader set of possibilities for gender roles. This is because humanists live in cultural worlds, just like theists. As a result, humanists can be just as guilty of encouraging restrictive gender roles. The difference is this: humanists don’t attribute this bad thinking to divine forces,” Pinn explained.

Pinn has expertise in multiple areas. One domain seemed like the aesthetic of African-American humanism. He said, “My answer depends on what you mean by ‘aesthetic.’ In a general sense, there is no overarching ‘style’ or ‘mood’ associated with humanism in African American community – just as there is no one way to be ‘black.’”

I wanted to conclude on knowing some the nuanced and updated to the modern period expectations. The ways in which men and women can contribute to North American societies with newer roles suited to the times.

“The key isn’t to simply “borrow” from one group to correct the problems of others. The key is to understand the constructed nature of gender, to privilege healthy life options that promote the freedom to define and perform ourselves in complex and layered ways,” Pinn concluded, “The goal should be to remove modes of injustice that work against health life options and the beauty of diversity in its various forms.”

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2022-04-21

Responsibilities Via Recognition of Excellence and Quality Public Speaking

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/06

Professor Gordon Guyatt, MD, MSc, FRCP, OC is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact and Medicine at McMaster University. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Here we talk about responsibility to various communities with recognition of professional excellence and the differences between good and bad public speaking.

In the extended 2017 interview in In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Guyatt and I talked about the numerous representations in the media. He gets representation in the news, in interviews, in articles, in peer-reviewed articles, and so on.

The responsibilities come from the influence or the power. The influential garner responsibility by virtue of power. People listen to them. It depends on the community too. Guyatt seems to gain power and so the responsibility to the medical, public policy, and scientific community.

When I asked about it, Guyatt stated, “To behave with integrity, the main responsibility when you disseminate is accuracy. Another specific concern is a conflict of interest. Many people within the medical community who take public stances are conflicted. They get lots of money from industry. It is hard for that not to influence you.”

He talked about other conflicts of interest. These can mean intellectual conflicts of interest. That is, a researcher prefers their own research compared to others. If someone has evidence or research in disagreement with one’s own, then the other person must be wrong.

Guyatt finds this as a universal phenomenon. “There is a responsibility to be aware of one’s conflict of interest. When there are conflicts of interest, it is crucial to make the conflicts clear. Also, there is a responsibility to attempt to minimize the conflicts of interest, and the presentation and interpretation of things,” Guyatt explained.

He also mentioned the responsibility to listen to others and remain open to other perspectives. In the midst of the presentation to the public, there comes the added benefit of public speaking engagements. People with influence and professional respect get speaking engagements.

They are asked to talk to the public and to constituencies in the professional community. In this case, it is in the medical community. I asked about the good public speakers versus the bad ones.

Guyatt said, “There are the same pieces if you’re talking about medicine and public policy, or whether you’re talking about basic clin-epi. We will talk about large group presentations. [Laughing] I run a course on how to teach evidence-based healthcare.”

He gave an analogy with lectures, on the goodness or badness of a lecture. Guyatt’s first tip is to be enthusiastic. No one wants to see a boring speaker. This gives the impression to the audience of an interesting and energetic presentation.

“I never speak from behind a podium. I give a roving mic. I come out in front of the audience getting or becoming immediate with the audience. As one of my colleagues has said, ‘Just talk to them.’ Which means, be calm, relaxed, and conversational, and look around, and talk to the people in front of you, you should make eye contact,” Guyatt explained.

To give a good speech, and to have public recognition, these go hand-in-hand.

To give a good speech, and to have public recognition, these go hand-in-hand. There is a responsibility to be a good speaker or at least give a better public speech. With a bigger audience, Guyatt continued, there can be the chance to give eye contact to people all over the place.

Another rule is to be organized and repeat in a proper manner.

“Well-organized, very knowledgeable about what you’re talking about, we have a rule: ‘Tell’em what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell’em what you’ve said.’ An organization includes, ‘Okay, folks, here are the major points I’m going to make,’ Guyatt stated, “You do it. At the end, you say, ‘Okay, folks, what might you want to take away from this, what major points have we made.’ That structure is a crucial thing.”

One other thing is to have humor and to tell the stories in an effective and convincing way. You can tell many stories to illustrate everything. A final point is to vary the tone. Guyatt will have pace and modulation in tone per point.

Altogether, a good speech is another responsibility, and a concrete example of that to the public, which comes from the professional recognition of excellence.

—

The British Medical Journal or BMJ had a list of 117 nominees in 2010 for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Guyatt was short-listed and came in second-place in the end. He earned the title of an Officer of the Order of Canada based on contributions from evidence-based medicine and its teaching.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2012 and a Member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2015. He lectured on public vs. private healthcare funding in March of 2017, which seemed like a valuable conversation to publish in order to have this in the internet’s digital repository with one of Canada’s foremost academics.

For those with an interest in standardized metrics or academic rankings, he is the 14th most cited academic in the world in terms of H-Index at 222 and has a total citation count of more than 200,000. That is, he has the highest H-Index, likely, of any Canadian academic living or dead.

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

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2022-04-21

Autonomy and Equity Values and Preferences in Practical Terms

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/05

Here we talk about the practical terms of equity and autonomy for Canadians in healthcare with a note on national pharmacare.

On the concrete side of the funding, Guyatt reflected on the situation in Canada. I wanted a more practical look at the costs associated with different value sets. Where in terms of values and preferences, Canadians prefer equity more than autonomy.

Although, some Canadians value autonomy too. However, the costs associated with each differ. They differ for different populations. They do not come out the same. Autonomy as the main value preference. It is associated with private healthcare.

It costs less for the rich and more for the poor. Equity as the main value and preference. It is associated with public healthcare. It may cost some more for the rich. However, it costs less for the poor.

America exemplifies the value and preference of autonomy or choice. Canada and Western Europe characterize the value and preference of equity. Canadian citizens value equity more than autonomy.

“People continue to put a high value on healthcare. I would anticipate that if, in fact, the curve starts swinging up again. We could quite reasonably tolerate, for instance, a 1% increase in our GDP devoted to healthcare. People will tolerate that pretty easily,” Guyatt explained.

With the 1% increase, I wanted to probe deeper. What would this mean in practical terms?

“Everyone [Laughing] would have to pay 5% more in tax burden. Of course, it is how you distribute that. If it were in a Trumpian way, the rich would pay less and everybody else would pay more,” Guyatt stated, “Or you could distribute it in various ways. It means a relatively marginal increase in taxes across the population.”

When I queried about the American administration in office now, Guyatt described the current delivery method of healthcare in the US highly inefficient.

“It is clear that the US way of delivering healthcare is extremely inefficient, extremely inequitable. It turns out on average that there are not better outcomes achieved and probably not as good outcomes in many areas,” Guyatt stated, “They are wasteful and poor outcomes. It is not a very good deal.”

American citizens, unfortunately, pay more for worse outcomes. Guyatt explained a systematic review of health outcomes done by colleagues and himself. In the systematic review, in an analysis on similar conditions, they compared the United States and Canada.

30 conditions were looked at in the research. “There were about 30 conditions that we looked at in the research,” Guyatt said, “There were 15 of them for which there was no difference, essentially, between Canadian and US outcomes. There was about 10 of them with Canadian outcomes as better and 5 with American as better.”

They submitted the paper the first time. They said that the US pays more and do not gain anything. The journal reviewer who examined the academic paper stated that Canadian outcomes are on mean better.

“We became less conservative after our peer reviews. On average, the Canadian outcomes are better. The very conservative statement is that the Americans are paying more on average for worse outcomes if you look across the spectrum,” Guyatt said, “We are constantly decrying the support for evidence in political decision making (academics). The continued support for universal healthcare. The governments, Kathleen Wynne extended healthcare to the under 25.”

People would pay less for equal or better drug coverage with a pharmacare program done across the country. A national pharmacare program akin to the national healthcare program. This is independent of the concern of whether the politicians could communicate this to people.

Canadian citizens would pay less. If you look at the American case, “the US may be paying somewhat fewer taxes – even though that is somewhat questionable, but their payments are gigantically more,” Guyatt said.

If Canada had a national pharmacare program, then Canadians would gain in the lowered drug costs. This would “more than make up for any increased taxes. However, Guyatt concluded, “There is no groundswell for universal pharma care.”

—

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2022-04-21

Distinguished Professor Gordon Guyatt on Equity and Autonomy in Medical Care

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/05

Here we talk about equity and autonomy values around the world in medical care. This amounts to part of the evidence-based medicine model with values and preferences considered in medical care within the context of technological advances.

Guyatt, when asked about the aging populations of North America and Europe, responded on the valuation of equity over autonomy, and vice versa. The value judgment depends on values of preferences.

Those values and preferences come from culture. These influence individual and societal medical care decisions. Guyatt included Japan in with the Western world in terms of the aging population, which amounts to a significant problem in the demographics.

“Most of the Western world in terms of the aging population, and also Japan, are substantially ahead of North America. A big thing that people do not realize in terms of healthcare for populations and the aging of the population is that the huge bulk of expenditures comes in the last year of life,” Guyatt explained.

People live longer. Whether we die at 100 or 60, the largest bulk of healthcare expenses come from the last year of life. We get sick. We age. Sooner or later, we die. Guyatt said there has been a good job in the constraining of costs.

The technological advances, according to Guyatt, have raised the costs of healthcare. However, this depends on the costs people feel willing to pay out. The advances in technology can be drugs, surgical devices, and other things.

These improve health outcomes but cost more than before. Guyatt stated, “We live longer, longer, and longer. Yes, we may have to, if we want to take advantage of all of the technological advances that are going to continue even though the last 7 years it has not gone up, spend more of our GDP on healthcare.”

If done efficiently, according to Guyatt, then this will be public expenditures rather than private expenditures. He argues, in the next 100 years, that Canada, as an example, will get close to what the United States spends as a portion of its GDP on healthcare.

The US spends about 18% at the moment. However, I am aware of Moore’s Law in information technologies and the Law of Accelerating Returns. This brought a question to mind for me. I stated, “Technology becomes cheaper over time. Phones were for the rich decades ago. They were not good. But they became better. The poorer were able to afford them and the phones were far better.”

“It is a great point. 50 years ago, everybody had to live with their debilitating hip osteoarthritis or knee osteoarthritis. Now, hundreds of thousands of people are getting their hips and knees replaced,” Guyatt responded, “That ended up costing money for years. The hip and knee replacements have become much more efficient. People used to stay in the hospital a week after the hip replacement. Now, it can be the same day. It is a good point.”

He surmised that this may be the reason for the stagnation in the increase in health care cost as a percentage of the GDP in Canada. Potentially, this may extend to other nations as well. Some of the advances can raise costs. Other can decrease them.

In the end analysis, the increase in efficiency may balance out with the increase in costs due to more advanced technology introduced into the global medical care market.

Guyatt, in a final example, concluded, “Another huge example of that is it used to be 45% of our healthcare expenditures were spent in the hospital. Now, it is 30%. There has been a gigantic shift to doing things as an outpatient, which is a much more efficient way of operating.”

—

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2022-04-21

On Gender Roles in Fundamentalist Religion

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/04

Karrar Al Asfoor is the Co-Founder of the United Atheists of Europe. Asfoor is also the Co-Founder of Atheist Alliance – Middle-East and North Africa. United Atheists of Europe is an organization in development, more in theory than in practice, and devoted to the unification of atheist efforts in Europe. Here we talk about Islam and gender roles from Asfoor’s perspective.

When I asked Asfoor about the standard gender roles in Islam, Asfoor talked about the complete dominance of men over women. That is, the women are treated as if property or chattel for men. Asfoor considered the most appropriate term “slaves.” Women become slaves for men.

The restrictions for human possibilities are greater for women than for men. “Many women in the Muslim world spend their whole life among four walls,” Karrar stated, “They are not allowed to go out without approval from their families. Many of them never get the opportunity to study or work.”

In addition to these restrictions on women, women spend the first portions of their lives inside of the house and then the second portions of life in the husband’s place. They work there. The work includes cleaning, cooking, and raising children.

Karrar said, “This policy is not only unfair for women but also it causes the society to operate in half of its power causing it to collapse and that’s why the Islamic world is going backward while the rest of the world is going forward.”

Women lose out; society loses out. I asked about the divinely prescribed gender roles in Islam. Asfoor quoted four verses: Verse 4:34, Verse 4:11, Verse 4:3, and Verse 2:282. “Verse 4:34 in the Quran clearly states that men are dominant over women. They have the right to beat them. Furthermore, Verse 4:11 gives women half the share of men when dividing the inheritance,” Asfoor explained.

Verse 4:3 permitted men to marry up to 4 women including additional sex slaves. Verse 2:282 says two female witnesses are equal to only one male witness. Asfoor considered these indicative of women seen as half-humans or less than half humans within the faith.

I asked for a comparative analysis. That is the perspective on the standards stated before. Then the humanistic standard that has been seen elsewhere in different documents. Do these seem humanistic in general? Do these consider women as full human beings? I wanted to know more.

Asfoor, stating in the negative. Islam seems non-humanistic to Asfoor. He concluded, “Because every self-aware being is actually looking for happiness and rejecting pain, and considering them not to be full humans just because they don’t have male sexual parts is something ridiculous, irrational, and not humanistic at all, it causes pain to them and this is an immoral act.”

Asfoor sees these principles and standards set for women as non-humanistic.

—

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. He authored/co-authored some e-books, free or low-cost. If you want to contact Scott: Scott.D.Jacobsen@Gmail.com. We published other interviews in Canadian Atheist, Humanist Voices, and Personal Medium account.

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2022-04-21

The Exciting Research in Medicine and Critical Thinking About Medical Care

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/04

Here we talk about the research that helps the low income and the critical thinking stance to take on pseudo-medicines or medicine purporting to help but does not in the end.

In 2017, I had the chance to talk with a leading medical research, distinguished professor Gordon Guyatt. He specializes in evidence-based medicine. I wanted to talk about some important research and some practical tips for the public.

Tips for the public to avoid snake oil and bogus remedies. We started on the research and then moved onto the practical tips. When I asked about the research, I focused on the research with the most potential to improve health outcomes for the low income.

On low-income Canadians, Guyatt stated, “The best way to improve the health of low-income folks is to decrease income gradients and that would have far more impact than any particular health interventions.”

That is, if society could stop or reduce smoking, then this would improve the health outcomes of the entire population. Lifetime smokers have seven few years of life than non-smokers. That is significant. Who would not pay for another 2,000-3,000 days of life, especially near the end of life?

It is a “far bigger gradient that can come from any particular health interventions. So if we can persuade everyone to stop smoking, that would have an enormous impact on health. While medical innovations have made a big impact on both quality and quantity, there are other things like income gradients, like health habits – in particular, smoking – that have a bigger impact,” Guyatt explained.

As a provincial, national, and, indeed, international expert in evidence-based medicine, this became an important point to convey to me. In particular, the clarity comes from the expertise, knowledge, years in the field, and reading the research.

“Medical treatment has made a big impact on various areas, including cardiovascular disease and treatments and cancer. Those were made because those were the biggest sources of morbidity and mortality in society. That is where I see the biggest continuing potential: certainly, within the area of cancer, our understanding biology has advanced enormously,” Guyatt said.

He states that there will be a steady intake of new preventions and therapies. Many fatal cancers will be chronic diseases in the future. This has been happening. He predicts this will continue into the future. When I shifted the conversation to the critical thinking part. I wanted some simple tips.

Guyatt stated, “What they can do is learn the basic principles of deciding what evidence is trustworthy and what is not. That should be possible. A colleague of mine by the name of Andy Oxlan has completed a large randomized trial in Africa of teaching school-age kids about recognizing, as you put it, snake oil from legitimate health claims.

Oxlan’s randomized trial showed that kids improved substantially in their ability to make the distinctions. At the same time, the parents’ ability to make these decisions improved too. Now, these are highly poor or poverty-stricken areas of the world in parts of the African continent.

We live in a rich country with more resources including information. That would make our job easier in terms of taking a proactive approach to personal health claims.

“Should people decide to educate themselves, they all would be in a position to make judgments themselves. They should certainly be in the position, even with quite limited knowledge,” Guyatt explained, “of asking their clinicians to justify what evidence there is to base what is being suggested and to challenge the physician or the clinician in explaining – to be made knowledgeable of the evidence that supports what they’re doing.”

—

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2022-04-21

Distinguished Professor Gordon Guyatt on the Canadian Healthcare System

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/03

Here we talk about the big wins from public healthcare compared to private healthcare on most metrics.

Guyatt and I continued the conversations on the societal variables of the United States. Those variables or factors to make the US an outlier compared to other developed nations/rich nations with good infrastructure.

“I think most people would say that the United States in terms of that value that we were talking about earlier. That is, the value one puts on autonomy versus the value one puts on equity or social solidarity. The US public has extremely different values,” Guyatt opined.

The ability to do one’s own thing. The freedom to choose as one wishes. The chance to be an autonomous and self-governing individual. This is a higher value to Americans than Canadians. This plays out in the healthcare system too.

Guyatt stated, “So, that the fact that it could even be an issue that you could legally insist that people purchase insurance for their healthcare in one way or another – by governments making it available to them. It would inconceivable in Western Europe that that would be a question.

That is, there are influences of the cultural trends on the selection preferences of the population with Western Europe and Canada more towards public healthcare tendencies and the United States towards the private healthcare tendencies.

There is an influence of attitudes – or values and preferences in the evidence-based medicine literature vernacular – on the desired social programs “across the spectrum.

“Social solidarity, equity, support for the disadvantaged, so on and so forth, is much more highly valued in Western Europe and Canada than it is in the United States,” Guyatt said.

With background, I stated, “I see this attached to your work with Evidenced-Based Medicine with the part that was added on later in the research with ‘values and preferences.’ Culture influences values and preferences even to the extent of administrative costs being swallowed.”

Guyatt responded, “Yes, you are absolutely right. Way back in 2002, when Roy Romanow did his work on a recommendation to the government about a healthcare recommendation, he surveyed Canadians in a variety of formats.”

Base on the survey collective data set analysis, Canadians placed equity as a high value and not autonomy; where the United States, they value autonomy more than equity. In terms of the implications of the financing and the things people pay for healthcare, Guyatt argues there is misinformation.

He considers Americans horrified with the possibility of not being able to pay for quicker and better healthcare. For social solidarity and equity in contrast to autonomy, Scandinavian nations and the United States of America differ starkly.

—

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2022-04-21

The Wins from Public Healthcare in the Canadian Healthcare System for Most Citizens

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/03

Here we talk about the big wins from public healthcare compared to private healthcare on most metrics.

Professor Guyatt ran for the NDP four times and lost “honorably” four times. He replied, “I do not know about honorably.” At that point, I laughed because it was a good joke. However, this prefaced some conversation with Guyatt about healthcare.

For example, the New Democratic Party in Canada may more probably work with platform positions and policies leaning more in ways favorable to the general public regarding healthcare. For those on the outside of this slant, they may value choice.

These types value the freedom and autonomy in their healthcare selections. This means the private funding model of healthcare, which benefits the rich. The other, the NDP type mentioned before, represents benefits or interests more for the poor.

Although, simplistic, it represents the split between private and public healthcare well.

“Those are different perspectives. The issue is if one were talking about the values issue. The value comes down to equity versus what people call ‘autonomy’ or ‘choice,’” Guyatt explained, “On the one hand, there are people who say, ‘You should not have financial barriers to high-quality healthcare. Everyone should get the highest quality healthcare that the system has to offer.’ That is one value.”

The other value Guyatt describes is the ways in which people spend money on healthcare similar to other things in their lives, including a better house or an upgrade in a car. That is, the individual Canadian citizen should be able to spend resources in a similar way on their healthcare.

Guyatt stated, “That is a fundamental value and preference divide, which tends to follow a left-right distribution. The folks on the left value equity more. The folks on the right value choice or autonomy more.”

The discussion shifted into an elimination of autonomy as a consideration. The frame of mind or outcomes if one takes choice or freedom as a value within the set of values thought important for oneself.

“Let’s say one thinks it is a good thing to constrain healthcare expenditures and say that you do not want too much GDP going towards health, the dramatic contrast with that concern is the United States and more or less the rest of the high-income countries,” Guyatt said.

Guyatt compared various areas and countries of the world on private and public healthcare. The United States is 45% public and 55% private. Canada is about 70% public and 30% private. France and Germany are about 75% public and Scandinavia tends to be over 80% public and at or below 20% private.

The United States, in developed nations, stands out. It becomes the proverbial sore thumb or a “big outlier with a much smaller proportion public than the rest of the Western world,” Guyatt described.

“Not coincidentally, they take the cake in terms of percentage of GDP spent on healthcare in the vicinity of 18% now. So, the reasons for that is administrative costs are in Canada perhaps 16 and 17% of our healthcare expenditures,” Guyatt stated, “In the US, it is over 30%. As soon as you make people pay privately, everybody has to buy health insurance, then you have huge administrative costs.”

That means insurance companies need to be founded and maintained. They make packages. They compete with one another. A large documentation is needed for all health services. This becomes a big administrative cost with the private funding compared to the public funding.

Guyatt concluded, “Government cannot constrain healthcare costs, essentially. They cannot set boundaries effectively within a private funding model. In terms of constraining healthcare costs, public funding is an out and out winner by a long margin.”

—

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project (here, here, here, here, and here).

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2022-04-21

Professor Gordon Guyatt on Healthcare in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/02

Here we talk about the potentials for a private versus public healthcare.

In a March, 2017, Professor Gordon Guyatt talked about private healthcare versus public healthcare. He looked into the distinct advantages and disadvantages of public and private healthcare in Canada.

I reached out to him to become more informed on the topic. When I talked to him, he noted people want to know how to decide on the relative merits of public healthcare funding versus private healthcare funding. A few things arise for people, according to Guyatt.

Some of the questions raised is health outcomes. For example, the impact of people’s health, the access to care, the impact on the patient satisfaction, and the impact on autonomy or choice. Then there is healthcare cost or spending too.

Individual Canadian citizens who can afford and prefer private healthcare funding need a primer, first. Guyatt notes the large amount of misinformation. There is a misinformation coming for a number of reasons.

Guyatt states that the mindset as follows: “things aren’t working the way they are now. There has got to be a better way, at least with respect to physician and hospital services. Perhaps, we should try something different.”

That can be one driver for it. People want something different. They look for something different than the current setup. The benefits or the outcomes of the private versus the public funding will depend on the individual.

If someone is poor or rich, or penurious or wealthy, the considerations and benefits or outcomes become different for people. The changes in outcomes happen across this spectrum. It is also different if a healthcare provider compared to a consumer.

“When I talk to audiences, there are notions that people have about what is affordable. There are notions people have about what it will do to their own income,” Guyatt stated, “Those will influence things. Often it starts off with ‘public funding of healthcare is not sustainable.’ To deal with that, I ask, ‘What do you think has happened to healthcare expenditures as a proportion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the last 7 years?’”

He begins to give some options of the amount going up over every year, most years, and so on. Many people become surprised at the answer. The amount has stagnated or decline. “So, as a percentage of GDP, healthcare is lower than 7 years ago. Also, they tend to be surprised when you inform them: in 1991, it was 10% of GDP for all healthcare expenditures,” Guyatt said.

At the time of the interview, it was a bit below 11% over more than 25 years. With public healthcare expenditures, it becomes more extreme over 25 years at about 7% to 7.5%. This can shape the perception of people about healthcare.

Guyatt concluded, “In general, that leads people to rethink the unaffordability of public funding of healthcare. Often, that is the first thing in people’s minds.”

—

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project (here, here, here, here, and here).

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2022-04-21

National Pharmacare for Everyone in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/02

Here we talk about the potentials for a national pharmacare program.

—

Professor Guyatt and I talked about the dynamics between the medicare and pharmacare systems for Canada. The important point, the former exists; the latter does not exist. Why? “Historical accident,” Guyatt said.

The national healthcare program never expanded to a national pharmacare program out of historical accident. Most developed nations have one. It drastically lowers the price for most people, so benefits more of the population.

Other nations of the developed world considered this to a greater extent. The Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau not too long ago talked about the formation of a committee and then the development of a national healthcare program in Canada.

At the time of the interview, Guyatt, though things may have changed, stated, “The status of that is, at the moment, unfortunate. So, Eric Hoskins resigned as health minister in Ontario to go and work on this. We thought – it is hard to know – that he was quite progressive. That he would be doing this because it is very exciting to have a real national pharmacare.

Bill Morneau (at the time of the interview) talked about the possibility of a mixed public-private healthcare system akin to the system developed by the Obama Administration prior to the Trump Administration in the United States.

“If it happens that way, it will be extremely unfortunate. Whereas, people who are interested in national pharmacare got very excited about the apparent initiative. The way Morneau has talked about it, subsequently, has considerably dampened the enthusiasm and gotten people much more worried,” Guyatt laments.

For the lower socioeconomic status or SES Canadians, the prices can be big issues. These are people with part-time jobs, poorly paying jobs, and low-skill jobs. This lead some of the conversation into the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

It is about 10-15 years, depending on reportage, in lifespan not to mention healthspan between Indigenous Canadians, as Professor Guyatt has likely read and knew. It is a national concern. According to a colleague Professor Guyatt talked with, apparently, some Indigenous have drug coverage. That spares some the problem.

Other folks, the lower-income Canadians in general, will have a real problem; the ones without drug coverage have a real problem on their hands. When I asked for numbers on the problem, Guyatt stated, “I have seen different statistics. I think it would be of the order of 15% or 20% who, when asked, would say, ‘I haven’t filled a prescription because of the financial issues.’”

Some activism became part of the conversation as well. Guyatt described how letters to the fedral MPs can be a great help. Those letters with group signatures for pharmacare. Guyatt opined, “I think the politicians are more impressed at individual letters, individually written. Anyone who cares about pharmacare and who would like to write an, even brief, individual letter. Those things make a difference.”

The things most appealing, likely, to the poorer Canadians would be the coverage for everyone under 25 in Ontario by Kathleen Wynne, according to Guyatt.

“So, people on social assistance over 65 get coverage. Now, she has extended it to everyone under 25. Here is pharmacare for everyone under 25,” Guyatt explained, “Now, it is a relatively easy population because people under 25 don’t usually need many drugs. So, it is good. It is nice. But a relatively inexpensive group to extend to. In terms of what is required to gain both the equity and the efficiency goals, it is a program that would simply give universal coverage. The way we have for physicians in hospitals.”

—

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project (here, here, here, and here).

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2022-04-21

The Canadian National Opioid Guideline from 2017

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/01

Here we talk about the start of national opioid guidelines for Canada from late 2017.

Professor Guyatt helped with the national opioid guidelines. He talked about the over-prescription of non-cancer pain alongside an increase in excessive doses of opioids for it. This led to narcotic dependency among the population of these users.

“Everybody knows this is a problem. An earlier Canadian guideline in the days before people were really waking up to this, basically, did not say when to use opioids. It said, ‘If you decide to use opioids, what are the best ways? What are the guides for giving out the opioids?’”

Within the context of the medical community and the patients receiving care, the reasonableness of these prescriptions was within it. People needed care. People were in pain. Opioids reduced the pain.

Problem solved. However, the problem came with unpredicted side effects. It contributed to the opioid overprescribing, which was a problem.

“So, a couple of years ago, and a few months ago produced, a national guideline for opioid use,” Guyatt stated, “It starts out saying, ‘Before you use opioids, try non-steroidal, try drugs like Acetaminophen, try a number of other drugs such as those in the anticonvulsant class that have analgesic properties. Some antidepressants have analgesic properties. Bottom line: do not use opioids as your first, second, or third option. Try other things before you move to opioids.’”

The next finding for the Canadian medical community was the opioids were really great for the short-term but powerful pain, or acute pain. These provided substantially positive effects for the acute pain of patients.

However, there is a point at which the patients become used to the opioids. That means the opioid effects wear off. “When you give opioids chronically, the effect is actually quite limited,” Guyatt said.

If there was a visual analogue of the pain as a scale with 0 as no pain and 10 as the worst pain, chronic opioids only lower pain by about one unit on the scale using whole numbers. A 6 becomes a 5 and a 4 becomes a 3, and so on.

“Very modest effect, it has lots of side effects,” Guyatt explained, “So, the guidelines say, ‘Do not give large doses of opioids. No extra benefits, extra risks, if you are going to give opioids, first try everything else, then when you try this make the dose modest.’”

The guidelines also provided people who are stuck on opioids how to reduce their opioid use and even eliminate opioids as part of their medication set.

Guyatt concluded, “A whole set of recommendations for dealing with the over-prescription of opioids. That will hopefully lead to much better prescribing.”

—

He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project (here, here, and here).

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2022-04-21

The Beginning of the National Healthcare Coverage in Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/01

Here we talk about the start of national healthcare coverage for Canadians.

The conversation went into the beginning of the national healthcare coverage in Canada. Dr. Gordon Guyatt described how the program was a national hospital insurance program and began in the late 1950s.

He stated the big change came from the bringing in of the physician services under the national program. We call this Medicare. The Premier of Saskatchewan in the early 1960s, Tommy Douglas, made the provincial program cover the physician services.

“The physicians were very unhappy. There was a physician strike. They had to bring in people from England to fill in the gaps, but, eventually, the physicians lost that battle. There was a Medicare program for physicians’ services in Saskatchewan,” Guyatt stated, “It is for this reason that some people see Douglas as the father of Canadian Medicare. A few years later, the Pearson government passed legislation that enabled the national Medicare program that we have. Now, medicine, medical services, in Canada are a provincial responsibility, so that the federal government could not bring in their own program.”

There was a need to persuade the other provinces of the need for the program. That the program meets the federal standards. The incentive was if the program met a minimum standard then 50% of the cost would be paid. It was a “very enticing” carrot for the provinces.

By the late 1960s, legislation was being passed and by 1971/72 the rest of the provinces bought into the deal. “Now, we have effectively national public insurance for physicians as well as hospital services. Canadians have been the beneficiaries,” Guyatt opines.

Healthcare may be less important to young people than to old people because young people tend to be healthier than old people. Young people develop illnesses with, at times and unfortunately, fatal or seriously injurious consequences.

“If you want a picture of the difference, you would only have to look south of the border. You come from a high-income family. Your parents in the States have probably purchased insurance from you, or can pay if you have problems,” Guyatt explained, “If you are low income or middle income, and not fully insured, which would be the case for a lot of young people who say, ‘Okay, I am low-risk. Why should I pay these very high insurance costs?’”

You are in big trouble. That is a worry and a burden that you are free of in Canada. It makes a big difference to our quality of life. The feeling, “If I fall into problems, then I have a system there. That will deal with me. That I will not be constrained from it because of cost.”

When I asked about younger Canadians feeling more precariousness in their sense of security around health without the Canadian national healthcare program, Guyatt said, “I think inevitably. If you had been in the United States, you would either have one of two choices. You pay insurance. There are varying levels of insurance. You pay the basic insurance. That you might be able to afford, but that means if you get sick then you have additional payments that you can’t afford.”

Some people may take the risk. Others may not take the risk. However, if they take the risk and become sick, then they will be in real trouble because underinsurance is the number one cause of United States citizen bankruptcy. It has to do with people getting sick.

“Most people who go bankrupt have some insurance,” Guyatt notes, “But they are underinsured. There is a whole level of insurance, where to be well-insured costs a lot of money. So, the choices facing young people in the United States who are not from very affluent families is not a cheerful one.”

—

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2022-04-21

An Empathy Chasm in Young Men is a Problem

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/31

I want to talk about young men today.

In Psychology Today, Professor Philip Zimbardo commented on the state of affairs for young men. He does not have a positive prognosis so far, especially without remedial changes for them, and by them for that matter.

Zimbardo opens the articles with the statement and question, “As our kids and grandkids head back to school for a new semester, we are thinking about more than their grade point average. We are thinking about their safety, their development, and what’s going to happen when they graduate. Are the kids really going to be all right?”

The emphasis is on the concern of the older generations, “parents and grandparents,” regarding their young. In turn, this implies the nation’s young. Though this happens globally, such as some issues for young men, this becomes any nation’s youth.

The boys are not alright, but girls seem to be doing more swimmingly in more ways than the boys who become young men and the girls who become young women.

Zimbardo continued, “Whether we’ll admit it or not, young men as a group are getting left behind amid the shifting economic, social, and technological landscape. Everyone knows a young man who is struggling, either in school or afterward; “failing to launch,” with emotional disturbances, in interactions with the opposite sex, or with drug use and gang activities.”

This produces a problem for the sex dynamics on campuses, for the professional achievement of the young men, and the family formation of the couples. In the United States, where this failure to launch seems more prevalent, the Congressional Office reports one in six men is incarcerated or not working.

It is an increase of 45% since 1980. The mass shootings, perpetrated mostly by men, and suicides have increased drastically as well.

“There is an empathy gap in society when it comes to having compassion for the challenges boys and young men face, the issues that underlie the statistics above,” Zimbardo laments, “Nobody sees investing in boys’ development as “worth it” and as a result boys today are growing up and deciding that it is not worth it for them to invest their time and energy back into their communities.”

What happens as a result in the various cultures? Most prominent phenomena acquire a name with an implied judgment. Many names abound including bamboccioni, diaosi, hikikomori, MGTOW, NEETS, and numerous others.

“The shift into alternative realities disconnects young men further. Asking what’s wrong with them or why aren’t they motivated the same way young men used to be aren’t the right questions. Society is not giving the support, guidance, means, or places for young men to be motivated or interested in aspiring to long-term real-life goals,” Zimbardo stated.

Nikita Coulombe and Zimbardo published variations of a book on this topic. In some of their research, they conducted a survey of about 20,000 people. They wanted to know about the motivational problems for the young men around us.

The top answer for men is a conflict of messages. The institutions in their lives. Their media, parents, and peers. They give a set of images and rules. A set of things they should not do. Some in derogatory and demeaning tones. Does this help them?

For one, the conflicting messages set young men – 18-to-35-year-olds – on a path in life with a double bind, in more precise language: damned if they don’t and damned if they do. Young men left without guidance or conflicts in guidance.

Often, it seems targeted, even for good intentions, with a derogation, a tone of derision. Few people react well to this. Masculinity manifests itself in many forms. As Dr. Leonard Sax notes in another commentary, the attempt to create androgynous men and women failed or seems to be a failure.

The gender differences seem to have, in part and in some areas, exaggerated in not-so-healthy ways. With it, the rise of what has been termed “toxic masculinity” or “hypermasculinity” by feminists and social progressives.

Zimbardo perceives this as viewing masculinity as in and of itself a disease. It leaves questions about a role model or role models more generally for young men and boys. Who models hypo-masculinity or salutary masculinity – so to speak? By which I mean, less jocularly, the sense of a healthy, positive, proactive, and assertive sense of a masculine sense of self for boys to want to grow into and young men and men to become.

“Just one out of five (link is external) elementary and middle school teachers is male, and fatherlessness in America remains above 40 percent (link is external),” Zimbardo explains, “Among boys who do have fathers, the amount of time they spend in one-on-one conversation with their dads is only a fraction of the time they spend in front of a TV or on a computer, where they see men represented as emotionless warriors, hapless dads, or losers who can’t get anything right.”

A decline in the role models combines with only the unhealthy – or toxic masculinity or hypermasculinity if you must – masculinity represented. In gangs, in schools, in peers, in media, in video games, the main roles represented are the unhealthy forms of the masculine self.

Boys want to become gangstas, playas, sexual conquistadors, dominating and domineering dads, unemotional robotic achievement-only men, and buff and powerful mentors respected for any of the aforementioned.

What about becoming fathers? What about achievement in school and in being a compassionate person? What about being a slow and steady, tender and passionate lover who embodies romantic ideals, where sex does not become another commodity?

What about love for one another – the Golden Rule rather than, say, the Bronze Rule of all for myself and nothing for anyone else – in spite of the mean, the cruel, the greedy, the stupid, the bigoted, the irascible, the cowardly, the rude, and others in daily life deserving of similar low regard, as a high value?

Zimbardo said, “In other words, many boys are going from male-absent home environments to male-absent school environments back to male-absent home environments where they then watch toxic male role models on a screen; this begs the question: what kind of future are they supposed to envision for themselves?”

What is this future? Approximately 15 years are between kindergarten and university. That spells trouble into 2033, potentially. Any remedial changes will take time, potentially 15 years. If starting in 2018, then the changes will need 15 years to see the changes in the unhealthy patterns.

Unfortunately, I see little done. At the same time, I predict a continuation of the problems, or an exacerbation for more precision, for at least another decade. “In our book, Man Interrupted (link is external),” Zimbardo plugged, “we explore what’s happening with young men and where they are headed by examining the individual, situational and systemic factors that are contributing to these trends. The concluding chapters offer a set of solutions that can be affected by different segments of society including schools, parents and young men themselves.”

His, Zimbardo’s and I assume Coulombe’s, take-home message comes to guidance and compassion for young men in our lives. Young adulthood remains hellish; to add the burden of demonization by the systems around you, including the stated before of media, peers, parents, and the schools, can be worse than hellish.

Zimbardo reflects, touchingly, on personal experience and opines, “Growing up in poverty, I saw the difference a mentor could make. If we alienate our sons we’re going to lose a whole generation, to say nothing of the ripple effects that impact us all.”

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2022-04-21

Humanism in British Columbia for 2018

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/31

Ian Bushfield, M.Sc., is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Humanist Association (BCHA). The BCHA has been working to have humanist marriages on the same plane as other marriages in the province. Here we talk about recent updates from the view of the BCHA.

Bushfield and I talked several months ago, but I had not caught up with him. So, I decided to follow up with him on the updates from the non-religious, and the humanist more particularly, the landscape in Canada, especially in British Columbia.

Bushfield directed attention to the Government of British Columbia needing to tackle the ongoing housing crisis. This means a committed and concerted effort to work with non-profits, faith groups, and others, to develop more affordable housing united.

He noted the developments – the housing crisis kind – have put vulnerable groups at risk of religious coercion. “While we understand the urgency of getting units built, this shouldn’t come at the cost of violating the human rights of the nonreligious, religious minorities or the LGBTQ+ community,” Bushfield opines.

The second thing he noted as an ongoing concern is the need to table a bill for the creation of a new Human Rights Commission in the fall of 2018. Bushfield explained, “This can be an important institution that acts to proactively protect human rights in the province, including secularism. The devil is going to be in the details so we’ll have to keep our eye on what comes forward.”

For the concerns of the non-religious across the nation in 2018, Bushfield talked about the federal government tabling legislation for the repeal of the blasphemy law in Canada. However, the bill continues to be stalled in the Senate. It has been for several months as of now.

“We need to continue pressing the government and Senators to move the bill forward and ensure its passage this fall. There’s always a small chance that the government will opt to prorogue Parliament over the summer,” Bushfield stated, “and that could mean we have to start from square one again. While we’re on the Senate, the chamber has also created a committee to study Canadian charity law.”

The BCHA is coordinating with the Canadian Secular Alliance in order to speak out against the privileged position of religious groups in Canadian law. To those in some religious communities, this may as unnoticed as birds in air or fish in calm waters; however, to the non-religious, these tend to be more noticed, as if a mild storm for the birds in the air.

Bushfield noted, “Between this and the government’s expected response to an expert report on loosening the rules around charities’ political activities, we have a rare opportunity to remake Canada’s charity laws.”

Bushfield took part in a debate too. It was extended to Bushfield via Apologetics Canada. The debate was between Dr. Andrew or “Andy” Bannister. It was a “cordial dialogue” about Humanism or Christianity providing a better basis for human rights.

Dr. Bannister talked from the Christian view; Bushfield spoke from the Humanist view.

“While Dr. Bannister has far more academic training than me in philosophy and apologetics, I tried to present a layman case for the understanding that morality and therefore our contemporary human rights are the result of a cultural evolutionary process and something we can continually build upon,” Bushfield stated.

Bushfield emphasized the “simple and largely universal approach of the Golden Rule.” He said that he had a lot of fun and encourages people to take a look into the dialogue or debate – here and here.

Bushfield wants to focus on the fundamentals of Humanism over 2018 as a big overarching goal. The goal is to make a difference in the lives of the citizens of British Columbia and Canada as well.

Bushfield describes Humanism as pro-human in the sense that it is not anti-religious but stands more for human rights, democracy, and peace.

“I’m increasingly worried that as a movement we’ve possibly spent too much time on the latter and that’s made some of our spaces less welcoming than we’d want. I think there’s an appetite for the secular, inclusive and progressive message that Humanism can offer and I’m eager to talk more about that,” Bushfield concluded.

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2022-04-21

The Mayo Clinic Anxiety Checklist

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/31

I want to talk to you today about anxiety.

Anxiety can be a restrictor of life quality and general wellbeing. The sense of anxiousness and unwarranted concern through stress can take its toll on mental and physical health.

The Mayo Clinic, of the and often rated the foremost medical clinic in the world, talked about anxiety and the feeling of anxious. Imagine the times when you are in traffic, waiting for the light, or caught in the deep of an uncomfortable social situation. No one wants those, normally.

Some people feel this most or all the time. They are anxious, nervous, concerned but not for a specific reason. They feel generally anxious. They have what is quite literally called generalized anxiety disorder.

It is different than a momentary blip in the anxiety radar. Or a sense of urgency about things for a tad, especially around an assignment due or a big job initiative or promotion. This generalized anxiety disorder can develop at most ages. That means childhood and adulthood where this would become a problem.

Some people have obsessive compulsive disorder. Others have major depressive disorder, still others have this generalized anxiety disorder. It does not make the person good or bad, but does make daily living potentially a little or a lot more difficult for the person to manage it.

Since this, like the others, can be a long-term condition, it can be a challenge for the long haul for the person with the disorder. Some preliminary things that have helped those with it: psychotherapy and medications.

However, you may need to look into the signs of the disorder too. The Mayo Clinic recommends looking at the following signs:

Persistent worrying or anxiety about a number of areas that are out of proportion to the impact of the events
Overthinking plans and solutions to all possible worst-case outcomes
Perceiving situations and events as threatening, even when they aren’t
Difficulty handling uncertainty
Indecisiveness and fear of making the wrong decision
Inability to set aside or let go of a worry
Inability to relax, feeling restless, and feeling keyed up or on edge
Difficulty concentrating, or the feeling that your mind “goes blank”

If you are concerned about a friend or family member, I would recommend looking at or asking about the physical symptoms. This can include fatigue or difficult sleeping. Ask if they have muscle tension or even aches in their muscles, they may have a certain trembling or twitchiness to them.

They may also have developed a general nervousness, sweatiness, and nausea along with it. If you know them really well, they may tell about issues with diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome or irritability in general.

The worries, the psychological manifestations, may be gone, but the individual may have anxiousness left in them. It can cause troubles for the individual in work and in social life. The worries, the things located and pinpointed as conscious concerns, can emerge at times.

For the younger population, and so more advice for aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents, the child or teenager may have issues with performance in school and in sports due to the anxiety. They can have excessive worries about safety of a family member, punctuality, and potential catastrophic events involving earthquakes or nuclear catastrophe, and so on.

One checklist in terms of the excessive worry comes from the article:

Feel overly anxious to fit in
Be a perfectionist
Redo tasks because they aren’t perfect the first time
Spend excessive time doing homework
Lack confidence
Strive for approval
Require a lot of reassurance about performance
Have frequent stomachaches or other physical complaints
Avoid going to school or avoid social situations

This can lead to some questions for doctors. If the anxiety is moderate as a disorder, then the this can interfere with some of the work and friend environment and relations for you. If you are feeling even depressed or irritable, this is important to keep an eye out for, especially if you have other comorbid or co-occurring medical disorders.

If you are having trouble at the extreme end with suicidal thoughts, then you should seek emergency treatment immediately.

Try to catch the issue early to be able to cope earlier, before the more significant issues can, potentially, rear their heads – and good luck, blessings, or whatever works for you.

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2022-04-21

The First Half of 2018 for the Humanist Movement in British Columbia

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/30

Since he leads one of the more prominent humanist organizations in Canada, I wanted to see what was new, up, and all around in the air for the humanist movement in the province.

I asked about the general trends to open the conversation with Bushfield. He described the lack of regular data, saying, “I can only speak broadly, as we don’t get a lot of regular data on the religious and nonreligious make-up of British Columbia. What we do know is that over the past few decades, BC has become increasingly secular where most metrics show a majority of people in the province identify as having no religion and as few as one-in-ten regularly attend religious services.”

As a secular hotbed of activity, but lack of identifiable and rich data for description and extrapolation, this makes the trend finding difficult for the humanist community here in little ol’ British Columbia.

“Within the BC Humanist Association, we’ve continued to see growth throughout 2017 and 2018. Some of our biggest growths in membership and support have come in the past year and we’re really excited to continue that trend through 2018,” Bushfield continued.

In terms of the recent past, as in 2018 so far or the first five months, he noted some developments. There has been an interaction with the British Columbia Government for several months now.

“Some of it has been promising, like their commitment and consultation around rebuilding the province’s Human Rights Commission, while other issues have been a bit more disappointing,” Bushfield explained, “like the continued funding of religious independent schools, possible expansion of faith-based care facilities in Comox and lack of movement on permitting Humanist marriages.”

It seems like a set of positive developments in a democratic fashion for the non-religious. Bushfield remains optimistic about the progress for the non-religious community in British Columbia in coordination, and in a way negotiation, with the Government of British Columbia.

In terms of the campaigns, prominent ones, ongoing for 2018, Bushfield talked about the Supreme Court Decision around the Trinity Western University law school case.

“We intervened at the Court to argue that organizations shouldn’t be able to claim religious exemptions under Canadian law. If the Court adopts our arguments that will be a big defence in Canadian law against the excesses we’re seeing in the USA following Hobby Lobby,” Bushfield stated, “We are also continuing to follow a number of issues such as access to reproductive healthcare and medical assistance in dying and the pushback by religious fundamentalists to improved sexual and gender education in BC schools.”

In other words, these amount to progressive endeavours for secularism in education, women’s rights, reproductive rights, and the right to die as one wishes. For 2018 and 2019, there are a series of projects and campaigns in particular.

The first Bushfield and company are looking to advance are the approximately CAD0.5 billion handed to the private schools in this province alone. The majority of the schools teach in a faith-based setting, which means a religious context – “faith-based” means “religion” as religion got a bad rap.

They “proudly mix creation in their science classrooms,” many of them. “Overall, these schools segregate students by class and religion, which is antithetical to Humanist values,” Bushfield notes.

He continued, “Second, we’re starting to do some work on looking at how BC municipalities treat religious property tax exemptions. They have some latitude in how they treat these exemptions and we know that not all towns simply give a blanket exemption to all churches.”

The final campaign is to look into the overdose crisis and the government responsiveness to it. That the best available evidence is taken into account while respecting individual citizens’ religious, or non-religious in this context, freedoms and rights.

That is a start.

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2022-04-21

On the Future Prospects for Irreligiosity for the Men and Women of Tanzania

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/30

Nsajigwa I Mwasokwa (Nsajigwa Nsa’sam) founded Jichojipya (meaning with new eye) to “Think Anew”. We have talked before about freethought in Tanzania. He is a pioneer freethinker in Tanzania and has trained in Tanzania and Japan in farming, cultural tourism, youth development from the grassroots, worked as a tour guide, in teaching, in translation from English to Swahili and vice versa, and in the incubation and mentorship of the youth. Here we continue the discussion.

Nsajigwa I Mwasokwa (Nsajigwa Nsa’sam) is a pioneer in the freethought movement in Tanzania. Our conversations spanned a wide set of topics.

I asked Nsajigwa about the number of the religious people in Tanzania. He noted about ½ to 1 percent of the population. By comparison, Mensa has about 2% of any population. So, this is a rarefied population in Tanzania.

Not many people, it becomes a small community and, by implication of usual social conventions, the community members will keep quiet for fear of offense or being ousted from the mainstream community.

It becomes a difficult situation. Nsajigwa notes the difficulty in looking ahead for the non-religious population in Tanzania.

Nsajigwa opined, “It is tough to forecast based on the experience that during 1960 – 70s it was thought then that the campaign going on to fight against “enemy ignorance” would, by the year 2000 lead to high level of literacy. It surprises that irrationality and gullibility is still high despite education. Someone said it was free education but also free of knowledge too!”

He says that the prospects, likewise, for the decrease in religiosity will be due to the internet. The fact that an individual Tanzanian can gain access to information on their own. They can become informed on the issues of the day.

The religions over time become questioned from all sides. This questioning weakens the superstructure of religion in general. More properly, the fundamentalist aspects of religion begin to wither compared to their prior ‘glory.’

The zeitgeist of the non-religious continues to assert itself in different, and interesting ways over time. “However there must be efforts like ours of Jichojipya to showcase (thus catalyze) the populace to know that even at the local level there are freethinkers individuals,” Nsajigwa, explained, “that it’s possible to “live clean”, ethically good, rationally guided without a religion, any.”

I asked about the theology or the social cohesion purposes of religion in Tanzania. Nsajigwa described the second being the proper one to conceive of religion in purpose and form. That the religious institutions and leaders work for both, but emphasize the second more.

“The church is powerful theological-wise on what it disseminates each Sunday plus it has several educational institutions that it runs. Mosque exerts quite an influence too,” Nsajigwa stated, “But it’s social cohesion where religion is strong in playing the non-reality of how to conceive the world, as I have explained the impacts of religions to our daily life here. That is a big part, African triple heritage cultural reality on the ground.”

In terms of those who want to help out Tanzania, surrounding countries, or the African diaspora, Nsajigwa gave some recommendations. He says to look for the rational and skeptical perspective on any claim, including religious claims about the world.

The countries around Tanzania should, Nsajigwa suggests, look to foster a skeptical outlook on the world with the foundation of a freethinking, secular, and humanist movement. One from the ground up. A movement build from the grassroots for the general population and by them.

He thinks the African diaspora – those with immediate African heritage around the world – should work to help the “motherland’s emancipation” from the superstitious mental slavery including the religious forms of it.

Nsajigwa argues there should be training of STEM subjects. The foundation of projects with an emphasis on independent thinking, freethinking, secular humanism, and so on, to match the reality of the 21^st century in Africa.

Nsajigwa concluded, “And if you mean Afro-Americans, yes likewise, if they are open-ended Black freethinkers nonbelievers, those free from keeping a blame gaming white man for everything 50 years since civil rights movement, Humanistic to see things beyond either-or black and white. If willing they can help out. In fact, anyone within a human race can help on this. Thanks for the opportunity.”

Other conversations here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. He talks here with Scott Douglas Jacobsen who founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. Nsajigwa’s contact emails: mutazilitesfreethink@gmail.com & jichojipya@gmail.com.

Nsajigwa’s contact emails: mutazilitesfreethink@gmail.com & jichojipya@gmail.com.

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2022-04-20

On the Prejudices and Biases Against Atheists and Freethinkers in Tanzania

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/25

Nsajigwa I Mwasokwa (Nsajigwa Nsa’sam), who is now 53-years-old male from Tanzania who is leading a community and who, founded Jichojipya (meaning with new eye) to “Think Anew”. He is the Founder of Jicho Jipya/Think Anew Tanzania. We have talked before about freethought in Tanzania. Here we talk about atheist thinkers in Tanzania and atheist thinkers and literature.

Here we continue the discussion, other conversations here, here, here, and here, and here, here, here, here, and here.

Tanzania is an interesting country with an intriguing dynamic with the belief system landscape. The non-religious are a marginal or peripheral community within the country. However, there have been prominent, e.g. Kingunge Ngombale-Mwilu – though deceased as of February of this year, public figures who were freethinkers or even atheists.

Those who did not adhere to the central tenets of the faith. This provides a context for understanding some of the differential dynamics compared to, for example, the majority of the Good Men Project readership, insofar as I can discern, who live in North America.

The atheist and freethinking community will undergo severe and minor negative treatment in the public. The view of the African community, according to Nsajigwa, is a community outlook. One based on shared values and solidarity of community with an expectation of conformity of all people in it, of all members residing in the community.

The idea, Nsajigwa stated, is that “things should be done as traditions and what religions require. On religion itself, it is very influential, plus our political culture is illiberal, yes we are a peaceful Nation since independence but skepticism and criticism are not tolerated despite the fact we became a multiparty democracy since 1992.”

In the law, I asked about some of the anti-atheist biases, which may or may not exist. He said, “The founder father Mwalimu Nyerere was, fortunately, a good student of John Stuart Mills philosophy “on liberty”. He made it clear the fact that our Nation is secular though people (including himself) are in religions.”

“There is a temptation though from various players to wish that religion should penetrate more into government because people and their leaders are religious anyway. In Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous government with a majority of its population (90%+) being Moslem, Islamic laws applies (via what are known as kadhi courts) in dealing with matters of inheritance, marriage, and divorce,” Nsajiwa continued.

When I concluded this particular session, querying for potential feelings or thoughts, Nsajigwa talked about the modern world. Our modern cultures and societies with the need to provide an education with an emphasis on the STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – professions. Jichojipya, or Think Anew, is part of this process.

The process of respect for the power of and responsibility that comes from that power of science. A science grounded and guided by a humanistic ethic, a secular humanistic and scientific outlook on the world. Nsajigwa directed attention to the need to eliminate the superstitions that lead to even the murders of Albino people because they are Albino.

“There is modern African triple heritage concept by which in Tanzanian case, Islam, Christian, and Traditionalists are almost one-third each by percentage (35-35-30 respectively), though there is much dominance of the first two in the public while the third (tradition believes) are somehow dormant, activated only when everything else fails to work,” Nsajigwa explained.

He described how many countries are illiberal in Africa. That independent thinking and freethinking are thwarted, where these people suffer lives of hard psychological, physical, and emotional strain because they lack religion. Because they are athests and freethinkers. Full stop. Period. Exclamation point.

Freethinking, atheism, and humanism in Africa are intended to be a means by which to emancipate Africans from illiberal thought and religious fundamentalism.

“[They are the] mental slavery of religions that have evolved to become dysfunctional, as they shape ideas of superstition and wishful thinking that support dogma, irrationality, and fatalism,” Nsajigwa stated, “It’s a herculean task needed to be met to push the cause of African renaissance and its enlightenment. All due support by Freethinkers Humanists from other parts of the world (Canada etc) is needed, to sustain this work for modernism by secularism in Africa, Tanzania inclusively. That is the historic generational duty for humanity.”

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2022-04-20

A Tanzania Freethinker on Tanzanian Atheism and Atheist Thinkers

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/24

Nsajigwa I Mwasokwa (Nsajigwa Nsa’sam) founded Jichojipya (meaning with new eye) to “Think Anew”. He is the Founder of Jicho Jipya/Think Anew Tanzania. We have talked before about freethought in Tanzania. Here we talk about atheist thinkers in Tanzania and atheist thinkers and literature.

Here we continue the discussion, other conversations here, here, here, and here, and here, here, here, here, and here.

Nsajigwa talked about an individual elder in the Tanzanian community, who was known as a public figure. His name is Kingunge Ngombale-Mwilu. In Tanzania, and an important point for even some more developed countries, Ngombale-Mwilu is the only person known, in a public position, to be sworn in without holding a Bible or a Quran.

Since Tanzanian independence, he has served in top ranking positions as a minister of the state. “That is, how we suspected him to be a nonbeliever and on interviewing him recently he came out as such, a freethinker who is Agnostic (though our society thought of him as a socialist communist),” Nsajigwa explained.

In Nsajigwa’s interactions with Ngombale-Mwilu, he, Ngombale-Mwilu, self-described as a freethinker. He was inspired by philosophy, especially the writings of Thomas Paine and Ludwig Feuerbach, saying, “It’s not god creating man in his own image but rather a man creating God in his imagination.”

Nsajigwa pointed to himself too. That he is a long-time freethinker and an autodidact, a self-taught Tanzanian philosopher. He is an avid reader and someone who believes, as a freethinker, in the ability to live ethically without religion.

I asked about some books. He noted a deceased person named Agoro Anduru. Anduru, by Nsajigwa’s account, was a good writer. There are stories in Swahili written by Mohamed Salum Abdalla, or Bwana Msa, and “speeches by Mwalimu (Swahili for a teacher) Nyerere – Tanzanian founder father, teaching, insisting and reminding on several occasions that Tanzania is a secular state,” Nsajigwa recommended.

There are, in general, biases and prejudices against the non-religious around the world from social ostracisation to the death penalty. The organized atheist community is beginning to emerge with some pioneering freethinkers such as Nsajigwa and others.

The writers, the public figures, the intellectuals and philosophers, these people are beginning to gain ground in some of the more difficult contexts for atheist or nonbelievers. Where this will end up, it becomes a question of individual human choices with individual leaders providing some guiding light in the open seas of philosophical life, including Nsajigwa and others.

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2022-04-20

A Tanzanian Freethinker on the Continent of Africa, Africans, and Freethinking

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/23

Here we continue the discussion, other conversations here, here, here, and here, and here, here, here, here, and here.

My friend from Tanzania and fellow free mind, Nsajigwa I Mwasokwa (Nsajigwa Nsa’sam), took some time in September of 2017 to talk about the life of an atheist in a highly religious country.

A country religious in the raw numbers of those who identify as religious. A highly religious country in the level of religiosity or adherence to the tenets of faith. Often, the continent of Africa, due to colonization and other influences, as with Canada (where I reside), remains permeated in the symbolisms, the language, the holy texts, and figures of Abraham.

Abraham who birthed over half the world’s modern minds. The Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, especially Islam and Christianity, dominate our areas of the world and about half the world’s population if combined.

Not necessarily a more difficult time in life, but a different way in life because a slight or even great, but no doubt different, point of view. I asked about atheism in Tanzania. He said that there have been freethinkers in Tanzania, Canada, and in other periods and places around the world.

“Canadians should know that as it is for every human society throughout ages and generations that there have been within independent thinkers and freethinkers, so too there are such ones in Tanzania, though few, as it has hitherto been,” Nsajigwa said, “There are Tanzanians who think outside of the box of religiosity despite the fact that in Africa religion is overwhelmingly omnipresent and -potent, covering all aspects of life, from the birth point of entrance to death point of exit.”

He described the previous stereotypes about Africans as those who think more emotionally and that the “philosophy of Negritude” is that of the spiritual. He said that this would assert “rational is Greece as emotion is black.”

He points to this as too much of an exaggeration. He did, though, direct attention to the percentages in Africa.

He explained, “In terms of percentage, it is recorded that independent thinkers, individuals living without religion in Tanzania could be up to 1% of the population (the challenge is to make it rise to 10% as there might be enough such ones who however are in the closet).”

As our conversation continued onward, I wanted to know about the thoughts about atheism as a viewpoint from the broader population of Tanzania. He stated that this was viewed as part of socialism of a communist variety such as that found in the USSR and “thus ideological.”

However, he opined, “Tanzanians who are fundamentalist in their religious outlook, they view it negatively, as an arrogant rebellion against God’s will by the few people educated (to become confused) by too much secular book reading. Further extremes view it as for those who are “lost” and on Satan’s side (Satan being the opposite of good God).”

I wanted to know about the commonality of atheism there. He said, “As a movement it is coming up, emerging as is the reality of it all over Africa. Some individual independent thinkers to freethinkers exist.”

Nsajigwa continued that it was only since the new millennium that pioneering efforts have been done to teach philosophy in order to identify and bring atheists and the non-religious together.

Before the internet, as far as he knows and as far as I know, Nsajigwa has been the primary person, akin to Dr. Leo Igwe in Nigeria for humanism, for the advancement of not precisely atheism but more freethinking. He has been doing this, impressively, prior to the internet since the 1990s.

Nsajigwa concluded, “We are developing a fellowship to be a community in the future via Jichojipya – Think Anew as a formal organization and vehicle for that, we founded it to live to achieve common goals of institutionalizing Humanism ideas and ideals guided by Humanist’s Amsterdam Declaration 2002 of which I translated into Swahili that being first time that it was in an African language.Its Humanistic aspects happen to be similar to some aspects of Tanzanian own Arusha declaration doctrine of 1967.”

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2022-04-20

On Islam, Humanism, and Questioning with a Sunni Scholar and Imam

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/22

Prof. Imam Soharwardy is a Sunni scholar and a shaykh of the Suhrawardi Sufi order, as well as the chairman of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly,founder of Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT), and the founder and president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada. He founded MAT in Calgary in January 1998. He is also the founder of Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC).

Imam Soharwardy is the founder of the first ever Dar-ul-Aloom in Calgary, Alberta where he teaches Islamic studies. Prof. Soharwardy is the Head Imam at the Al Madinah Calgary Islamic Centre.

Imam Soharwardy is a strong advocate of Islamic Tasawuf (Sufism), and believes that the world will be a better place for everyone if we follow what the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has said, “You will not have faith unless you like for others what you like for yourself.” He believes that spiritual weakness in humans causes all kinds of problems.

Mr. Soharwardy can be contacted at soharwardy@shaw.ca OR Phone (403)-831–6330. Original interview here. Some prior discussions here, here, here, and here. Here we talk about questioning and faith and non-religion.

Imam Soharwardy took the time for an interview with me. We talked the young. In particular, the young non-religious and religious. Those who may believe in humanism. Those who may believe in Islam.

Humanists, mostly, coincide with the beliefs as atheists. Others, like super-minorities, may be theists in some modified definitions, deists, and even pantheists.

Their emphasis is humanistic valued. I wanted to focus on dialogue between communities. I find some sects in Islam and communities of the non-religious do not respect freedom of religion and freedom of belief for others.

In some sects of Islam, as seems pointed to, often, the tendency seems a desire to eliminate atheists, the non-religious, the infidels, and to, in secular terminology, disregard freedom of belief and freedom of religion, which includes other metaphysical propositions such as atheism.

Same with some sub-communities of the mob-religious. The tendency to want to eliminate or destroy religion. The desire to “free” the world of superstition through deletion of religious belief, which disregards freedom of religion and freedom of belief in some ways and not in others.

At the end of the day, as some say, people hold beliefs, which differs from the beliefs. However, the rights to the various freedoms amount to consensus-based abstract principles for everyone, not some, to hold rather than live in a Platonic vacuum.

In fact, a test may emerge from permission for those one most disagrees within these areas to hold the religious/non-religious beliefs. Not an agreement with the beliefs, per se, but the agreement in the right of the person to hold the beliefs.

Anyhow, Soharwardy took time to talk with me. He pointed to the youth in the congregation, saying “If you attend my congregation, especially the youth groups, you will see the lively discussion that I have with our students.”

He mentioned having a son and a daughter. Both, he noted, have been raised with the ideas that they should not believe in Islam because of them as the parents but, rather, because they want to through their own consciences.

Soharwardy talked about his religious text, “Being a Muslim and following the holy book, the Quran, in almost every volume of the holy Quran, it says, “Why don’t you ponder? Why don’t you think? Why don’t you explore?” It says, “Why don’t you explore the world?””

The emphasis being on questioning rather than blindly following. He believes, whether humanist, Muslim, or another belief system, that the point is to not be a “blind follower.”

“However, the steps to those make sense in intellectual discussion, not simply blind following or blind beliefs because I was born into a Muslim family. It is because it is a natural, normal, and common sense religion,” Soharwardy stated, “Our boys and girls have lots of questions. I never say, “You cannot question.””

He never discourages questioning from a youth: every symbol and figure in the Islamic texts should be questioned. “What happens, Scott, you talk to someone who does not understand his or her own religion. When the person him or herself is confused, somebody goes and asks the question, but the person cannot explain properly,” Soharwardy opined.

I noted the trends in some Canadian households, or homes, with the lack of questioning allowed because the parents, for the best of intentions, do not want to lose the child.

The two dominant faiths in Canada are Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. I suspected similar phenomena with Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. The parents not wanting the questioning of the faith for fear of losing their children to non-belief in heir brand of religion.

The parents disallow the questioning. The parents prevent the child from developing the critical capacities, and so on.

Soharwardy replied, “I completely agree with you. There will be families in the Muslim community who do not allow their children to question the faith. Some of the people and families are rigid. They have been told some things and simply follow it.”

He considers this against Islam to not question, seek, and explore. “To be a blind follower, that person loses the spirit of Islam,” Soharwardy said, “Some families, they do not allow thinking. It causes a serious harm to the boys and girl who have been forced to follow a belief system. Their heart is not in it.”

He went on to say that it is a requirement of the Islam faith to practice from the heart. If a good deed is done, while not an act from the heart, then Allah or God will not accept the good deed. The acceptance by their God of the actions depends not only on the goodness or righteousness of the actions but also the intentions behind the actions.

Soharwardy bluntly stated, “If my intention is not to pray 5 times a day, but I have been forced to pray five times per day, that person should know, according to Islam, their prayers are not accepted.Nobody should be forced to pray five times per day or fast during the month of Ramadan.”

Compulsion in the faith, in other words, does not practicing the faith. If one is forced, then they do not count as one of the faithful. In this interpretation, the people without the heart in the acts could be considered infidels or heretics by the proper faithful who have their hearts in the acts of prayer of fasting during Ramadan as two examples.

“I always say that it bothers me, sometimes, when the newspapers talk about these terrorist groups. They are forcing people to convert to Islam,” Soharwardy said, “If people are forcing people to follow Islam, and if there is no compulsion in religion, then Islam does not recognize that person as a Muslim.”

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2022-04-20

On the Autonomy, Efficiency, and Equity Factors of National Healthcare Programs with Professor Gordon Guyatt

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/22

We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project.

As a specific topical interview, we focus on the efficiency, equity, and autonomy associated with national healthcare programs.

I got the opportunity to speak with professor Guyatt on national healthcare programs in developed countries. Guyatt spoke on things relevant to national healthcare in Canada. Those items Canada may have that other countries do not have.

Guyatt said, “It depends. There are two ways of doing national healthcare. One is a model like the German model. It is not a government program. It is a program that started as a job-based program. There are a whole bunch of organizations that the government ensures that, effectively, in the end, everybody is insured.”

He continued to say that this is not an overall government program, which is less efficient. For physician and hospital services, we have a single program. That program is provincially administered, but, at its core, amounts to a national program. That means increased efficiency.

For physician and hospital services, Guyatt talked about the funding being more by the funding than most other places. He described the ways in which places have a private section for the ability to pay for better and quicker care.

However, for physician and hospital services, we lack that, which becomes a bi equity advantage for Canadians. By equity, this means more people can use it. More of the general public gets access to the physician and hospital services.

“On the other hand, for everything other than the physician and hospital services, we are quite severely disadvantaged. The only people who have their drugs covered are those on social assistance over 65,” Guyatt noted.

If you are under 25 in Ontario, there are some support programs. If a drug costs too high, then this becomes burden for the low-income people. Where, for many low-income people, it becomes a situation in which they simply cannot afford their drugs.

Guyatt explained that drugs are a big gap and dental care is another gap. Where “we have essentially no coverage for public dental care, other countries to some degree cover dental care. The drugs and dental care the big deficiencies in the Canadian program,” he stated.

As the conversation progressed, I wanted to focus on the things Canada has, which other developed nations do not.

“I do not know the details, but I would have thought that it was hit and miss if some things get developed here and there are some enthusiastic and leading physicians bringing something in,” Guyatt explained, “Then there may be areas where we do particularly well. In other countries, they have other physicians.”

Guyatt talked about the United States healthcare system. He describes theirs as in many ways a disaster. For those who can pay for it, for the well insured, for those who can pay out of pocket, the US does the best for highly advanced medical technology. However, it “is a hit and miss thing.”

Canada, by comparison, does not have a particular are in which we are far more advanced for the medical technology.

When I questioned about lifespan and health span differences for those who do and those who do not have efficient and equitable access to health in their country, Guyatt made the opening salvo statement, “So, universal coverage is universal coverage.”

“If you are now talking about gradients, you are talking about gradients of insurance that come with gradients of income. That then becomes impossible to tease out,” Guyatt explained, “The lower income people are sicker and live shorter lives than high-income people. They are also the people when there is no government insurance who are not insured. It is also confounded with that.”

He described some professional research into the health outcomes in Canada and the US. If anything, the outcomes were a small advantage for Canada. That was attributable to more universal healthcare coverage. “You have many Americans who cannot afford drugs, hospitals, and so on. They are at a disadvantage in health outcome because they are poor and because of a lack of health coverage,” Guyatt stated.

Overall, the equity and efficiency associated with national healthcare programs (read: public) tends to produce better outcomes for more people on those two metrics with marginal or questionable autonomy benefits on privatized healthcare programs (read: private).

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2022-04-20

Advice for Adult Women, African-American Women, and Professional Women from a High Achieving One

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/21

Dr. Margena A. Christian was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has a background of African American, Cherokee Indian, and German. I was lucky enough to interview her about some of the work done by her. Christian founded and owns DocM.A.C. write Consulting. Full interview here. Part 1 of this GMP series here and part 2 here, and part 3 here. These can be read as a series. However, they are stand-alone article interviews as well. Here we look at Christian’s advice for women tied to experience and experiences.

When I set the chat on the path of advice for the younger people or for those in particular demographic representations or in professional life, Christian provided some more advice based on further consideration.

It was near the end of the conversation, but it seemed to add more depth to the conversation. She said journalists should read, write, read, write, and find a mentor who can guide them.

Because those relationships and connections are crucial for this particular profession. However, this advice differed from those for girls. Where she stated, “The advice I have for girls is to discover your passion and then you’ll find your purpose. Ask yourself, “What would I do for the rest of my life even if I never got paid to do this?” That’s usually your answer.”

Then I queried about women in general. She noted a nuanced point about the still and quiet voice inside each grown woman. That voice that women should listen to and develop when they make “any type of decision.”

Christian described the need to trust your own individual instinct as a women because “you can’t miss what is meant for you.” This then built into a line of questions about African-American women and professional.

Of course, every woman is different. Every African-American or black American is different. At the same time, one should extrapolate trends based on statistics and then apply advice to yourself based on that framework if within a particular demographic within a country.

“The advice I have for African-American women is to never forget that you are a queen,” Christian said, “Wear your crown with pride and know that you are wonderfully and divinely created.”

When it came to professional women, and many of these levels of analysis and advice can overlap with one another, she explained the importance in having multiple streams of income and the independence of finances.

The independence of finances through not relying on only one job. As well as the crucial advice, no one will work harder for you than you.

Now, I wanted to ground some of this in the acknowledgement of a high achieving person. Most high achieving people encounter problems, personal and otherwise, and overcome them, or fail completely and then rise again from the ashes as if a mythical force like a phoenix.

However, these overcoming of trials and tribulations takes courage, fortitude, and power, which do not come overnight, easily, or even in a straight line. They take time.

In personal life, the greatest struggle according to Christian: “The greatest emotional struggle in personal life is realizing that people will disappoint because they are human.”

In professional life, Christian opined: “The greatest emotional struggle in professional life is being so passionate about making certain that my students learn and that my stories educate, enlighten and uplift.”

Of course, life has a time for celebration too. She said that the best surprise that her sister and close friends ever gave was a surprise graduation party post-doctorate. Humbly, Christian said, “I don’t like surprises and I don’t get fooled easily, but they managed to do a splendid job of knocking me off my feet. I was very touched.”

However, and on the other hand, people can be mean. “People did things to be mean but now I look at those encounters as part of divine order. I always remember that rejection is God’s protection,” Christian explained, “I also know that what people intended for harm was designed to help and push me into my purpose. So, mean things weren’t done to me only things that were MEANt to grow me.”

To close off the interview, I asked about drive. Christian said, “Faith and passion drive me.” She concluded by saying, “We keep someone’s legacy alive by educating future generations [ed. in reference to turning the dissertation into a book] … Trust the process and always keep the faith. In the words of the Hon. Marcus Garvey, “Onward and upward.”

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2022-04-20

Dr. Margena A. Christian on Editorial and Writing Positions and Abilities, Knowledge, and Skills Developed from Them

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/20

Dr. Margena A. Christian was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has a background of African American, Cherokee Indian, and German. I was lucky enough to interview her about some of the work done by her. Christian founded and owns DocM.A.C. write Consulting. Full interview here. Part 1 of this GMP series here and part 2 here. These can be read as a series. However, they are stand-alone article interviews as well. Here we look at some of the professional work in editing, professional development, proofreading, and writing services with some insights through important stories covered and the diverse experience in her time writing throughout her career with some as blessings in disguise.

Christian, in her dissertation research, wanted to know the ways in which John H. Johnson was using the magazines produced by him in adult education. An adult education oriented in order to combat forms of intellectual racism.

She found that he educated different races around the world on the forms of intellectual racism. Christian’s professional life portion of the interview moved into the senior editor and senior writer roles at EBONY.

As well, she was an editor of Elevate and the features editor for Jet magazine. She also helped with the inauguration of the EBONY retrospective. She described the features editor position as being in charge of pitching and writing and editing human interest stories.

Christian also helped with selecting and securing the high-profile folks figured within the publication.

“Elevate was a section in EBONY that focused on health, wellness and spirituality,” Christian explained, “EBONY’s Retrospective was an opportunity for me to marry my love of entertainment with my interest in historical data by examining pivotal cultural moments in music, movies and TV that shaped my race.”

As I asked about the abilities, knowledge, and skills developed from the editorial and writing experiences, I gained an insight into the peripheral and central aspects of the work.

If someone edits or writes, they work within a lens of the work alone. They also garner contacts and networks from the work, too. Christian talked about learning an art.

The art of multi-tasking and having steady relationships. It is important to focus on who knows you and returns the call. I suppose this can be interpreted to mean those who spend the time to consider you important to them as you consider them important to you.

One part of the publication for Jet magazine skills was an expectation. The ability to do due diligence in meeting a weekly deadline.

“This included tracking down sources, doing research, conducting interviews, writing stories and editing. Early on I handled images for both EBONY and Jet by operating the Associated Press photo machine,” Christian stated, “including breaking it down and cleaning what was called the oven. Moving to EBONY in 2009 offered me a bit more time to work on lengthy features.”

For the Retrospective pieces, she was expected to produce something like 1,500 words, but “would force their hand at close to 3,000 words!”

Another aspect of this is the finding of a diverse set of interests to guide writing. Christian has an interest in education, fashion, finance, health, medicine, parenting, relationships, religion, and spirituality.

This does seem to require a certain self-insight, which Christian starts with the career at Jet magazine. All news editors had to write on every subject with Christian’s specialty as entertainment.

Mr. Johnson and his daughter, Linda, expressed an intrigue in written work about celebrities for EBONY. “I recalled being told by Mr. Johnson that rank determined who would talk to the notables at EBONY, so he thought Jet would be a better fit since all editors had an equal chance of doing stories about celebs,” Christian said.

After this period, she began to write on health. Christian did not like it, but did find this to be “a blessing in disguise” because she “secretly began to enjoy writing about this subject.”

Christian did cover the death of Michael Jackson and described this as a hard time while also recognizing this as a job to complete. She was transitioning to the company. However, bear in mind, she had also garnered varied experienced prior to the transition and the difficult work.

All important for the development of profession relevant skill sets. She documented some of the history. However, Christian’s interest was in the artist rather than the history of the man.

“I spent three weeks in Los Angeles, spending time at the Jackson family’s Encino compound, camped outside with the hundred other reporters from around the world,” Christian opined, “and driving for hours to Los Olivos to visit Neverland. I met a man during a church prayer service named Steve Manning, who was one of his best friends who first ran the Jacksons fan club back in the day.”

She continues to stay in touch with them. One year after Michael’s death, Steve happened to be at the Jackson home. She was able to speak with the Jackson mom, Katherine.

It was the weekend before Mother’s Day. Christian was tongued-tied. Janet sent a Christmas card one time to Christian, by the way.

Christian said, “The Jackson family grew up at Johnson Publishing Company and were close friends with Mr. Johnson. I felt honored when I was selected by the managing editor, Terry Glover, to document this important history. She knew what I brought to the table and that I would deliver.”

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2022-04-20

Editing, Professional Development, Proofreading, and Writing Services with Dr. Margena A. Christian

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/19

As the conversation with Dr. Christian continued, I asked about DocM.A.C. write Consulting, which is a service for editing, professional development, proofreading, and writing.

In terms of the clientele, I wanted to know of the importance of these services to the improvement of written work. Christian said that people want to improve their writing as well as the skills necessary to improve it.

“Educators need to remain current with pedagogical strategies so professional development is one way to achieve this. I also do dissertation coaching,” Christian stated, “Thus far I’ve helped two people complete their dissertation. The coursework is the easy part; the hard part is crossing the finish line by submitting the dissertation! There’s a great deal of folks who are ABD (all but dissertation) who need the right push to move along. That’s what I do.”

However, to maintain the basis for training people, you need people. Christian needs clientele. Those who are clientele come from the word of mouth, as they say uncommonly, and through professional networking, as they say more commonly.

With the quality of the work, and the building of a base of a clientele through these means based on quality, Christian, and others can too, has been able to build a steady clientele and many of whom have recommended others to her.

One of the interesting things about Christian is also the lecturer position at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It amounts to a position requiring the ability to convey and correct. Convey the knowledge; correct the material for learning, these can be tough on a consistent basis.

She helped build the professional writing concentration as a minor at the institution. Christian developed and designed two of the courses entitled Writing for Digital and New Media and Advanced Professional Writing.

Christian reflected, “One thing I enjoy most about being a lecturer is that the focus is on teaching and not so much research. If I choose to conduct more or to write journal articles, it is optional and not mandatory. Each semester I teach three different courses so my prep time is far reaching. Thanks to my organizational skills, I make it work effortlessly.”

Christian worked on a dissertation entitled John H. Johnson: A Historical Study on the Re-Education of African Americans in Adult Education Through the Selfethnic Liberatory Nature of Magazines. She was hired by John H. Johnson in 1995 as an assistant editor for Jet magazine. He was lovingly called Mr. Johnson and died in 2005.

Not only with the consulting services and the teaching, the people behind a publication as well can make the difference in the style, content, tone, and quality of a publication.

“Let’s just say that I knew that one day the magazine and the company as I once knew it would be no more,” Christian stated, “It hit me that there would come a time when people won’t remember or know anything about a man who lived named John H. Johnson. It struck me that one day people won’t know about his iconic publicatons.”

She reflected further on the house built at 820 S. Michigan Avenue would be gone. Christian realized: “I was the last editor hired by Mr. Johnson and worked along his side who remained at the company before my position was eliminated in 2014.”

When Jet magazine ended, her position ended. Simeon Booker covered the 1955 Emmett Till story while Christian did further coverage in 2004. She found the experience “an honor to have Booker hand me the baton and for Mr. Johnson to have approved it.”

“After a series of stories that I penned for a few years, I concluded that chapter in my life and the magazine’s annals by purchasing a beautiful oil painting of Till (shown in image) that was done by a fellow JPC employee, Raymond A. Thomas,” Christian said.

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2022-04-20

On Early Life in America with a Cherokee Indian, African-American, and German-American Background

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/18

Dr. Margena A. Christian was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has a background of African American, Cherokee Indian, and German. I was lucky enough to interview her about some of the work done by her. Christian founded and owns DocM.A.C. write Consulting. Full interview here. Here we look at some of her story and views and early life.

When I asked about her growing up and the geographic, cultural, and linguistic context for family, she talked about the relatively traditional African-American environment. A working-class family.

Her mother worked as a librarian and media specialist. He father worked as an inspector for General Motors. Christian stated, “Growing up in St. Louis was an interesting experience. There is much division there between African Americans and Whites. I lived on the city’s north side, which is predominantly Black.”

Christian talked about attending Most Holy Rosary as a Catholic grade school and Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory for a Catholic high school. The students who attended, she notes, looked like her.

She went to St. Louis University (SLU), which is a Jesuit institution. However, it felt like a major adjustment for her. Few people looked like her. She recalls being the only African-American in many classes.

“Going from being around my own 24/7 and then moving into a world where I was suddenly the only “one,” took some getting used to. I can say that I had a pleasant time as a Billiken at SLU.,” Christian said, “I worked hard and made stellar grades so I stood out for more reasons than one. And, needless to say, I hardly ever missed class because the professor always seemed to notice.”

Now, as noted earlier, Christian’s mother was a teacher. While at kindergarten, she went to the same school that her mother taught. With her mother there, she did not feel the same need to work as hard.

It was a feeling of privilege over other students. Christian’s mother found that it was not a great idea for your kid to work at the same school as you. She explained, “I was headed to the third grade when my parents decided to take me out of the St. Louis Public School System and have me attend an Archdiocesan school. She didn’t feel that my siblings and I were getting the best education, so she convinced our dad to allow us to transfer to Catholic schools.”

She ended up going to a co-ed high school, which was among the best private and Catholic schools for an urban area. With Saint Barbara and in a leadership class, her life was changed ever-after.

“She knew how much I loved to write and told me about the Minority Journalism Workshop, sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists,” Christian remembered.

The program was meant for juniors and seniors in the high school system with some early college students as well. As a sophomore, she was accepted after an application.

“Renowned journalists George E. Curry and Gerald Boyd were founders of this pioneering workshop, which would become the blueprint for other minority journalism workshops throughout the country,” Christian said, “Training with professional journalists at such a young age helped to hone my craft and solidify my desire to do this for a living.”

With this, she honed her craft, as they say, and won two scholarships and earned a publication of her first article. She finds that nothing compares to hands-on, practical experience with a craft. As the only person to look like her at SLU, she felt uncomfortable and so did not write for the SLU student newspaper.

Rather, she did an internship at the top African-American publication in the country, which was the St. Louis American Newspaper. Later on, she wrote for Take Five. At the end of the experience, she had “an attractive portfolio.”

“However, coming from a family of educators, I did what most people who aspire to become a journalist do. I played it safe and got a job as an English teacher at a Catholic grade school, Bishop Healy,” Christian explained, “So, essentially, I taught by day and wrote by night. Healy was in the city and practiced the Nguzo Saba value system.”

She reflects on her life. Christian feels as though she was being prepared and “concepts in my dissertation were the Nguzo Saba,” which represented the publisher John H. Johnson and Johnson’s commitment to race in the presentation of documenting “our history in magazines.”

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2022-04-20

An Indigenous or Indian Perspective on Love, Fear, and the Future

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/17

Morris Amos, or Giltimi, is of the C’imotza Beaver Clan. He is an advisor to Haimus Wakas, who is the Hereditary Chief of the C’imotza Raven Clan. He notes two communities in a part of British Columbia, Canada. One being Kitimat, British Columbia and the other being Kitamaat, British Columbia. Kitimat occupied by the white community. Kitamaat occupied by the Indian or Indigenous community.

We first met at a closed-door minor political party meeting. He came with two others. One of whom was Haimus Wakas. He came down from Kitamaat in order to disseminate knowledge.

Now, I did not know a lot before. I know some more now, but know the more I know the less I know in the scope of what I realize I do not know. I know young people, such as myself, take on particular views. One view is not knowing much about the history of the country and the various peoples and faiths within it.

Another is aggressive activism. This has its own problems by making other peoples “the other.” I mean this in the full context of othering people from all sides.

When I brought this perspective to Giltimi, and Haimus Wakas as well, Haimus Wakas and Giltimi educated me. They described a view of the current state of affairs for the current generation and the next generations.

One emphasizing getting beyond dualities and having real forgiveness – moving past, forward, and having younger generations think in terms beyond dualities. I reached out on the 14^th to ask about expanded descriptions on non-duality and forgiveness from his perspective.

On moving beyond dualities, Giltimi said, “I am aware of what constitutes history, History, as we have known it, is largely written by the victors in war. What this tells me is history is a tool for the victors to continue control and manipulation over those conquered. This world view is mine, as a member of an oppressed race of people’s.”

Giltimi continued on the oppression through contact with whites and the written history of the Indigenous population out of the history books. He called this a history with an “entirely ethnocentric point of view.”

People are wising up, though. From Giltimi’s independent research, he views the perpetrators of violence against the Indigenous came with a larger plan. A plan to dominate the world.

“Some call this plan the New World Order. I am now satisfied that white people are victimized by this plan just like the Indian. We are all oppressed by this plan,” Giltimi opined, “I am not opposed to world order but I oppose the New World Order as planned due to the nature of the control and manipulation mechanisms as proposed and also to the reasons for desire of control which is simply to be in control for self effacing purposes, not for the good interests of humanity.”

Giltimi referenced being an advisor to Haimus Wakas. He looked into the banking systems, big pharmaceutical companies, food production, the law, and oil and gas interests. He notes that they work within divide and conquer.

This permits ease of the creation of problems for the camps made in this process in order to self-aggrandize and benefit a small group of people. Giltimi views the emotional basis of this in fear, “which in resource terms equates to what I call the consciousness of lack.”

The basis of this is in the creation of poverty and forcing people to have a small number of jobs. A limited quantity of work where people compete for access to them. People become desperate and easily divided and conquered, Giltimi explained.

This, he related to duality as well as polarity.

“Duality of opposites such as up and down, in and out, black and white. This translates into what I call the dance of light and dark. The dark has held sway over humanity for millenniums of time,” Giltimi stated, “with the rise in consciousness, the light is now on the rise. The light equates with love, the polar opposite of fear.”

He sees fear as still prevalent and needing to be replaced by love. Giltimi sees the highest energy of the Great Spirit aligned with love. The work to bring light and love is what he sees as his work.

In a way, his work for unity is working for, within his philosophy of existence, for the highest energy of the Great Spirit. A new world built around love rather than fear. Giltimi views love as non-exclusionary.

“I now use this forum to call an end to the denial of my people, the genocide of my people, we must be included in the move toward love. The continued denial of my people is an obstacle to our spiritual evolution,” Giltimi said, “The denial of my people has created a resentment of settlers which can only be remediated by an end to denial based on divisiveness.”

He viewed the fear-based new order to have demonized Indians or Indigenous peoples. It caused the settlers to support a plan that resulted in resentment. With an acknowledgment of the truth, Giltimi says that the resentment of the Indigenous population would leave and the forgiveness would take its place.

Where a new real partnership with the visitors who never left can come forward, he made a distinction between a New World Order and white people. That it should be clear that the Indigenous resentment towards settlers is as misguided as the settler fear-based resentment towards the Indigenous.

He views this new real partnership as the basis for freedom.

“I now know the current fee simple land tenure system combined with banking elitism is at the root of a fraudulent pyramid scam that uses force to filter all wealth to the top, leaving the world struggling with induced poverty,” Giltimi explained.

The empowerment of the Indigenous with love and respect for them and with love and respect for the settlers can help the creation of the new real partnership and dislodgement of the fear-based world order.

Giltimi said, “I can say that in C’imotza our hereditary system is still in control of the land. If we can set as our goal a method to dislodge the NWO from control over us I am certain we can unite to develop a system of land tenure and banking that takes into account the best interests of both Indigenous peoples and settlers.”

He sees the corporations as taking control of common wealth against the common interests of the people, Indigenous peoples and settlers. Giltimi noted the power of corporations is pyramidal and used to create perpetual fear-based conflict in order to control and manipulate.

Giltimi said, “I am working on my end to make this happen, I call on all to join with us in this movement to unify humanity against those who would control us for their own dark based agenda. Let love be your choice not fear. I have spoken.”

Within Giltimi’s worldview, the nature of love has been forgotten, but the Mayan Tzolkin movement of the Earth into the Photon Belt is producing a rise in consciousness. One towards love rather than fear, where people would previously be divided they are being brought together.

“Those that are not attached to the energy of the great spirit, who some call the ether or ethos, who are detached,” Giltimi concluded, “think of themselves as isolated and in need of empowerment. In this case, they look for empowerment outside themselves and this form of empowerment always comes at the expense of the disempowerment of others. Those connected to the ether energy of great spirit will always look inward for their empowerment and will do so in a manner that empowers others. this knowledge will result in new leaders being called forth.”

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2022-04-20

Quick Checklist and Tips for Male Depression from the Mayo Clinic

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/16

The Mayo Clinic pointed to a few questions to ask about men’s depression. The case of male depression can, at times unfortunately, lead to suicide or isolation. They say, “Do you feel irritable, isolated or withdrawn? Do you find yourself working all the time? Drinking too much?”

These amount to unhealthy coping strategies. Men and women differ in their coping strategies. However, if a male and if feeing a bit different than usual on the more negative affect side, you can keep in mind a few things.

Some symptoms include:

Feel sad, hopeless or empty
Feel extremely tired
Have difficulty sleeping
Not get pleasure from activities they once enjoyed

Other behaviors in men that could be signs of depression — but not recognized as such — include:

Escapist behavior, such as spending a lot of time at work or on sports
Alcohol or drug abuse
Controlling, violent or abusive behavior
Irritability or inappropriate anger
Risky behavior, such as reckless driving

These unhealthy coping strategies may be clues that you have male depression. The behaviour and signs can overlap. The severity of the depressive symptoms and signs can be different as well.

However, the tendency in the culture is towards men not going out to ask for help. Males not asking for help can make the reportage about depression just that, an underreported phenomenon.

Men may downplay the symptoms: “You may not recognize how much your symptoms affect you, or you may not want to admit to yourself or to anyone else that you’re depressed.”

They may not recognize the depressive symptoms for depression itself, potentially: “Men with depression often aren’t diagnosed for several reasons, including: You may think that feeling sad or emotional is always the main symptom of depression. But for many men, that isn’t the primary symptom.”

Men may be reluctant to even discuss it if they suspect something is up: “You may not be open to talking about your feelings with family or friends, let alone with a health care professional.”

Males who find, finally, that this is something wrong, amiss, and potentially needing to be dealt will still not go out and get proper help: “Even if you suspect you have depression, you may avoid diagnosis or refuse treatment.”

As a result, men may attempt suicide in these cases. In the cases of suicidal thoughts and fear that you, the man, may hurt yourself or are afraid a male in your life may hurt themselves:

Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
Call a suicide hotline number — in the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) to reach a trained counselor.

In order to cope with the depression, as help is always available, some lifestyle and worldview things to do according to the Mayo Clinic:

Set realistic goals and prioritize tasks.
Seek out emotional support from a partner or family or friends.
Learn ways to manage stress, such as meditation and mindfulness, and develop problem-solving skills.
Delay making important decisions, such as changing jobs, until your depression symptoms improve.
Engage in activities you enjoy, such as ball games, fishing or a hobby.
Live a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating and regular physical activity, to help promote better mental health.

If you or someone you know needs help, it is always there. You simply need to ask or keep an eye out.

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2022-04-20

Marieme Helie Lucas on the Context Surrounding Noura Hussein Hammad

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/15

Marieme Helie Lucas is an Algerian sociologist, activist, founder of ‘Secularism is a Women’s Issue,’ and founder and former International Coordinator of ‘Women Living Under Muslim Laws.’ Here, and in a few subsequent article interviews, we will discuss gender, Islam, Muslims, and this context surrounding the urgent case of Noura Hussein Hammad.

Hammad has been sentenced to death and has less than two weeks to appeal the case. The hashtag: #JusticeForNoura. There is a petition. Sodfa Daaji’s is the person to email. Daaji’s email if you would like to sign the petition, and please provide first and last name and country, then please send an email to the following contact: daajisodfa.pr@gmail.com.

Part 1 here and part 2 here.

*This amounts to an activist and educational series.*

The conversation with Helie Lucas moved into the topic of gender roles in Islam. The Islamic prescribed role for men and women. The question being: what makes for a better foundation for the rights of women compared to conservatism and traditional religion?

Helie Lucas is quick to point out. The we should fight within Islam, but, rather, within each of our societies. She does not feel personal responsibilities for the changing of Islam, Christianity, or other religions.

“As a citizen, I feel responsibility for changing laws in democratic ways, towards more equality between all human beings, regardless of class, age, sex, beliefs, etc.,” Helie Lucas said, “As a secularist, I do not want to live under non-voted un-changeable a-historical supposedly-divine laws. This is the essence of democracy.”

Helie Lucas described the ways in which activists in Muslim contexts fight conservativism. They fight to change regressive laws. They work to promote progressive ideals. She pointed to a case in Algeria.

In Algeria, since 1984, women have been working on wali. That is to say, women have worked to end the institution. In this termination of wali, women would become “legal adults and not forever minors who cannot enter into a contract, by themselves, without a male tutor. So far, we have not succeeded.”

Helie Lucas pointed to a courageous women’s rights organization “20 ans Barakat ! (‘20 years is enough!’).” It presents women and men struggling on the ground in many of their countries.

Helie Lucas provided a link:

The clip shows for instance, women’s demonstrations in the capital-city, Algiers, during which home-made bombs were thrown to demonstrators by fundamentalist groups. These initiatives need to be supported – not lead – from the outside. In Sudan, on the forefront are the women’s rights and human rights organizations that are leading the struggle for Noura’s rights. They do so at great risk for themselves.

WACHDAK :collectif “20 ans barakat”par www.algerie-femme.com …

▶ 4:33

Helie Lucas described the undergirding progressive movements in the Muslim world and elsewhere.

“But they are little considered outside their countries – especially in the West which globally tends to ignore them. Noura’s case is a good opportunity to reach out in solidarity to progressive, feminist, humanist, secular forces in our parts of the world,” Helie Lucas concluded, “It is an opportunity to create working links that would last even after we save Noura’s life – as I am now convinced we will, collectively.”

The hashtag: #JusticeForNoura. There is a petition. Sodfa Daaji’s is the person to email. Daaji’s email if you would like to sign the petition, and please provide first and last name and country, then please send an email to the following contact: daajisodfa.pr@gmail.com.

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2022-04-19

An Urgent Human Rights Case of a Young Sudanese Woman

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/14

Part 1 here.

*This amounts to an activist and educational series.*

As the conversation progressed, we talked about the violations of rights for men and women, but more for women. This went into areas of gender inequality. All of this specified on the case Noura Hussein Hammad.

In the context of marriage in an Islamic context, Helie Lucas described two parts as normal for it. Two events with days or even years, depending on the case, between the events for the individuals.

In Hammad’s case, she was married against her will. Her father was the signatory of the contract “as her legal tutor, her wali.” She was married at the age of 16. In this context, the marriage was legal and permitted with the law.

The bride does not necessarily have to be around at this time for the marriage.

“The bride does not even have to be present during this signature. Then she was sent to her husband’s house for the consummation of the marriage when she was 19,” Helie Lucas explained, “She never flinched in her refusal of this marriage. Both Sudanese laws and international law prohibit forced marriages.”

Helie Lucas described how the institution of wali forever leaves the woman, or women more generally, in a status of a legal minority. Someone less than the other. In this case, a woman less than the man by law.

She notes that this is specific to the Maliki ritual prevalent in North Africa for the most part. However, Helie Lucas stated that this is not practiced in all schools of thought in Islam.

Forced marriages “are generally prohibited under the law of the land, not all countries take it to heart to implement these laws. This is also a child marriage,” Helie Lucas stated directly.

With the increasing influence and growth of the fundamentalist preachers, the marriage age continues to decrease to the puberty of girls. Some can be married off as early as 9 or 10 years old.

With the case of Noura Hammad, she has another violation of rights, not only forced marriage but also in, the rape. She had marital rape and gang rape.

“The second violation committed against Noura is rape – and not just, if I may say, ‘marital rape’, but it is gang rape, as – in order to crush her physical resistance,” Helie Lucas explained, “[the] husband sought help from several of his male relatives in order to pin her down and hold her arms and legs while he was raping her in front of them.”

According to Hammad’s lawyers, Hammad had bruises and scars from the fight. One day after the marriage, Hammad’s husband tried to rape her once more, but used a knife in self-defense and killed him.

“She went to her father’s house, but he disowned her and took her to the police. She was convicted with murder and sentenced to death,” Helie Lucas said, “With no consideration for the circumstances, and for a case of self defense. Hence Amnesty International’ recent demand that this judgment be annulled and for a more equitable trial to take place.”

There are cases like Hammad in many places around the world, but this is a particular case that made news and Hammad’s life is at risk with the call for a hanging. Sudan, as with some other Muslim countries, have a legal provision for blood money.

Helie Lucas stated, “…the family of the victim can demand a financial compensation for their loss, – rather than a death sentence for the culprit. In Noura’s case, the late husband’s family refused compensation and demanded the death sentence.”

More tomorrow.

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2022-04-19

On Islam and Muslims, and the Difference Between Ideas, and Sociology and Politics

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/13

*This amounts to an activist and educational series.*

Religion, culture, gender, sex, theocracy, and democracy work within controversial, but important, conversations, especially more in the modern period. Helie Lucas took the time to answer some questions on gender roles and religion.

When I questioned Helie Lucas about gender roles and legal rights, she made an important preliminary note to not presuppose “so-called Muslim countries – or Muslim majority countries – are automatically theocracies; that is definitely not the case, they are mostly democracies, technically speaking.”

Where the emphasis for the faith and the democratic elements should be left to the theologians, that is, if they conform with Islam, the theologians have more authoritative statements.

Helie Lucas prefers not to use Islamic: a “doctrine, a philosophy, an ideology, a vision of the world, a faith… I use the term ‘Muslim’, which refers to human beings who claim faith in this ideology.”

By making the distinction between ideas and then “actions, laws, practices, of sociology and politics,” Helie Lucas, wisely, clarified the context of the conversation on Islam as a set of doctrines and suggested practices and Muslims as self-identified practitioners of one of the world’s great faiths.

“In actual fact Muslim majority countries are anything but homogenous; they range from theocracies to democracies, from ultra conservative to socialist,” Helie Lucas explained, “The rights granted to citizens in general and to women in particular therefore vary from country to country; factors that account for these differences are essentially political, economical – far more than religiously grounded.”

Helie Lucas described the Koran and the Bible, in reading them, that one can find both the wrath-punishment god and the mercy-tolerance god. Each progressive and conservative theologian dealing with particular passages of their scripture to justify the progressive or conservative view of the world.

She reflects on this happening with progressive and conservative Christian theologians as well. Helie Lucas believes the problem is political or, more properly, the political use of religion.

“And what is the balance of forces between those and the defenders and advocates of secularism is the next question,” Helie Lucas opines, “This is what really determines the status of women, among others. In Muslim contexts like anywhere else.”

The great problem, as identified by Helie Lucas, is the ultra-conservative political forces on the rise, in a steady patter, around the world. Some with the extreme right, or far-right, in Europe or in Trump’s America.

Also, the similar concern arising in Modi’s India with Hindu fundamentalists vying for power or the Buddhist far-right in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Helie Lucas uses these as points of comparison for the rise of the far right in the world.

With the rise of the far-right, this becomes the general context of which Islam sees a particular brand of the rise. In these mostly Muslim contexts, then the “gender roles and legal rights are different and unequal for men and women – but more so under conservative governments and less so under democratic ones; and even less so in socialist regimes.”

While looking at the history of the countries with mostly Muslim populations include Iraq, Libya, Syria, and the Central Asia Republics, Helie Lucas educates. She explains women had the right to vote.

In some cases, these women had the right to vote well before their European counterparts. “French women for instance only gained voting rights in 1945, i.e. after WWII; as for Swiss women, a last canton gave them voting rights in the last decade – would you believe it?, Helie Lucas said.

These distinctions matter. These histories matter or facets of national and religious and rights history matter. Approximately 100% of girls went to primary school in Libya and if they went to university most would receive a state grant.

This happens, Helie Lucas said, at the same time many women were kept in illiterate states and remained secluded in Asia and Africa. She talked about the quasi-equality and even outright submission of women to male relatives.

Helie Lucas argues that if we want to fight this appropriately then we should bear in mind the political nature of this far right movement. An ultraconservative movement that takes on the cloak of religion in order to justify its existence.

With cases such as Noura Hussein Hammad, Islam amounts to that cloak or guise, but the main theme tying these fundamentalist and ultraconservative movements together is the global tendency towards the right – a far-right global phenomenon.

“At the moment, for instance, many countries in Europe are facing terrible attempts at curtailing reproductive rights, from Spain to Poland, you name it,” Helie Lucas said, and then asked, “Would you say religion is the cause or would you name the far-right forces (eventually backed by Christian fundamentalists) that use Christianism and fear of god to prevent women’s access to contraception and abortion?”

These are important considerations for the contextual analysis of the global rise of the far-right while at the same seeing the rise of ultra-conservative religious and political movements at the same time.

Of course, Helie Lucas made an important concluding note for this session:

Let me clarify one thing: this is NOT a defense of ‘Islam’, it is just trying to position ourselves better in understanding the political forces we are confronting, whether or not they pretend to represent Islam. We should not fall into the trap they set for us.

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2022-04-19

Ghada Ibrahim on Islam, Gender Roles, and Leaving the Faith

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/12

Ghada Ibrahim is a Former Muslim and Saudi Activist. In particular, an activist for the rights of women in Islam and talking about her former faith. Ibrahim took some time to sit down with me to discuss Islam, gender roles, and some of the limitations in interpretations and on some women as a result.

I asked Ibrahim about the gender roles in Islam. She talked about the standard, traditional gender roles found in Islam with women as the makers of the home and the men as the winners of the bread.

As I asked about the limits this puts on women, and even men, the restriction depends on where the women are located and if the separation between religion and government is strong or not.

Ibrahim explained, “For example, in Saudi, if the family imposes these gender roles on women, the women are limited to what their families impose on them. In secular countries, once women reach adulthood, they can break free and pursue their dreams.”

When I questioned the various interpretations of Islam, noting the different ones around, especially in regards to the similarities and differences between men and women, she couldn’t think of any. By Ibrahim’s analysis, the progressive Islamic interpretations tend to justify atrocities of Islam.

“For example, some progressive Muslims go on and on about how the word “beat” doesn’t actually mean “beat” in 4:34, but has several meanings in the Arabic language,” Ibrahim sated, “Or trying to justify the inheritance being half of that of men by excusing it saying men are required to provide for women and therefore it makes sense that they get more in inheritance.”

If she had to choose, Ibrahim went with the liberals and reformers of Islam who provide better interpretations of Islam. Also, if women want to leave Islam, some countries have mechanisms and structures in place for women to leave the religion.

Some women disagree with the tenets and practice and, by freedom of religion and freedom of belief, should be able to leave the faith. Ibrahim described the secular nations as safer for women to leave and seek out community.

“In the US and Canada, there is an organization called Ex-Muslims of North America that helps create communities for ex-Muslims to get together. Knowing that there are more people that have left the religion as well is therapeutic and helpful,” Ibrahim said, “In Muslim-majority countries, it is more difficult, but not impossible. Finding like-minded people is still a possibility and finding an outlet, whether it is in social media or a group of close like-minded friends is very helpful.”

So, the help exists for leaving the faith if a woman, or a man for that matter, feels the particular interpretation does not permit them to be free and happy. The support structures for men are similar as for women if they so wish to leave the faith.

However, men face fewer hurdles. The honor culture in many Muslim-majority countries makes the issue much more difficult for the women: “Women are in danger of honor violence as well.” The apostasy punishment, e.g. beheading and life imprisonment, is more dangerous for the men, though.

For the kids, I asked about their chances. “Unfortunately, they are trapped. In most countries, even secular western countries, forced indoctrination is not looked at as a form of abuse. So unless parents do something that is illegal,” Ibrahim opined, “such as trying to force their minor child into marriage or beating them when they do not pray, children will have to be diligent and prepare to walk out once they reach adulthood. It is even more difficult if the child lives in a Muslim-majority country, where leaving the religion is not even a choice.”

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2022-04-19

The Urgent Death Penalty Case of Noura Hussein Hammad

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/11

Sodfa Daaji is the Chairwoman of the Gender Equality Committee and the North Africa Coordinator for the Afrika Youth Movement. Here we talk about Noura Hussein Hammad’s urgent case. The hashtag: #JusticeForNoura. Daaji’s email if you would like to sign the petition, please provide first and last name and country to the following contact: daajisodfa.pr@gmail.com.

As I asked her about gender-based violence, as well as masculinity and gender roles as aspects in this, she talked about the multiple forms of violence faced by Noura.

Daaji stated, “Noura has faced multiple forms of violence, but she is still treated as the perpetrator, and not as a victim and survivor.” She explained Sharia Law does not permit the detailing her case in full to the judges.

However, marital rape is recognized in Sudanese law, but this aspect of the law was ignored in the case of Noura. It was ignored and not applied in short. The father treated Noura as if this was a woman whose fate was written through being married to a man chosen by the father.

Daaji described how Noura had zero chance to state no and be able to decide for herself, for her body, for her future.

When I asked about the ways in which the general public, the ordinary people, can help, Daaji stated, “Now, we need to be heard. We have 15 days and we are literally fighting against a system and against the time. We are not willing to be polite anymore, and we just need to be heard. Sharing the official hashtag #JusticeForNoura and her story will help us to fight for Noura’s justice.”

The prevalence of the cases such as Hammad’s seems common, according to Daaji. She wonders, along with other concerned people, if others are facing similar death penalties on similar grounds in Sudan.

“Women around the world are often the victim of injustice, and in some countries, laws are not equal. We are trying to mobilize to urge the Sudanese authorities to change as well the law,” Daaji explained, “and to start to take in consideration the details of each story, case by case. And of course, it is our duty to advocate for the abolishment of death penalty.”

Daaji cares passionately about the Sustainable Development Goals. She believes we cannot speak of leaving anyone behind in the developed world if we do not take other less well-off countries where the death penalty is part of the judicial system.

Hammad has less than 15 days to appeal the decision of the death sentence for her.

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2022-04-19

#BNChangesLives and Lives Changed by Black Nonbelievers, Inc.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/10

Mandisa Thomas is the Founder of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. One of, if not the, largest organization for African-American or black nonbelievers or atheists in America. The organization is intended to give secular fellowship, provide nurturance and support for nonbelievers, encourage a sense of pride in irreligion, and promote charity in the non-religious community.

I was lucky enough to have a short conversation with Thomas about a new hashtag campaign of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. (BN). When I asked about the reason for the campaign, #BNChangesLives, Thomas pointed to the consistent theme of hearing the personal stories of members and allies of BN.

Many people who felt as though they were helped in the transition out of their faith and to be able to find a community. With campaign on social media and elsewhere, the messages that are shared can be a few words and even a couple paragraphs in order to share their story. This sharing of personal narratives can help bridge the gap of aloneness for many nonbelievers and help bring them together with fellow atheists and nonbelievers, Thomas noted.

BN has been around for about 6 years now. Thomas explained, “We wanted to give people the opportunity to be able to share how we have done that. We wanted to give supporters – people who support our organization – who do not know how we have made an impact. This is a way to tell members how we connect with the overall community.”

When I questioned about specific stories of lives greatly improved by activities of BN or other organizations, Thomas pointed to a woman who was “very heavily involved in her church. She questioned the Bible and decided to leave. She was lacking community. She saw the need to help build that community and help find other nonbelievers. In contacting myself and wanting to get involved with the organization, we started the Portland, Oregon affiliate. She is connected with other black nonbelievers in general, in her area.”

Thomas talked how they have begun to work on some events together in order to create a cultural connection in a community. Where once there was a church, they have one means of nonreligious community, even online forums for the members of BN. In particular, Thomas talks about one person who was contemplating suicide based on emotional trauma that came from being a believer.

She found BN and saw a means to connect with another community and express inchoate frustrations. While BN does not put themselves out there as an alternative to mainstream medical professionals, as Thomas makes clear, people with trauma from a religious community who can find another community feel a place in which to heal is BN.

Thomas talked about how the community helped this woman deal with suicidal tendencies. “Her frustrations were that family member who was a pastor or deacon in the church had molested her,” Thomas stated, “She was sexually assaulted by a family member who was a leader in the church. That is not frustrating [Laughing]. That is traumatic.”

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2022-04-19

The Changing Discussions Around Gender Roles from Progressives and Traditionalists

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/09

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is the founder of Ideas Beyond Borders and Bayt Al-Hikma 2.0. I sat down and talked with him about the conversations happening around traditional gender roles and progressive gender roles. Those gender roles more in the public discourse for deconstruction, debate, conversation, negotiation, and inquiry.

When I asked Al Mutar about the reasonable and unreasonable aspects of these debates, he responded, “I see it as kind of sad that the conversation about gender roles is happening again even in progressive societies.”

Al Mutar considers the segmenting of people into categories is limiting. He mentioned a recent attendance at a Liberty Con conference. There was a discussion around the categories and the limiting of people into categories.

Al Mutar said, “In the Roman Empire, you needed the military to be strong, physical men with good equipment and all that.” He gave that as a point of comparison. Where “a good solider” might not need the same physical requirements now, this is contrasting the Roman Empire with now.

With the drone technology, Mutar explains, and the advancement of military equipment, the limitation on gender with these old views can seem outdated.

“What happens is, sometimes, they make generalizations… even if they use stats, they are using it as a generalization which is ironic because obviously statistics are the opposite of generalizations,” Al Mutar opines, “So, I don’t want to make it sound like they’re the same, but the argument is that, ‘Oh, according to stats, more men prefer jobs in engineering and more women prefer jobs in social arts and liberal arts.’”

Al Mutar emphasized less the statistics and more the point of the advancement of some arguments. He thinks that, sometimes, conversations on gender roles can lead to bad outcomes or consequences. The emphasize, he thinks, should be on the individual pursuing their potential rather than having a societal restriction on an individual based on their gender.

When sked the people putting forward this more progressive worldview rather than traditional worldview, Al Mutar talked about the emerging movement comprised of many people. Those more often are left-leaning people.

Al Mutar describes how some in this emerging movement can be extreme. Extreme to the point of ignoring the differences between men and women, in denial of the science.

“So, within the more left-leaning, anti-gender roles groups, while I’m fully supportive of that and something I’m more aligned with; there’s also a movement too that pushes against the science behind it, which I think is not helpful to their cause in trying to say there is almost zero biological difference,” Al Mutar stated.

Al Mutar looks more for the type of society someone wants to live inside. Even if the science says otherwise, he posed the question, “Do we really want to put limitations on people based on their gender?”

“If more of the secular folks make arguments based on that rather than denying the science, I think they will be able to convince more people of the arguments rather than denying basic facts,” Al Mutar concluded.

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2022-04-19

On the Avenues of Intergenerational Communication

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/08

Melvin Lars is a fellow Good Men Project writer and Social Interest Group call listener-commentator. One topic was intergenerational communication. I wanted to garner some insight with a conversation between an older American and a younger Canadian.

We both live in North America, in different countries, and lived in different generations growing up (and continue to, of course). This is intended as a series on the subject of intergenerational conversation. Mr. Lars comes from Bossier City/Shreveport, Louisiana.

Lars earned several undergraduate and graduate degrees, is married to Ann Lars, and has a son named Ernest Lars. Here we talk about intergenerational communication.

When I asked Mr. Lars about the subject matter of intergenerational bonding, communication, and the facilitation of bonds through communication between generations, he talked about the importance, first, of listening.

Listening as the foundation to understanding, compassion, and exchange of experiences. Different generations have different experiences. In that, older generations and younger generations need to communicate with one another.

It seems like the foundation for long-term societies. Otherwise, society does not have anything other than a short-term perspective. Lars talked about one of the problems in the listening of the older generations. He talked about how they want to share wisdom and expect the wisdom to be absorbed.

However, they do this without first taking into account building that bond through listening and communicating in the first place with the younger people. I posted this to him as listening to learn rather than listening to respond to the young person.

He considers this exactly on point. Later in the conversation, I asked about some stronger points of communication or wisdom coming from the younger generation to the older generation and from the older generation to the younger generation.

Lars responded by talking about the attempts of the older guys to try to appease the younger guys. He argues that we need to delete the idea of a preconceived outcome for a conversation or dialogue. He also talked about deleting the idea that a young person has nothing to offer an older person. We also talked about the need to delete the attempts of the placation of the young people.

Lars goes on to note that placation is something people notice and do not like. At that point of understanding that they are being placated, people will shut down. He gives an analogy with Charlie Brown with the teacher going, “wa-wa-wa-wa.”

In terms of barriers to communication between adolescent men, young men, middle-aged men, and elderly men, Lars talked mainly from his own demographic of older men. He notes that older men have a tendency to put on a persona of seeming as if they have everything together. However, he describes the reality is quite different often: older men may not necessarily have it together. They may not want to take responsibility for skeletons they have in their closet or mistakes they made in the past.

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2022-04-19

Laity and Catholic Hierarchs on Abortion

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/19

Jon O’Brien, the President of Catholics for Choice, took the time to discuss reproductive health issues and the Roman Catholic Christian faith with me. I asked, in particular, about the situation in America regarding both, especially touching base around pro-choice issues.

When asked about the more pressing issues within the faith community, O’Brien said, “One of the biggest problems is the disconnect between the Catholic hierarchy and the Catholic people on issues of contraception and abortion. For example, in the failing days of the Pinochet regime of Chile, the Catholic hierarchy there pressured General Pinochet to introduce a restrictive anti-abortion law. In 2017, Chile, a country that is still predominantly Catholic, changed this Pinochet-era law on abortion. We see that sort of law all over the world, especially in Latin America.”

A stark example of the differences between the hierarchs of the Catholic Church and Catholic laity. O’Brien stated that there does need to be a deeper comprehension of civil rights, human rights, women’s rights tied to the ideas of conscience and autonomy.

He pointed to the stereotypes, from the outside, of the Catholic laity, where if someone is known as Catholic then they are viewed as anti-abortion or pro-life.

O’Brien gave an example of the prime minister fo Chile, Michelle Batchelet, who introduced a law to reform the complete ban on abortion with the now limited allowance of abortion dependence on the case, e.g. the pregnancies that may result from a rape or with fetal abnormalities and to save the life/health of the woman.

He does note an important point, “What is significant is we’re seeing Catholic voters and Catholic politicians no longer feeling intimidated by the institutional Church and standing up and saying as Catholics, ‘We don’t see a contradiction between allowing people to follow their conscience,’ which is a Catholic thing.”

He points to two intellectual giants within the theological traditions of the Catholic Church with Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine. Both Aquinas and Augustine taught that the final arbiter in an ethical decision is conscience.

That is, the individual conscience of the Catholic Church layperson in opposition to the hierarchy’s teaching within the church. It amounts to issues around autonomy, personal freedom, and LGBT issues as well.

Catholics support homosexual marriages in the United States. O’Brien reflected, “Although the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic hierarchy ran really highly funded campaigns against the idea of marriage equality, they lost. In the Republic of Ireland, the country of my birth, we’ve seen a referendum on the same subject. In other words, the people themselves voted in favor of marriage equality, despite the views of the Catholic hierarchy.”

It comes to the same story over, and over, again with conscience deciding against the hierarchical authority in favour of the ordinary believer of the church, the laity. He does not view these people as less Catholic. He views them as living social justice as they view it.

Catholics are making decisions for themselves. They say, ‘Your baptism makes you Catholic,'” O’Brien stated, “Being Catholic is not a litmus test as to whether you adhere to the letter of law in every teaching. Nor does it mean you get up in the morning and do whatever you want to do. It means you properly form a conscience and follow it. You must examine your conscience and that is a serious process of looking at what the church leaders have said, looking at what the Church has written and looking at your impact on others.”

He made a stark point that 99 percent of Catholic women who are active, sexually, in America use a form of birth control, which the bishops of the Catholic Church does not like.

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2022-04-19

The Humanism Time Machine

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/07

Andrew Copson, the Chief Executive of Humanists UK and the President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, talked with me about humanism in terms of its meanings and origin.

Copson said, “In English since the mid-nineteenth century, when it first appeared as a word, ‘humanism’ has had two main meanings. One refers to the cultural milieu of Renaissance Europe, which we now more often call ‘Renaissance humanism’. The second refers to a non-religious approach to questions of value, meaning, and truth, which emphasizes the role of humanity in these areas of life rather than the role of any deity.”

The second form of humanism inspired the organizations for humanist thinkers and activists. When I asked about the mobilization of those outside of a faith-based framework, and inquired if there are any similarities in the frameworks, Copson stated that there were not that many differences, as people have beliefs that motivate action in the world.

“Certainly, humanist organisations and leaders don’t have the god-backed power to instruct their fellow believers to do this or that, but then that doesn’t work out terribly well for religious leaders either,” Copson explained. “I think that leadership in a humanist context is about being clear in public forums about our values and beliefs, and then living out and modelling them in practice too. If people agree with your reasoning and warm to your manner, they will consider doing as you suggest.”

When I talked with Copson further about the founder of humanistic values, whether an entire society or an individual thinker, he pointed to several incidents bubbling up in the historical record including people such as Mengzi in China about 2,300 years ago. In addition to Mengzi or Mencius, he noted the Charvaka school in India, which had a similar counterpart in another part of the Greco-Roman world between 2,500 and 1,800 years ago.

“None of the societies in which these views were expressed could be described as humanist—they were diverse societies in which there were many schools of thought,” Copson explained, “but they were certainly more humanistic than, for example, the Christian states of medieval Europe. It was in part the rediscovery and reception of these humanistic thinkers that kickstarted the humanistic trends that have transformed the world and made it modern.”

Humanism has been an emergent property in world cultures. The principles of the philosophy have arisen at different times. As the different cultures and times have come forward, the definitions have changed, but the core of humanism has been consistent. It is in this that the humanist philosophy appears to be something universal to human beings. But the question remains as to why it is stayed so small in adherents.

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2022-04-19

Public vs. Private Healthcare According to a World Medical Expert

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/19

In March of 2017, one of Canada’s most distinguished academics, Professor Gordon Guyatt at McMaster University, talked about healthcare. In particular, his area of expertise in public and private healthcare, with an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of each system.

He took the time to have a discussion with me on the nature of the two different healthcare systems, the positives and negatives of each, and which might interest particular populations within a country.

When it comes to the general factors for the discussion for private versus public healthcare, Guyatt said, “When I gave the talk, I ask people, ‘How should we decide?’ There are a number of things that people raise. One is health outcomes.”

“It depends on the ultimate goal of healthcare, such as keeping people healthier. We also must consider what the impact is on people’s health, access to care, patient satisfaction, and autonomy—often characterized as a choice, and so on.”

He went on to describe the cost of healthcare as a major factor. But he also lamented that there is a lot of misinformation. This is distressing because the necessary ingredients for an informed decision by the public on the matters of healthcare require accurate information, not misrepresentation and distortion.

He notes that one of the major drivers for everything is the dissatisfaction with the way things are working now. That there must be a better way.

“You are looking for something different. It depends on who you are talking to. Their perspective might make a difference,” Guyatt explained. “The outcomes of private versus public funding will differ depending on who you are.”

“If you are very rich, it is a different calculus than if you are very poor. It changes across that spectrum. And it is very different if you are a healthcare provider versus a healthcare consumer.”

Income becomes an important factor. If you are a wealthy citizen, then the healthcare considerations will be different than if you are not as wealthy or a regular Canadian citizen. One concern for people is the sustainability of the current healthcare costs.

These differing frames of reference change the ways in which people are able to take into account the idea of “cost” within healthcare. He continued, “When I talk to audiences, there are notions that people have about what is affordable. There are notions people have about what it will do to their own income.”

To deal with the sustainability of the healthcare system, Guyatt said that he asks people about the healthcare expenditures as a proportion of the GDP over the last seven years. He gives multiple choices: gone up every year, most years, and so on.

“People end up surprised when the answer is that it has been stagnant or declined. So, as a percentage of GDP, healthcare is actually lower than it was seven years ago. They also tend to be surprised when you inform them that in 1991, that it was 10% of GDP for all healthcare expenditures. Now, it is a little bit below 11%. That is over more than 25 years.”

The healthcare expenditures over 25 years have been more extreme, according to Guyatt, “About 7% to 7.5%”. These influence the perception of the public on the costs of healthcare spending as a share of national wealth, which turn out to be false perceptions.

If we don’t clear up the misinformation, then making an informed choice on healthcare systems won’t be possible, but Gordon Guyatt is doing what he can to change that.

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2022-04-19

Meaningful Conversations Begin With Ethics

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/09

Islam, akin to Christianity, remains one of the largest religions in the world, with an enormous number of followers well over one billion. This means a variety of views, interpretations of religious scripture, values, and perspectives on one’s role in society—especially gender roles.

Shaykh Uthman Khan, Academic Dean of Critical Loyalty, an online university, recently took the time to sit down (virtually) with me to answer some questions about gender roles in Islam. Khan is an academic and Muslim.

♦◊♦

When I asked about effective means of communication in documented Islamic history and gender roles, Khan noted, “You should listen with the intention to understand and not with the intention to reply.” If someone wants to take on a new perspective, then dialogue becomes foundational, with the intent of the conversation to listen and understand the other person’s point of view.”

When it comes to some Islamic theology and some Islamic scholars, Khan noted that even if from the same religion, the disagreements in theology can make a scholar not want to associate with another: “I still don’t associate with you because we’re not from the same group.”

“A grouping that we’ve done within ourselves, different groups that we’ve created. It’s a big problem,” Khan explained. “The only way to overcome that is to come to a common understanding or a common ground.”

I have friends who are Christians and Jews. When I’m talking to them, I don’t talk theology with them.

“Religion aside,” he continued, “I have friends who are Christians and Jews. When I’m talking to them, I don’t talk theology with them. The theological conversation eventually starts trickling in if I need to talk theology, but we’ll talk about something that we both agree on.”

Finding that common ground within the faith, with disagreeing interpretations and perspectives of the faith, can be a tool applied to a broader context as well. For example, before a discussion on gender roles in the modern period, there must be the common ground as a foundation first.

Then the dialogue can move forward into the appropriateness of certain gender roles, for men and women. He notes this as a phenomenon extending beyond the intrafaith dialogue of the Muslim community, saying, “Muslims, I find, have segregated themselves a lot from others, from everyone else that’s not a Muslim. So, it’s like, ‘I’m a Muslim and you’re a non-Muslim.’”

He noted that this segregated approach is promoted in Islam and hasn’t found this to be the case in other religions. The dichotomy becomes Muslim vs. non-Muslim. But finding that common ground can be a good start to have the important conversations on gender, at which point he spoke about a mutual friend, Shireen Qudosi.

What do you call Shireen Qudosi? So, it happens to her all the time…She is called a slur, which is, ‘I consider you a kafir.’ Kafir means a non-Muslim.

She is a Muslim but doesn’t wear a hijab, for instance. “What do you call Shireen Qudosi? So, it happens to her all the time,” Khan described, “She is called a slur, which is, ‘I consider you a kafir.’ Kafir means a non-Muslim.” The reason for the epithet is because she is not wearing the hijab.

Shaykh Khan stated the same happens to him. He becomes considered, by some, a kafir or a non-Muslim because of disagreements on Islam, while both people identify as devout Muslims. Khan stated that this is a big impediment to the development of pluralism. It is a “big problem”.

He shared the following story from seminary. There was a dialogue course, which is a course where discussion and dialogue are encouraged. As an exercise, the people came from outside and put sticky notes on the wall. The notes had different identities on them: religion, age, education, and so on, in the myriad self-identifications of people.

“Believe it or not, 99 percent of the Muslims went and stood by the religion part,” he said in a surprised tone. Religion becomes a primary way that Muslims identify themselves—more than education, age, or other descriptors. He talked about explicit and implicit rules within Islam surrounding the community of Muslims.

He stated, “There are these rules there, but people are forgetting that Islam and ethics create a barrier in between because ethics are universal. You can be ethical and not be a Muslim, right?”

What defines you and makes you a Muslim is these few things that you’re doing, this belief that you have, believe in one god, in the prophet Muhammad, that’s what makes you a Muslim. Then your rituals will add on to that, then your ethics are universal.

“What defines you and makes you a Muslim is these few things that you’re doing, this belief that you have, believe in one god, in the prophet Muhammad, that’s what makes you a Muslim. Then your rituals will add on to that, then your ethics are universal.”

Ethics will bring people together because ethics are universal, in his opinion, where the discussion on beliefs—those that comprise Islam—can then become part of the discussion. But if the religion becomes translated into ethics, then the ethics becomes subjective, so people have to worry about how do they urinate, how do they dress, how do they eat, and so on. Those failing to meet those subjective ethics become non-Muslim or the outsiders.

That is where ethics must be primary, according to Khan, in order for the discussion to take place. Finding one more common ground with ethics because his religion is his dealing with God, and ethics is his dealing with everyone.

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2022-04-19

A Look at Vintage Inspired Ethical Designs from Helen Minogue

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/09/27

I am a writer and executive administrator for Trusted Clothes, which is an ethical and sustainable fashion organization. The following is a series devoted in honor of the work done in collaboration with the Schroeckers and the Trusted Clothes team.

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Vintage Inspired Ethical Designs is a new eco friendly vintage inspired contemporary fashion label based in Adelaide. The owner/designer, Helen Minogue develops her designs in Adelaide, and after many months of searching finally sourced home workers using traditional methods to weave, dye and print to make the eco friendly fabrics she wanted to work with, in India.

Tell us about your background

I was born and raised in South Australia to Anglo-Celtic parents. I was raised and educated as a Catholic. My father’s parents lived in New Guinea when he was a child and he was sent to Australia to boarding school from young age. My mother was born and raised in Adelaide and her parents were second-generation Irish. When my mother was growing up there was considerable discrimination against Irish Catholics to the extent that job advertisements would place the acronym CNNA – which stood for “Catholics need not apply”.

My mother’s grandmother would tell stories of when the English ‘invaded Ireland’ (as she called it), they stopped population speaking Gaelic and the children from being educated. So despite being raised a white Anglo Celt in a middle-class family I was made aware from a young age of the discrimination that can occur between groups of people and the long term and far reaching impacts this can have.

Tell us about your story and how you got into fashion?

I have come late to the fashion industry and with no formal training or relevant industry experience. I initially trained and worked as a registered nurse before then moving into the field of occupational health & safety. The compulsory purchase of my house and being made redundant lead me to decide to pursue a lifelong dream of having my own fashion label.

Box Pleat Skirt made of 100% Hand loomed Organic Cotton. It is hand dyed using natural dyes and block printed by hand.

How did you get interested in ethical and sustainable fashion?

I have always taken an interest in Human Rights so I was well aware of the ‘sweat shops’ being used by many fashion houses and especially any label that was offering clothing at very cheap prices.

So when I decided I was going to start my own label being ethical was a given and that is why it appears in my label name. It was when I started looking for an ethical supplier that I learned just how bad the fashion industry was in relation to pollution and waste and I felt I just could not knowingly be a part of that facet of the industry. Thus I began looking for organic fabrics and natural dyes.

As my designs are inspired by the vintage era my thinking behind my designs was that they would be more ‘timeless’ and therefore not impacted by the seasonal trends, I also hope that they are pieces that people will want to wear for years thus removing them from the fast fashion stream.

What seems like the importance of ethical and sustainable fashion designers and companies?

These designers and companies have 2 influencer roles, especially as there are more around. Firstly, we can impact upon the consumers by educating them about ethical and sustainable fashion and the benefits for everyone moving forward – this is particularly important for designers of teen fashion because if they can be educated at that stage of their buying journey it can impact them for the future.

The 2^nd way I see us being influencers is upon governments in things like getting new sustainable crops grown, tax reductions on sustainable clothing, supporting initiative’s for used clothing use.

What makes slow fashion better than fast fashion?

Fast fashion is usually mass-produced clothing that has everyone looking the same; it is made from synthetic materials, which come from a polluting factory and are designed to be worn only a few times and then thrown out – as because it is no longer ‘on trend’.

Slow fashion is made from organic fabric using natural dyes and will provide a unique piece that does not belong to a season and people will want to wear them year after year.

What is the importance of animal rights, especially in an ethical and sustainable fashion context?

Just like people animals as sentient beings have the right to be treated in a humane manner, if you are presenting yourself as ethical then by very choice of that word requires the appropriate action.

This is an 8 Gore (panels) Skirt. It is made from 100% hand loomed organic cotton, dyed using natural and traditional dyes and finally the print is added using the same method that has been employed for centuries – block printing.

What is Vintage Inspired Ethical Designs?

A new label that takes inspiration for designs from the 1920’s to 1960’s. It is currently doing ladies daywear. The clothes are designed with a timeless flair so that they can become wardrobe staples

What inspired the title of the organization?

I wanted the title to clearly explain what the label was about (this was before I had become eco conscious) and Vied means struggled/strived which I thought was apt for what I was starting and also for working with ethical companies

What are some of its feature products?

Organic hand loomed, hand dyed and block printed by hand fabrics

What are the main fibres and fabrics used in the products?

Organic cotton, organic linen, organic khadi, organic nettle, wood fibre.

Who grows, harvests, designs, and manufactures the products of Vintage Inspired Ethical Designs?

I design the clothes here in Adelaide, Australia. The growers and the manufacturers of the fabrics are local men and women from a number of villages across northern and north/western India. I choose the fabric and commission a bulk quantity (there is no capacity for sampling you have to commit), once the fabric is ready 5-6 weeks it is taken to the ‘factory’ in Mumbai – this factory consists of only about 7 people and they pay award wages.

Water use in production is an issue. What is the importance of reducing excess water use in the production of fashion?

As water is a precious resource, this is a very important issue facing the fashion industry. I am conscious that organic cotton uses less water than non-organic but it still uses a fair amount of water, so for my next collection I want to investigate the use of bamboo as an alternative but I do have concerns about the manufacturing process so this is what I need to look into further.

Will the fibres and fabrics for the products from the company biodegrade?

Yes, they are all organic so break down quite easily.

What is the customer base – the demographics?

Any age would suit my clothes, however I have specifically designed them for women 35+ and up as they are designed to fit women with realistic figures.

What topics most interest you?

New organic fabric developments, new sustainable crops, up-cycling ideas, ways to overcome the disposable society we have become (like the café in the USA where you can take broken kettles etc. and people will help you try to fix it instead of throwing it out and buying a new one).

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2022-04-19

ATOYAK, Selina Konig’s Ethical and Sustainable Fashion Company

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/09/26

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Tell us about yourself – family background, personal story, education, and previous professional capacities.

For some years now I have been very interested in sustainability, sustainable agriculture, reducing food waste and healthy nutrition. I try to include sustainability in my everyday life as best as I can. It just happened that for personal reasons I moved from Germany to the Bay Area, where these ideas and concepts have a much broader audience. I got involved with ATOYAK through my sister-in- law who is the founder and CEO. Having a business degree and being passionate about sustainability, and helping other where possible, made me the perfect candidate for helping her with ATOYAK.

Family background: I come from a well-situated German middle class family. I grew up it a rather “protected” environment, or a “bubble” as my husband likes to put it. At 17 I left my family for the first time to study abroad in the US. Since then I have lived, studied and worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina,

Singapore, and now in the Silicon Valley. Through travelling my horizons were broadened and I started questioning things that seemed natural to me. Since my mom implemented this notion of good and healthy food in me, I started my journey into sustainability with food. Through marriage, I have become a part of a Mexican-American family, which is in many ways the very opposite of the family I come from. It has been a never-ending discovery process and introduced me to ethical fashion through ATOYAK.

Education & profession: I hold a B.A in International Business Administration and a M.A in European studies. My B.A was in cooperation with IBM in Germany, where I completed the degree within 3 years while being an employee at IBM and working on 6 different 3 months assignments during that time. I finished my M.A last summer, which coincided with moving to the Bay Area. Here I work for a tech start-up in the network security industry.

What is the importance of sustainable fashion?

We need to use our resources in a smart and sustainable way, and fashion is just one piece of the puzzle.

What about socially conscious fashion and design?

All people behind a product need to be valued. Not only the brand name and designer, but those who actually produce our fashion. If we recognize them and empower them through our products, we give them the tools to delevop themselves, their families, towns, countries.

What is ATOYAK?

ATOYAK was founded with the premise to empower women in small town in Mexico, named Atoyac. This is the town where my husband and his sister grew up in. My sister-in- law, Jackie, had been looking for opportunities to empower the women she knew and found that knitting and crocheting was something most of them knew how to do. Being a designer she came up with a product palette, creating the brand ATOYAK. She wanted to create products that represent her ideas and believes about living sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Its stated mission is to “create sustainable job opportunities that empower women in small towns of Mexico to rise out of poverty and live with dignity.” What are some of the ways that ATOYAK is pursuing this mission?

ATOYAK has given jobs to women who either didn’t have a job, were selling things to make a bit of money, or had other jobs which they could hardly live off. ATOYAK is the best paying employer in town, paying the women wages they would only dream of. It has given them not only economic stability, but also created enthusiasm and hope. Guille, the General Manager was able to send her daughter Fatima, who also works for ATOYAK part time, to finish high school, which otherwise would not have been possible. She also started Zumba classes and was able to spend more time on her health and well-being. But most importantly it gave her the opportunity to go back to school and finish her middle school education.

How can other companies pursue this in general, too?

Every company can weigh the benefits of a bit more profit in its own hands, or investing in society. Because we only become more prosperous in the long run if all of us benefit. Paying fair wages, empowering workers to grow personally and professionally, producing in an environmentally friendly way, stop striving for excess, all these are things every company can implement. In today´s world, most thinks are driven by quantity, not quality. If we go back to owning 3 pairs of good quality and sustainably produced jeans, instead of 10 that are not, we are heading in he right direction.

What other work are you involved in at this point in time?

At this moment only ATOYAK and my full-time job.

With regard to ethical and sustainable fashion companies, what’s the importance of them now?

These companies need to show that ethical fashion can be as trendy, modern and as up to date as the leading fashion companies. They will need to educate especially the young generation and make it ‘hip’ to wear sustainable fashion.

Thank you for your time, Selina.

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2022-04-19

Morgan Wienberg, Shutting Down Corruption and Nuanced Problems

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/09/24

Morgan Wienberg is the Co-Founder, Coordinator, and Head of Haiti Operations for Little Footprints Big Steps International Development Organization. She was kind enough to take the time for an extensive interview with me. Please find part 11 below, and 1 here, 2 here, 3 here, 4 here, 5 here, 6 here, 7 here, 8 here, 9 here, and 10 here.

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4. Jacobsen: What is the process to shutting them down? If people are reading this 1, 5, or 10 years from now, what is the general process to shut them down directly or indirectly through support/advocacy to shut them down?

Wienberg: It is important to be in contact with IBESR. If you see orphanages that do not treat children well or up to standards, you should report it. If it is not too severe, they will not shut it down, but will pressure the orphanage to improve its standards. It is important to notify them about it. That is the first step. Also, you can go to the police, UNICEF, or Save the Children.

In terms of prevention, if you want to support abused children, you should know orphanages are more likely to cause more problems. You can consider supporting families or community development projects, foster homes, or support IBESR if you’re going to support an orphanage. IBESR can list the official ones. If it is an orphanage that you are part of now, you can contact IBESR to see if it is registered.

First of all, international sponsors for these orphanages are not aware of the exploitation happening. Also, they might not be aware of the alternatives. Haiti is on another level. Even if an orphanage is well run, the children are healthy. It has sufficient funding. A child raised in an institution is not going to develop the same as a child in a family setting. S.O.S. Village is a good example.

This is a good orphanage that we’ve placed children when they can’t be with their families because it is set up as a family setting. It is broken into different households with a mother and a limited number of kids. I appreciate that some kids need orphanages, but the setup should be in a family dynamic. There is research to prove this. Kids raised in institutions are more likely to be involved in prostitution, crime, and so on.

They feel like they are lacking something. If you look at Haiti as a whole and want to help Haiti advance, I do not see how taking children away from their communities and leaving them in that one spot, and leave them there until they are 18, will help the country advance.

You have teenagers completely disconnected from the community. They do not know how to survive in their own country. They do not have the connections to community for reintegration into the community. I have seen those kids at 18. They grow up well in an orphanage, but are put out on the street at 18. Literally, there have been kids that die because of malnutrition. They do not know how to survive.

Once they turn 18, they can not keep them in the orphanage. They put him on the street. They did not reunite him with the family at that point. If the child has been at the orphanage for several years, who knows if the family will accept them? If they do live with the family, they do not have the connection. They are not used to surviving. A lot of the time, they do not have the skills to look after themselves and the community.

Haiti is lacking in aftercare programs for transitioning youth into more self-sufficient adults. Many people are eager to support little kids. Sometimes, it is difficult to acquire funding for teenagers or young adults. It is important because those are some of the most at-risk people in Haiti. Those young adults. They have the potential to turn the country around and contribute to the economy, and to create industry.

They can look after themselves and other people. Few people are investing in that age group. Those are the people turning to crime or remaining dependent on adults or orphanages, and so on. So, definitely, the investment in families and communities is the way to go; if you have to support and institution, you should have it based in family units with aftercare programs to help youths transition out.

5. Jacobsen: Statistically, those that will become involved in crime, drugs, inability to support themselves, and have a negative impact on society are young men more than young women. The reintegration of young men into families is important for the reduction of those negative impacts. I love your comprehensive perspective. Aside from family reintegration and after care programs, what are the nuanced on-the-ground aspects of the problem?

Wienberg: With the aid coming to Haiti, I notice this does not focus on empowerment and sustainability of the locals. Those giving the aid need to ask the locals what they are not good at and then work on improving that for them. That can help them become more sustainable. Also, it creates a culture of dependents. The Haitian people are receiving handouts or people are coming to them and asking, “What do you need?”

Rather than, “What qualities do you have that we can help you build?” That mentality, even once healthier, they will not realize that they can impact or improve those in their community. They see themselves as receivers rather than contributors. It is about coming with an open mind and being culturally sensitive asking, “How can we help you become more sustainable?” Then, you can invest in that.

When you look at the US aid approach of sending subsidized rice into Haiti, local farmers can not sell rice. The street rice in more expensive than bleached white American rice. Even a portion of the money invested in shipping the rice over here, if those funds were invested in helping local farmer grow crops and training them in effective methods of doing it, it would have an exponentially greater impact here than the standard method.

References

[David Truman]. (2016, March 9). Morgan. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWbgIF1NO5E.

[DevelopingPictures]. (2012, March 25). Sponsor a Child: Little Footprints Big Steps. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjzncB3HsmA.

[James Pierre]. (2016, April 5). Morgan Wienberg goes one-on-one with James Pierre. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1VMeKKTxkM.

[Morgan Wienberg]. (2014, June 3). Congratulations, FH Grad 2014!. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQ7PB95aYA.

[Ryan Sheetz]. (2015, February 20). Little Footprints Big Steps. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fdPx1srGI.

Bailey, G. (2013, December 31). Catch Yukoner Morgan Wienberg tomorrow on CBC’s Gracious Gifts. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/airplay/features/2013/12/31/catch-yukoner-morgan-wienberg-tomorrow-on-cbcs-gracious-gifts/.

Baker, R. (2016, March 4). PHOTOS Governor General recognizes exceptional Canadians in Vancouver. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/governor-general-recognizes-exceptional-canadians-in-vancouver-1.3476960.

Broadley, L. (2014, August 1). Meet the Yukoner reuniting Haitian ‘orphans’ with their families. Retrieved from http://globalnews.ca/news/1482839/one-yukoners-work-reuniting-haitian-orphans-with-their-families/.

Bruemmer, R. (2011, April 8). Haiti: Little Paul gets it done. Retrieved from http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/haiti+little+paul+gets+done/5214066/story.html.

CBC News. (2015, November 29). Morgan Wienberg awarded Meritorious Service Cross for work in Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/morgan-wienberg-awarded-meritorious-service-cross-for-work-in-haiti-1.3340295.

ca. (n.d.). 23-year-old receives Meritorious Service Cross Medal. Retrieved from http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=804018&playlistId=1.2769055&binId=1.815911&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1.

ca Staff. (2016, February 8). 23-year-old awarded Meritorious Service Cross for work in Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/23-year-old-awarded-meritorious-service-cross-for-work-in-haiti-1.2769013.

Dolphin, M. (2015, December 4). Yukoner’s work in Haiti draws governor general’s attention. Retrieved from http://www.yukon-news.com/life/yukoners-work-in-haiti-draws-governor-generals-attention/.

Gillmore, M. (2012, July 18). Helping to reunite families in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/helping-to-reunite-families-in-haiti.

Gillmore, W. (2013, August 16). Wienberg gives New York a glimpse of Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.yukon-news.com/news/wienberg-gives-new-york-a-glimpse-of-haiti/.

Gjerstad, S. (2014, April 8). Morgan (22) vier livet sitt til å gjenforene barn med foreldrene sine på Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.tv2.no/a/5852686/.

Joannou, A. (2016, March 7). Governor general gives nod to Yukon’s champion of Haitian children. Retrieved from http://www.yukon-news.com/news/governor-general-gives-nod-to-yukons-champion-of-haitian-children/.

Langham, M. (2012, October 10). Just Like Us: An Interview with Morgan Wienberg of Little Footprints, Big Steps. Retrieved from http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.ca/2012/10/just-like-us-interview-with-morgan.html.

Little Footprints, Big Steps. (2016). Little Footprints, Big Steps. Retrieved from https://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com.

Neel, T. (2013, May 16). Reaching the Hearts of Children in Need. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/reaching-the-hearts-of-children-in-need/#sthash.YCSvg1aM.oVLAQE3j.dpbs.

Peacock, A. (2016, February 27). Haiti has her heart. http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/local_news/article_beb828d0-ddcf-11e5-851b-8b09487f61ce.html?mode=story.

(2014, July 8). Joven canadiense decide gastar sus ahorros en rescatar niños de Haití. Retrieved from http://www.elpais.com.uy/vida-actual/joven-canadiense-reune-huerfanos-haitianos.html.

Rodgers, E. (2015, January 12). Meet the 22-Year-Old Who Skipped Out on College—to Offer a Helping Hand in Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/01/12/meet-morgan-wienberg-little-foot-big-step.

Schott, B.Y. (2012, September 13). Making a Difference One Child at a Time. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/making-a-difference-one-child-at-a-time/#sthash.CeS656Xm.2r1eJsAW.dpbs.

Shiel, A. (2011, November 17). McGill students host third annual TEDxMcGill even. Retrieved from http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/11/mcgill-students-host-third-annual-tedxmcgill-event/.

Thompson, J. (2011, December 23). Helping Haiti for the holidays. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/helping-haiti-for-the-holidays.

Thompson, J. (August 12). Hope and hard lessons in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/hope-and-hard-lessons-in-haiti.

Thomson Reuters. (2014, July 27). 22-year-old Yukoner reunites Haitian ‘orphans’ with parents. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/22-year-old-yukoner-reunites-haitian-orphans-with-parents-1.2719559.

Waddell, S. (2015, November 27). For decorated Yukoner, home is now Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/for-decorated-yukoner-home-is-now-haiti.

Whitehorse Star. (2016, March 2). Yukoners to receive honours from Governor General. Retrieved from http://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/yukoners-to-receive-honours-from-governor-general.

Wienberg, M. (2013, November 22). Age Is Not an Obstacle in Changing the World. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/morgan-wienberg/age-is-not-an-obstacle_b_4324563.html.

Wienberg, M. (2014, January 23). Courage of a Mother. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/courage-of-a-mother/#sthash.hy1QzF0S.ZA1StSZz.dpbs.

Woodcock, R. (2013, September 26). Back to School in Haiti. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/back-to-school-in-haiti/#sthash.TMqQNkLX.dpbs.

Yukon News. (2013, February 6). Incredible acts of kindness in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/letters-opinions/incredible-acts-of-kindness-in-haiti.

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2022-04-19

Morgan Wienberg, Little Footprints Big Steps International Development Organization

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/09/24

Morgan Wienberg is the Co-Founder, Coordinator, and Head of Haiti Operations for Little Footprints Big Steps International Development Organization. She was kind enough to take the time for an extensive interview with me. Please find part 10 below, and 1 here, 2 here, 3 here, 4 here, 5 here, 6 here, 7 here, 8 here, 9 here.

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1. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Little Footprints Big Steps International Development Organization works from three components: child well-being and development, family and community involvement, and advocacy of child rights.[5] What are some modern examples of this – 5 years into its development?

Morgan Wienberg: Some children have been reunited for several years. We are focusing on education and medical care for the kids. That’s one clear example with child well-being and development. When speaking about family and community development, the community trainings as part of the working group for child protection. Community education regarding child abuse and sexual assault.

Also, education regarding abandonment once people give their children to orphanages. Some children have been reunited longer. We will invest in helping a parent start a small business or raise livestock. That does overlap into child wellbeing and development because the objective is to help that parent be able to care for the child.

In addition to it, that family can invest in their local economy, which can affect the whole community. When we talk abut advocacy, some examples include parents who try to reclaim their child from a corrupt orphanage. They find out that the child has been sold. We met one parent whose child died in the orphanage. We accompany those parents to take legal action and get an arrest warrant for the orphanage owner.

I have been involved in shutting several orphanages down. We have some of the kids involved in advocacy. When we have meetings with certain partners to educate international community about corrupt orphanages and the importance of family reunification, we have some of the youth that went through the phase of living in an abusive orphanage.

Now, they are with their families or in a state house. We have those children speak at the meetings or speak with partners, or on radios. We try to get them involved in that as well. In addition, other advocacy cases include kids who are sexually assaulted. We accompany them to the hospital for medical care. We try to arrange mental health care as well.

We have the child see a psychologist. We have them removed from the dangerous situation. We accompany them to the police system and to court if necessary.

2. Jacobsen: In a prior interview, you mentioned 600 orphanages were corrupt in Haiti. However, it is hard to track them. You posited more.

Wienberg: There are more.

(Laughs)

There are thousands of orphanages in Haiti. Social Services has tried to monitor them. However, when you talk about the entire Southern department, which is equivalent to a province or a state, there are only 7 social workers for the entire region who are with social services. Those 7 social workers don’t have contracts. They haven’t had contracts for the last 3 months.

They haven’t been paid. They go to work because of commitment to the kids. There are only 2 paid social workers at present for the entire region. They have one vehicle. How can they monitor those orphanages? They did try to do some statistics about it. Definitely, I believe there are more than 600.

3. Jacobsen: How many have you been involved in shutting down?

Wienberg: I have been involved in shutting down three orphanages, completely.

References

[David Truman]. (2016, March 9). Morgan. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWbgIF1NO5E.

[DevelopingPictures]. (2012, March 25). Sponsor a Child: Little Footprints Big Steps. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjzncB3HsmA.

[James Pierre]. (2016, April 5). Morgan Wienberg goes one-on-one with James Pierre. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1VMeKKTxkM.

[Morgan Wienberg]. (2014, June 3). Congratulations, FH Grad 2014!. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNQ7PB95aYA.

[Ryan Sheetz]. (2015, February 20). Little Footprints Big Steps. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9fdPx1srGI.

Bruemmer, R. (2011, April 8). Haiti: Little Paul gets it done. Retrieved from http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/haiti+little+paul+gets+done/5214066/story.html.

ca. (n.d.). 23-year-old receives Meritorious Service Cross Medal. Retrieved from http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=804018&playlistId=1.2769055&binId=1.815911&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1.

Gillmore, M. (2012, July 18). Helping to reunite families in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/helping-to-reunite-families-in-haiti.

Gillmore, W. (2013, August 16). Wienberg gives New York a glimpse of Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.yukon-news.com/news/wienberg-gives-new-york-a-glimpse-of-haiti/.

Gjerstad, S. (2014, April 8). Morgan (22) vier livet sitt til å gjenforene barn med foreldrene sine på Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.tv2.no/a/5852686/.

Little Footprints, Big Steps. (2016). Little Footprints, Big Steps. Retrieved from https://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com.

Peacock, A. (2016, February 27). Haiti has her heart. http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/local_news/article_beb828d0-ddcf-11e5-851b-8b09487f61ce.html?mode=story.

(2014, July 8). Joven canadiense decide gastar sus ahorros en rescatar niños de Haití. Retrieved from http://www.elpais.com.uy/vida-actual/joven-canadiense-reune-huerfanos-haitianos.html.

Shiel, A. (2011, November 17). McGill students host third annual TEDxMcGill even. Retrieved from http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/11/mcgill-students-host-third-annual-tedxmcgill-event/.

Thompson, J. (2011, December 23). Helping Haiti for the holidays. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/helping-haiti-for-the-holidays.

Thompson, J. (August 12). Hope and hard lessons in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/life/hope-and-hard-lessons-in-haiti.

Waddell, S. (2015, November 27). For decorated Yukoner, home is now Haiti. Retrieved from http://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/for-decorated-yukoner-home-is-now-haiti.

Whitehorse Star. (2016, March 2). Yukoners to receive honours from Governor General. Retrieved from http://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/yukoners-to-receive-honours-from-governor-general.

Wienberg, M. (2013, November 22). Age Is Not an Obstacle in Changing the World. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/morgan-wienberg/age-is-not-an-obstacle_b_4324563.html.

Wienberg, M. (2014, January 23). Courage of a Mother. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/courage-of-a-mother/#sthash.hy1QzF0S.ZA1StSZz.dpbs.

Woodcock, R. (2013, September 26). Back to School in Haiti. Retrieved from http://whatsupyukon.com/Lifestyle/making-a-difference/back-to-school-in-haiti/#sthash.TMqQNkLX.dpbs.

Yukon News. (2013, February 6). Incredible acts of kindness in Haiti. Retrieved from http://yukon-news.com/letters-opinions/incredible-acts-of-kindness-in-haiti.

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2022-04-19

Sustainable Fashion And Future Challenges – An Entrepreneur Speaks

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2019/10/15

Greg Horowitz is the Founder of Double Espresso Textiles (“Double Espresso”). With a Bachelors Degree in History from Binghamton University and a Masters in International Business from the University of Leeds, Greg leverages his wide range of professional experiences in Politics, Entertainment and E-Commerce to make ethical and sustainable fashion a far more achievable reality.

Here we talk about ethical and sustainable fashion, and Double Espresso.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How is ethical and sustainable fashion moving forward now, especially with more attention to plastics not only on the seafloor but in landfills and other areas?

Greg Horowitz: What I believe is that we are seeing something resembling a consumer-led revolution, businesses are now, for the first time, being forced to consider their customers as not simply judges of price and name-brand, but as educated and engaged consumers who will hold any given product to a higher standard of quality, production standards, and environmental-impact.

I must insert a cautionary note here and emphasize that we cannot feel that the revolution is here and in full swing, there is still a long way to go to make the massive and all-encompassing impact that we all aspire to, but the seeds have been planted. That is a major step in the right direction.

In our business, Double Espresso, we have found that with the rare exception of a large brand such as Patagonia or the occasional line of products produced and made available by a major retailer, environmentally-friendly change is largely driven by smaller and medium-sized brands who have a greater ability to model their organizational image and focus their brand in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

They have the ability to play to their customers wants and needs, and continually grow and develop without altering or horse-trading their values with their sales. The fact that there are so many brands determined to continue to grow without compromising their values is an incredibly encouraging development.

While it can be questioned what impact the smaller and medium-sized brands may be able to have, if you ask me, I believe that it is the perfect place to start. We want to see these smaller, ambitious, and aggressive young brands, who not only have the motivation but the upward trajectory of growth, to continually build out their businesses with an embrace for the values they hold most dear to be cleaner and greener. Today’s small brands are tomorrows big brands. If they see consistent success through their promotion and production of green and environmentally-friendly values and ideals, they’ll continue carrying these through as their consumer-base and audience become larger and more viable.

As I like to say, “Cotton is no longer simply cotton,” and a lot of the brands we work with are embracing this idea. Today, we live in a world of endless technological development and environmental awareness, which is fueling an extraordinary amount of innovation towards the re-imagining and re-engineering of old-style fabrics into new constructions and new ideas, which are “clean and green.” It’s amazing the types of products they are producing today. Polyester produced from plastic bottles captured off the seafloor. Leathers made from various types of fruits such as apples and pineapples. Cotton is no longer simply just cotton, but a GOTS-certified organic cotton that meet a wide variety of specifications and “Fair Trade” standards.

Jacobsen: What would you consider your main product at present for Double Espresso?

Horowitz: We work with many different types of brands looking to make their mark in the sustainable fashion industry who need us to handle different types of fabrics for them and get involved with sourcing at different points in their supply chain so it depends. If I had to pick one product that may be our “main product,” I would say that is a classic: GOTS-certified organic cotton.

Organic cotton has been around for a while and many different products use cotton. In the current marketplace, cotton is only acceptable if it is produced and sourced having met a wide variety of specifications and statistics. Brands no longer simply say, “Send me some cotton and make it kind of heavy or light,” it doesn’t work that way anymore.

Now when a brand says they are interested in organic cotton, they will specify the certification they want (usually either GOTS-certified or OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified). A specific weight range they want it to be in; a specific cutting width range that they can handle. Often, a variety of additional requests such as topical finishes, cloth qualities, and so on. These can be produced using an eco-friendly dyeing solution – which, incidentally opens up a whole other series of questions as there are several variants in eco-friendly dyeing with complications and specifications.

As well, with many of our clients, there is a growing interest in ensuring that their products are produced from situations which are ‘Fair Trade’, essentially ensuring that they are buying their fabric from organizations who pay their workers a fair wage, ensure that their workers are working in sanitary and kind conditions, and that the workers are NOT being dehumanized.

Jacobsen: Who are the main certifying authorities? What are the main certifications now, in terms of the sustainability of the textile?

Horowitz: It seems like every day. There is a new certification floating around the marketplace. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that certifications themselves are a profitable business. As new certifications enter the marketplace and engage consumers on their priorities, brands and organizations will be encouraged to acquire them as consumers begin to look for them. The second reason is that with the advancements of technology and the changes in the marketplace, there is more room for businesses offering certification to build a reputational base and solidify their status as the most important certification that is relevant to a specific technological and/or market advantage, essentially creating their own geographical and market-oriented niche.

But to be clear, it is not simply a matter of signing up and paying for the right to the certification, it is not that easy. These certifications hold their users to extremely high standards and will continually seek to ensure that the user, whether you are a manufacturer, supplier, or end-user, is maintaining the correct standards – the industry risks losing its appeal as contributing the sustainable fashion trends otherwise.

Jacobsen: You mentioned organic materials earlier, just to follow up on that – What is fruit leather?

Horowitz: Fruit leather is one of the finest innovations to come out of the textile industry. For large portions of the fashion and apparel industry, traditional leather is quickly becoming a symbol of yesterday’s fashion interests and is not conducive to a new generation of eco-friendly brands and consumers. From both a fashion standpoint and an animal-rights standpoint, which is a concern which many brands bring to us when discussing various types of fabrics and products, leather is no longer considered “cool” or as “cool” as it once was.

I also think, with the growing acknowledgment among the media and consumers, that we have a problem with the way we handle “food waste” for the first time we are actually seeing a sincere interest and attention from both a political, industrial, and a local level as to how much food is being wasted. With the larger amount of attention being paid to it, the issue has inspired several eco-friendly textile engineers to reevaluate how waste can be reimagined and reincorporated into the sustainable fashion industry. You see it not only with fabric such as ‘fruit leather,’ but also in the dyeing industry where food waste is being reincorporated into the dye used in clothing. Amazingly, they have done a damn good job.

So when you combine the two major issues, you get fruit leather. There are various types of different fruit leather being produced, whether from organic apples, pineapples, banana peels, and others.

Jacobsen: If you look at the political discourse surrounding fashion right now, we see a lot of public concern with plastic. Fascination, but at the same time challenges with the ideas of circular economy and how it changes global supply chains is growing. Does this, basically, imply the need for a multipronged approach to the pollution and production problems currently facing us?

Horowitz: Absolutely, there is no question about it. The environmentally-oriented and pollution-focused problems we are facing in our world are overwhelming. If we are not prepared to seek a multi-pronged and multilateral approach to these problems, the earth will cease to exist as we currently recognize it. Sustainable fashion is only one of the major economics sectors in this fight.

But I do believe, whole-heartedly, that solutions do not lie in singular approaches. Historically, it usually never does. It lies in a multilateral and multi-pronged approach stretching across the boundaries of politics, business, and people, where everyone has to get on the same page and act without question or self-interest. We have to be willing to share the common goals, and make the necessary adjustments to reach said goals.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Greg.

Horowitz: It’s a pleasure.

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2022-04-19

Assumptions of Rationality -Q&A with Dr. Alexander Douglas, Session 7

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2019/04/20

Dr. Alexander Douglas specialises in the history of philosophy and the philosophy of economics. He is a faculty member at the University of St. Andrews in the School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies. In this series, we discuss the philosophy of economics, its evolution, and how the discipline of economics should move forward in a world with increasing inequality so that it is more attuned to democracy. Previous sessions can be found here in part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6.

Scott Jacobsen: With psychology classified as a natural science by you, what are the most substantiated and broad-reaching strong conclusions of psychology relevant to economics?

Dr. Alexander Douglas: I’m no expert on this. Behavioural economics is the main area in which the findings of clinical psychology have been integrated. The major challenge attacks, as Robert Sugden puts it, the notion of ‘integrated’ preferences, according to which each agent is defined by a stable set of preferences that has to be tailored to fit her choice behaviour in all circumstances. So if I choose soup over salad today, and salad over soup tomorrow, then the assumption that I am rational compels us to redefine the objects in my preference-set. It would be irrational to prefer salad to soup and soup to salad tout court, but not, e.g., to prefer soup to salad when I’ve eaten 1000 soups in my life but salad to soup when I’ve eaten 1001 soups.

But is it rational for what I’ve eaten in the past to influence what I choose today? What about the lighting in the restaurant? What about what other people are eating? And then, of course, every soup is unique and every salad is unique: perhaps I prefer this soup to this salad, but not that soup to that salad. But then if the descriptions under which I choose become so specific, economic predictions become impossible: nothing about what I choose today will inform us about what I’ll choose tomorrow, since tomorrow everything will be slightly different.

Economists, it turns out, make a lot of implicit assumptions about what can and what can’t go rationally into what is called the ‘framing’ of a choice: past consumption is permitted to be relevant, but not seemingly extraneous factors like the day of the week on which a choice is made. But who is to say what it is rational to consider relevant to a choice? A lot of behavioural economics is about coming to terms with the importance of framing; people can be found, e.g., to choose to save 98 out of 100 lives but not to condemn two out of 100 people to death. Behavioural economics seeks to know how people typically frame their choices, and how the framing affects what they choose.

In a way, it tries to honour the ideal of ‘value-neutrality’ that underpins modern economics: it looks like a value-judgment to say that past consumption can rationally influence a choice but not the day of the week. Behavioural economists want to get by without even that value judgment. We shouldn’t say that people are irrational just because they take to be relevant what economic theorists take to be irrelevant.\

Sugden believes, by the way, that even without identifying people’s preferences as such we can make some judgments about the sorts of economic institutions that they would rationally choose. I’m sceptical. He believes that people will rationally choose an economically liberal arrangement, in which free agents can engage in voluntary exchange in pursuit of a better allocation to themselves – and so they might, under that description. But how about under the sort of description Thomas Carlyle might give to such an arrangement: an unearthly ballet of higgling and haggling, conducted by little profit-and-loss philosophers; an array of pig-troughs where the pigs run across each other in unresting search of the tastiest slops, etc. etc.? Framing matters when agents ‘rationally’ choose institutions, just as much as when they ‘rationally’ choose goods. Public choice theory, I think, must also come to terms with the centrality of framing.

Jacobsen: How might, or are, these most substantiated and broad-reaching strong conclusions of psychology influence the philosophizing about economics?

Douglas: Once we bring framing into the question, I think the whole way of modelling human behaviour has to radically change. I don’t see how this can be avoided. A standard ‘utility function’ in economics will look something like this: U=f(x), where U is the overall utility or wellbeing of an agent and x is some vector of magnitudes, each representing the amount of a certain good consumed. To take framing into account, we’d need to replace x with a vector of descriptions of goods. These can’t be simple magnitudes, and so the whole project of a mathematisation of human behaviour is undermined. Could you not just expand the vector of magnitudes to have one argument for every good consumed under every possible description? You’d have one magnitude for coffee in the morning on my own, one for tea in the afternoon with a friend, one for tea in the afternoon with a work colleague, one for coffee in the evening with my beloved, etc. etc. The problem, of course, is that every good will fall under an infinite number of possible descriptions. And worse, there are descriptions of descriptions: choosing off a menu isn’t the same as choosing from a buffet, and so on.

Moreover, it is hard to see how we can get solid experimental evidence on how people frame choices. We might, using the above example, find that people will choose to accept the loss of two people but not to condemn two people to death. These framing effects matter a great deal, as our spin doctors know well. But how do we define the difference? That too is far from clear – our spin doctors know that too. I think that properly taking these subtleties into account would make economics into a qualitative, hermeneutic, ‘soft’ science – more akin to anthropology than physics.

Behavioural economists are attempting to walk the tightrope between hermeneutic anthropology and quantitative science, but I believe that the tightrope is of infinitesimal width, and sooner or later they’ll topple over onto one side.

Jacobsen: Do any of the aforementioned strong conclusions influence the treatment of time-inconsistency first considered by Spinoza and into the present with professional philosophers such as yourself?

Douglas: Spinoza has an idea of rationality that, I think, sits very badly with economics in general. For him it is irrational to discount the future at all. I might prefer one marshmallow today to two marshmallows tomorrow, but tomorrow I would, if I could, certainly not give up two marshmallows to have had one in the past. It is arbitrary to identify myself with myself at a particular moment in time. Thus he says that the rational person does not value a good differently depending on whether it is past, present, or future (Ethics 4p62).

When modern economists talk about time inconsistency, they mean something much weaker than this. They’re talking about a time-discounting function that is hyberbolic, or generally non-linear. Only a few concede that time-discounting, in general, is irrational; Joan Robinson calls it ‘an irrational or weak-minded failure to value the future consumption now at what its true worth … will turn out to be’ (The Accumulation of Capital, 394).

If agents didn’t engage in time-discounting, economic explanations of interest rate, profit, and so on wouldn’t work. Economists certainly don’t want to say that economic equilibrium depends on profound irrationality in the agents involved. In fact, I think you could argue that their equilibriums depend on forced labour or coercive extraction of some sort. If I take on a loan today, my future self will have to work to pay the interest. He gets no direct benefit from what happened in the past. Or, even if he does, he is unlikely to set the relative value of the past benefit as high as his past self did. But he simply wasn’t consulted in the decision. My past self can be paternalistic or exploitative towards my future selves, but, in any case, there is a dictatorship of the present. Economists treat as coercive a situation in which the preferences of a select group determine the outcomes for everyone. But that is exactly what happens when, in their models, agents at time zero determine what all their future selves will pay and receive, by negotiating with other agents present at time zero.

We could, of course, identify all the future selves of an agent with that agent at time zero, but then we would have an agent with deeply inconsistent preferences. Again: today I prefer to give up the promise of two marshmallows tomorrow for one today, but tomorrow I certainly wouldn’t give up two marshmallows in order to have had one in the past. So a single diachronic agent with a nonzero time-discounting rate would have preferences that are not just ‘inconsistent’ in some weak sense but plainly contradictory.

This isn’t only an academic exercise; it gets to the heart of why markets can’t plan – an issue rendered very palpable in our day by the climate crisis. James Galbraith points this out somewhere in The Predator State. You shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that futures markets allow markets to plan: what they allow is for present agents to divide up the spoils of what they plunder from future generations by contractual obligations or irreversible natural processes. In this way, as in many others, Spinoza has never been more relevant.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Alex.

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2022-04-19

What Makes a Good Secular Therapist? With Dr Caleb Lack

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2019/03/07

Dr. Caleb W. Lack, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma, and the Director of the Secular Therapist Project. Dr. Lack is the author or editor of six books (most recently Critical Thinking, Science, & Pseudoscience: Why We Can’t Trust Our Brains with Jacques Rousseau) and more than 45 scientific publications on obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome and tics, technology’s use in therapy, and more. He writes the popular Great Plains Skeptic column on skepticink.com and regularly presents nationally and internationally for professionals and the public. Learn more about him here. Previous sessions can be found here: Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, and Session 4.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What does a secular therapist do in America? How do their methodology and practice differ from the majority of religious practices within the United States?

Dr. Caleb Lack: Overall, a secular therapist and a non-secular therapist have roughly the same goal: to alleviate the distress someone is experiencing. The ideas behind what is causing the distress and how to ameliorate it, though, can vary widely among (and within) these groups. Good secular therapists would look to what the empirical evidence says regarding the causes of, for instance, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then base treatments on those causes. These treatments should not just be based on someone’s ideas, but instead have been tested out in a well controlled manner. Ideally this means via a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study; this allows us to know that any change a person experiences via a particular therapy is due to that therapy and not to things like the placebo effect or a natural improvement across time (also called regression to the mean). In other words, it’s not enough to show that a person gets better because they were in therapy – instead we have to show that they get better because of that therapy specifically. This is what’s called using evidence-based practices.

It’s important to note that therapists who are religious can and do use evidence-based practices in therapy. In fact, most therapists are religious, and many do not let that aspect of their personal identity impact their work with clients. However, there are a significant number who provide things like “Christian counseling” either explicitly or implicitly, meaning that they bring their religious beliefs or practices into the therapy room. This might include doing things like praying with clients, relying on Biblical teachings to help clients solve problems, and so forth. The main issue with doing this, from my point of view, is that there’s not empirical evidence backing up that these things are actually helpful to reduce certain kinds of psychological symptoms or help improve one’s quality of life.

I’m not saying that they couldn’t help, but I personally would rather see someone who is doing something we are relatively certain will help me achieve a particular mental health goal, rather than just asking me to have faith that something will help.

Jacobsen: How does a practitioner of evidence-based therapy acquire training and earn accreditation different from ones more oriented to theory alone or faith as the fundamental bases for their practice?

Lack: That’s a great question. It’s almost surprisingly easy to become a licensed mental health professional in most states in the U.S., and across the world. In fact, in some countries, there is not any standard types of training or even a cohesive licensing board that ensures anyone calling themselves a “counsellor” or “therapist” has a certain level of education or training.

For anyone interested in becoming a very well trained mental health clinician, the first thing I would recommend is to carefully look at the curriculum being offered and the faculty teaching those classes. In general, you want a curriculum that’s very heavy on courses emphasizing known evidence-based therapies and assessment methods that’s taught by full-time faculty. Seeing what the faculty have listed as their therapeutic orientation is also good; most of our well-supported treatments are behavioural, cognitive, or cognitive-behavioural therapies. In case you aren’t familiar with what an EBP is, The Society for Clinical Psychology maintains an extensive list of known EBPs, while the Society for Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology has great information on what we know works with youth.

I would also talk with some of the core faculty about the training model they employ. I and a colleague recently published an article that outlined a training model for master’s level clinicians. It emphasizes a step-wise model of training where each clinical class builds upon the next one, with large amounts of intensive supervision both by faculty and outside supervisors.

Some red flags in programs that could indicate poor quality of training might be large amounts of classes taught by adjunct faculty and those without a terminal degree in the field (usually a doctorate); a very high student to faculty ratio in a program; low requirements to enter the program (for example, not requiring an undergraduate degree in psychology, taking people with a GPA below 3.0, or not requiring recommendation letters); clinically-oriented skills classes that are taught online; and courses that emphasize feelings or faith over fact.

Jacobsen: What makes a good therapist? Also, what is the typical optimum range of clientele for a therapist before either a) too few clients for them to become sufficiently proficient in their work or b) overdrawn, taxed, and likely to be at or already burned out on all three sides of the proverbial candle?

Lack: A good therapist is someone who is nonjudgmental, doesn’t try to force their particular worldview or ethical stance on you, and who helps you learn new, effective coping methods for the particular emotional, behavioral, or cognitive difficulty you are having. They also should be appropriately licensed or credentialed in the state or country you are in (what this means varies considerably between locations, though).

The second question is a bit trickier. In general, doctoral-level psychologists in the US and Canada have 4,000 or more hours of clinical experience by the time they graduate with their degree. For masters-level clinicians the number varies widely, with some programs only requiring 200 hours and others requiring 800 hours. However, that’s more to deal with being able to become licensed.

In terms of how many clients a clinician sees weekly, that varies widely depending on what kind of work they do. For someone seeing individual clients once a week or so, 25 clients is a fairly typical, non-overwhelming workload. Given that progress notes and treatment planning (not to mention things like billing, potentially) take up a fair amount of time, someone seeing that number of clients would have a full-time workload each week (or more). Of course, seeing more intense clients, or for longer amounts of time each week could adjust these kinds of numbers downward. Or if you are like me and a full-time professor, you might only see a couple of people each week to keep your clinical skills honed, as more is impossible due to time constraints.

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2022-04-19

Angelos Sofocleous: Free Speech, Political Correctness, and Academia

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/12/05

Scott Jacobsen speaks to Conatus News editor Angelos Sofocleous about free speech and political correctness in academia and society.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Angelos, you got in trouble, recently. It was over a phrase tweeted from an article, an article included in the controversy as well. You, due to the created circumstances, resigned as the president-elect of Humanist Students and were fired as the assistant editor of Durham University Philosophy Society’s journal, Critique, and as co-editor-in-chief of The Bubble, a university magazine. Let’s start: what was the tweeted statement?

Angelos Sofocleous: As part of some gender-critical articles and comments that I had made in the previous months, I retweeted a tweet which read “RT if women don’t have penises”. The original tweet also had a screenshot from an article by The Spectator titled ‘Is it a crime to say ‘women don’t have penises?’ Apparently, as I have experienced, it is a crime. Christopher Ward, who was Chair of LGBT Humanists in the past, tweeted about my retweet, pointing the fact that I, as president-elect of Humanist Students, was tweeting, in his words, ‘transphobic shit’. He had also pointed out that he had faced a lot of ‘transphobic’ behaviour when he was involved in Humanists UK. He did not give any evidence for his claims, nor he engaged into a conversation when I asked him to and failed to provide counter-arguments in the arguments that I had made supporting my position following his tweet. Calling me a ‘bigot’ and as ‘suffering from cognitive dissonance’ was certainly not a way to have a fruitful discussion. I had calmly tried to engage him in a conversation by linking him to a recent article that I had written, in which I explain my position on sex, gender, and the transgender movement. He ignored it, basically revealing that his real intentions were to make a fuss about his view of Humanists UK.

Following that, I was blamed, by Humanists UK officials for ‘disreputing’ the organisation. They didn’t hold any discussion about it and did not show any willingness to engage in a civilised debate about the political statements that I had made. Given their insensible reaction and also the fact that they demanded, in the future, that if similar controversies arise, I have to ask what the official stance of Humanists UK is before I voice my opinion, I felt compelled to resign from my position. This was not a point to which I wanted to reach. However, I couldn’t cooperate anymore with people who, despite their claims that they belong in an open-minded organisation which is driven by science and rational thinking, their actions have proven that, in certain cases, Humanists UK cannot avoid dogmatism.

That week, I had also been appointed Assistant Editor of Durham University Philosophy Society’s journal, Critique. A few days after I was appointed, I received an email from Ryan Lo, the President of Durham University Philosophy Society, telling me that I was fired from my position as my comments ‘belittled trans experiences’.

A few days later, I got an email from my co-editor-in-chief at The Bubble, a student magazine at Durham University, in which I was informed that I was removed from the position of co-editor-in-chief due to the recent controversies.

In October, Durham Students’ Union had ruled that my firing from Critique and The Bubble was unfair and undemocratic, as they did not follow the procedures outlined by Durham Students’ Union, did not give me an opportunity to explain my views, did not gather a vote of no confidence from their members, and did not give me an opportunity to appeal the decision.

The reactions from the three organisations unveiled a big problem with freedom of speech in academia. As shown in a petition started by Conatus News a few days after my firings, dozens of academics expressed their concerns about where academia is heading; academics who had experienced fierce criticism for their views. Political correctness has, indeed, gone too far in universities, especially when it is combined with identity politics.

Jacobsen: What was the intended message of the tweet? What was the interpreted message from the tweet?

Sofocleous: In that tweet, and in my previous statements and articles, I expressed some concerns for the transgender movement, offering, at the same time, some suggestions for improvement. I agree with one basic principle of the transgender movement: that gender stereotypes need to break. But my critique is on their actions; particularly on the fact that the transgender movement makes gender stereotypes more concrete instead of getting rid of them. And that critique was not well-received, evidently.

Therefore, I made the retweet as part of the critical statements in which I pointed out that we need to distinguish between sex and gender. Based on this distinction, I claimed that one could not claim to be a woman solely based on how they feel, or behave, or act, or dress, or ‘identify’.

This is the crucial point in the discussion and in my criticisms. We need to define what it means to identifyas a woman or a man. I have not received a satisfactory answer to that question yet. All answers that I receive are either a) Circular, i.e. ‘a woman is anyone who sincerely identifies as a woman’, or b) Promoting gender stereotypes, i.e. ‘A man is whoever performs/feels/behaves like a man’. This is what I wanted to address with the retweet and my gender-critical statements. Remember, we do not speak about individuals who have undergone surgery and claim to have become women and, thereby, female. Some claim to feel like a woman or claim to be a woman because they behave like a woman or have some behavioural aspects that are normally associated with being a woman. Thus, they enforce the stereotypes. Intersex and transsexual individuals, however, are often left out of the discussion.

So, with this retweet, I wanted to challenge the notion of ‘feeling like a woman’. There is no such thing as feeling your gender, or sex, or age, or any part of our identity. True, you might actually feel some things which are stereotypically associated with an identity. But, I want to say three things here. One, aren’t we supposed to get rid of these stereotypes? If you conform to certain stereotypes, it is damaging if at the same time you claim to belong to the identity group to which those stereotypes apply. Two, in case you claim to not belong to any identity group and be, instead, gender-fluid or non-binary, then you must understand that by leaving your group (man/woman) you actually strengthen the stereotypes that apply to those groups as the only individuals who belong in that group after you left are individuals who satisfy the stereotypes. Three, following from the previous two points, if you are going to challenge stereotypes associated with your identity group, it is incredibly important that you stay in your group while fighting these stereotypes. Women who feel marginalized are not doing any favour to themselves by calling themselves ‘womxn’. If you actually believe that you are oppressed by other women, as a woman, then express these challenges from within your group. By alienating yourself from the group, you only confirm your beliefs about the group itself. But this only takes place because you have decided to alienate yourself from it.

Gender, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, age. We just are those things. There is no separate feeling that is associated with any aspect of one’s identity.

People, I believe, should be able to express themselves in any way that they can. There is no reason to have men’s clothes or women’s clothes, for example. One should be able to wear whatever they want to, without having to worry that they identify as something. Any label you put in your behaviour is restrictive, especially when this label hijacks science.

Jacobsen: Of those individuals who read the tweet and the full article, so far as you can tell, what was the interpreted message by them – those who took the time to understand the arguments and statements within the specific context?

Sofocleous: Unfortunately, those who have read the article were much fewer than those who just saw the retweet. But a general criticism I have gotten is concerning individuals who have gender dysphoria and, even though they are males, for example, they feel like they are women. To deny their claim means, for them, denying their existence. However, no one denies anyone’s right to exist. Trans individuals are human beings and, as human beings, they deserve to be treated with love, respect, and kindness. Me not agreeing on how you label yourself has nothing to do with your existence.

The comments were not at all on the personal level but purely on the ideological level; they were not based on attacking any particular individual.

I believe that the transgender movement would be much more able to achieve its aims not by creating more genders but by eliminating gender as a concept.

Jacobsen: In one of the first responses, you gave the reasons as to the resignations and firings. Outside of the philosophy journal, the student magazine, and the president-elect position, what were other resignations or firings at this time?

Sofocleous: No. But I faced further problems at University. At the beginning of the academic year, I was worried about the reaction of the philosophy department here, and whether the events would impact my studies and academic career, as I know that the department is not particularly friendly to my views.

I met with this lecturer who is an assistant professor. Before the meeting, she had told that she was open to gender-critical views within the department. At the meeting, I realised that that was not the case. She tried to lecture me on what freedom of speech was, and that my retweet did not fall under freedom of speech. This affirmed what I think about some transgender activists. They police some things people think or say.

She had also said, “You had misgendered someone in your Twitter account.” It goes beyond the academic and into scolding someone in a personal capacity based on what they said in their Twitter account. The fact that she actually went back into my Twitter feed and found an instance where I had ‘misgendered’ someone, and told me off about it, is beyond me. Furthermore, when I said that ‘we should distinguish between the personal and the ideological’ she said that ‘it’s easy to say this when you’re privileged’, twice. It’s a tactic of anti-gender-critical individuals, to shut down speech because of someone’s ‘privileged’ position. They start the discussion with a privilege check and they will deny you the right to speak or voice your opinion if they find that you are too privileged.

Of course, she did not care to ask anything about my background, my past, my ideas. It is extremely sad that some people shout ‘privilege!’ on their sight of a white heterosexual male, and discussion stops there.

We need to have conversations on gender, on race, and other controversial issues without having the debate shut down because some people take it personally. Facts do not care about your feelings.

As a threatening act, she also had the Gender Identity Policy of Durham University in front of me when I entered the office. The Policy reads:

Transphobic abuse, harassment or bullying (refusing to use a correct pronoun, ignoring a person because of their trans status, intrusive questions) will be dealt with under the University’s Respect at Work or Respect at Study Policy and may lead to disciplinary action which could include expulsion/dismissal.

It is like going to Saudi Arabia and have them showing you the part in their Criminal Code which says that it is an insult to criticize Islam. It is the same thing. Someone showing you a legal document or a penal code and not getting to the root of the discussion or the debate, of whether it is right to insult the Prophet Muhammad or to have a discussion on gender issues. The radical left’s tactics are incredibly similar, if not identical, to religious fundamentalism. In today’s political climate, the radical left and the far-right are connected through this wormhole of similarity of tactics.

Further to that, I had expressed the view that when a foreigner, such as myself, comes to the UK to study, s/he is often unaware of the beliefs, customs, and traditions of the UK. Therefore, even if Brits disagree with a foreigner on an issue which they think that they are absolutely right, they should take the time to explain why they are right, and not just force their opinion. Their colonial past certainly does not help – they’re used to forcing their traditions and their views. Coming from a country which suffered from British colonialism, and which still suffers from it, it was particularly ignorant of her that she simply dismissed my statement by saying “I know, I’m from Ireland”.

Jacobsen: John Stuart Mill in On Liberty, made a point. He made many points. One of the points made was the idea of someone wanting to restrict the right to freedom of expression of another person. The idea being: the person who wants to restrict the person’s freedom of expression believes they have some absolute knowledge ahead of time about what is a correct answer on the topic to be discussed.

With the threat of expulsion from a university, especially for someone about to enter graduate school, post-graduate work, can be particularly threatening coming from the department. Also, you made a point about a separation between the personal and the ideological. In a philosophy department, in particular, a person should have the capacity to speak on even sensitive issues at an ideological level through critical thinking and logical analysis rather than this being ‘misgendering’.

This is the big separation and the point you’re making insofar as I can tell.

Sofocleous: Exactly, it’s quite worrying and concerning that this took place in the philosophy society and the philosophy department, when the general aim of philosophy is to discover the truth through debate and discussion. I see that their approach was wholly wrong. But, which is the right approach? Let’s take a step back. Let’s say you have a dangerous view or a view considered dangerous in your community. How do you deal with that view? How do you deal with a threatening or an immoral view?

Let’s take someone who is a white supremacist, or someone who argues that women are subordinate to men. Confronting such views is a three-dimensional process. The first is changing the mind of that person and like-minded people. The second is stopping the harmful view from spreading into society. And the third is spreading the right view into society, not through enforcement, but through society itself finding the right approach.

What happens, however, is that white supremacists, for example, are simply punished. Of course, in punishing those individuals we assure that their views are blocked from spreading into society. But, we do not change the mind of those individuals and we do not make sure that the right view spreads in society. Punishing those individuals does not reveal to them what the right position to take is. They are not convinced that their ideas are wrong. In fact, by punishing them, you even make them believe in the ideology more deeply. Getting at the issue in this way, we are not getting to the core of it. Punishing someone does not ensure the idea goes away.

Their punishment, which might just be physical punishment or punishment affecting their mental wellbeing is received in a way in which those who are punished want to fight back.

Dangerous ideas must be taken to be a virus. However, they can’t be treated just like a virus, for the following reasons:

One would think that we need to restrict the idea to a certain area in society in a way that it cannot spread through society, as we would do with a virus. The thing with viruses is that they are not able to organise themselves in a way which is similar to how human societies organise. A virus can simply be marginalised to a certain part of the body where it affects healthy cells at a minimum level, and subsequently be exterminated. The viruses themselves are not going to organise and fight back to the healthy part of the body.

But with human individuals, if you restrict or marginalise a group in society, those individuals are still given the opportunity to organise themselves and fight back against the healthy part of society. Of course, our first inclination when we face a dangerous idea is to punish and marginalise it from society. However, simply marginalising a dangerous view does not help. It helps no one; neither the individuals, nor their groups, nor society.

What is the right approach, then? Education. The right approach is educating those individuals and trying to convince them through healthy debate that they are on the wrong side – if they actually are on the wrong side. There is a caveat here, however. If we debate or discuss with those individuals, where do you put the boundary? Do we need to make this a debate between a creationist or an evolutionist, or a human rights activist and a white supremacist? I do not think it goes to that level where you need to put both in a boxing ring let them fight each other through debate and see which side wins. However, even if those ideas are not debated publicly, individuals who hold those views must not simply be punished, but one should approach them conversationally and convince them of the wrongness of their ideas or show where their way of thinking is fallacious.

There should be a debate or a discussion, or understanding, of my ideas. If those individuals believe I am wrong, I am open to them convincing me otherwise. There is a concern when some individuals are not allowed to voice ideas which some deem controversial. Because you do not know what their controversial ideas or opinions are if you do not allow them to voice them.

You can only attack the ideas when you know what the ideas are. It is important. We cannot treat a dangerous view simply as a virus. We should debate those individuals in the public sphere and the private sphere to convince them of our ideas if we are so confident that we are right.

Jacobsen: Looking forward, what is happening with the student union, the publications, and so on? What is happening with this public dialogue at this point around a particular colleague of mine, Angelos Sofocleous?

Sofocleous: Durham Students’ Union decided to uphold my complaint by concluding that my firings from Critique and The Bubble were unfair and undemocratic. However, the investigation said that my freedom of speech was not violated, which is not the case. Freedom of speech means you are free from consequences related to your speech. There’s no free speech when you face the consequences for what you say.

It is, however, saddening on the personal level as well. I knew the people who were involved in the two publications and considered them good friends of mine. We have a lot of common interests, views, and ideas. This is the first time in my life that I am not on speaking terms with someone. It is simply sad that people reach this level in their relationships simply because they disagree on some issues. I do wish they would be more accepting of people with different views.

As regards other stuff that has been happening, this gave me the opportunity to talk to other organisations or groups about freedom of speech, transgender rights, and where academia is heading. A few weeks ago, I gave a talk in the UK about whether academia has been impacted by political correctness and people who have been policing what has been happening in academia.

Jacobsen: Any final feelings or thoughts based on the conversation today?

Sofocleous: I would like to touch on the subject of truth, especially in philosophy. We have reached a point where feelings seem to matter more than facts and conversation on some subject is shut down based on the feelings of some people because the conversation is seen as too controversial.

We should not fear threatening opinions or even dangerous ones, but be ready to oppose them and support our ideas against the ideas of the other. But, sadly, this does not seem to be the case in academia. This environment is creating people who are too fragile. Or, anti-fragile, as Jonathan Heidt puts it as young people today are overprotecting themselves by being scared to be fragile – people are scared to be hurt, to be offended, to have their ideas criticized and their worldview shaken.

They feel that there should be someone who protects them all the time. It is the law or some policy. However, I would say: it is a good thing to be offended. When someone is offended, they know that they have gone outside of their bubble. We will, of course, feel offended outside of our bubble.

It makes you visit other bubbles and try to convince other people of your truth. Even if we can be open, we can be challenged and change our views on some issues. But, of course, this will not happen if we keep residing inside of our bubble. We should be welcoming to other people’s views.

We should value the duty of having a conversation with people whom we have opposing views. Because this is not only an opportunity and to listen to the other person’s views. But if we care about the truth, then we can convince them of what the truth is.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Angelos.

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2022-04-19

Dr. Sven van de Wetering on Augustine, Free Will and Psychological Analysis

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/11/14

In Part Five of this interview series, Dr Sven van de Wetering speaks to Scott Jacobsen about free will, Augustine and psychological analysis.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Do the psychological sciences assume Freedom of the Will? How do you define Freedom of the Will?

Dr Sven van de Wetering: The concept of freedom of will seems to have arisen in a theological context, and was well articulated by St. Augustine. The argument went something like this: God is all-powerful, and therefore capable of making people do whatever He wants.

Nevertheless, people frequently do things that displease God. This makes sense only if one assumes that God creates little zones within people’s minds in which He does not exercise the control of which he is capable. Hence, freedom of will is the ability to make choices independently of God.Psychology has mostly moved away from this theological mode of thought and tends to be materialist in orientation. In other words, the phenomena that laypeople think of as mental or spiritual are the results of processes taking place in the brain, in accordance with physical and chemical laws.

If freedom of will implies a rejection of that materialism or implies that mental processes can somehow violate the laws of physics and chemistry, in the way that Augustine thought that humans had the freedom to violate the laws of God, then I would have to say that psychology does not endorse free will.

If, on the other hand, we mean by freedom of the will that human beings are complex creatures that, thanks to their well-developed prefrontal cortices, are capable of deciding to engage in actions that run contrary to the biological programming postulated by evolutionary psychologists or the cultural programming postulated by many other psychologists, then I would have to say that most psychologists do endorse a version of free will. Although, it is a version that does not create a little gap in the omnipotence of the laws of nature in quite the same way that Augustinian freedom of will creates a little gap in divine omnipotence.

Jacobsen: In the natural world handed to us, through the natural philosophical tradition seen in the sciences and tied to Descartes, we face the passive, naturalistic, and moving world external to our minds connected to the concept of an active but freely selecting – while constrained – mind with various psychological dynamics.

How does psychology link the first conceptualisation with the second? What seems to make sense of the issue more than others?

van de Wetering: This is mostly a levels-of-analysis issue. At the level of neurons, processes are invariable and, in your terminology, passive. At the level of organisms, though, especially of human beings, the very complexity of the interlocking systems allows them to produce the types of processes we call selecting, deciding, thinking, and so forth.

I see the disparity of these levels analysis when I, for example, play a game of chess against my computer. I know that what is happening inside the computer is just electrons running through processors according to the laws of physics, but that does not change the fact that it is actually more useful for my chess game if I interpret the computer as choosing lines of play, deciding on specific lines of attack, and thinking about its options. It is this way of thinking about the computer’s behaviour that Dennett called the intentional stance. The intentional stance is an angle of view, not a rejection of determinism or materialism.

Jacobsen: How does epistemology work in the light of the linkage between these two ideas?

van de Wetering: Thinking of yourself as a deterministic, material system when trying to make epistemological judgments is not going to get you very far (except that it may instil a certain useful humility). You get much further in epistemology if you again take the intentional stance, thinking of knowledge in terms of the goals that are served by knowing.

There will be times when one’s understanding of human beings will be furthered by thinking of them as material systems; I certainly would not want to undo all those lovely fMRI studies. At the same time, the connection between the material substrate and the phenomena we think of as mental or intentional is sufficiently loose that I will continue to endorse the use of multiple levels of analysis in psychology and numerous research techniques based on multiple sets of epistemological assumptions.

Cultural anthropologists and economists both study human beings, but do so using very different epistemologies from most psychologists (and each other); nevertheless, I find that both are a lot of fun to read because their different angles of view allow them to supplement the varied psychological perspectives through which I usually look at human behaviour.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Sven.

Dr Sven van de Wetering is an associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. He is on the Advisory Board of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. Dr. van de Wetering earned his BSc in Biology at The University of British Columbia, his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Concordia University and his Master of Arts, and a PhD in Psychology from Simon Fraser University. His research interest lies in conservation psychology, lay conceptions of evil, and relationships between personality variables and political attitudes. Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, & Session 4 can be found here.

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2022-04-19

We Need to Change How we Think About Refugees and Migration

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/11/07

Scott Jacobsen speaks to Gissou Nia about migrants, refugees, the international community, climate change, water scarcity, and more.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Migrant and refugee issues are continually arising along with concerns from the international community relating to these issues. Increasingly, they reveal some problems as well. What are the problems being faced at present by migrants and refugees around the world?

Gissou Nia: I do not mean to be US-centric with this. But the thing on the centre of my mind is a decision issued by the Trump Administration in late September on the refugee admissions cap. In the US, ever since President Reagan, there has been a refugee cap set for each fiscal year, usually announced in September.

It is rubber stamped by the Congress. It is approved. But there is not much deviation from what the administration decides. That sets a limit on the number of refugees who are allowed to settle in the US each year.

For the past year, the decision announced in December 2016 that dictated how many people can come into the US in 2018; that was already at a historic low. It had been set at 45,000 individuals. You could have to compare that to the prior numbers, which were more than twice that.

Now, there was a recent decision only to permit no more than 30,000 people to enter the US; in fact, it has been reduced by 15,000, which makes it the lowest ever. I think there is a sense that what the Trump Administration would ideally want is to reduce the number to 0.

Even from the number of folks who would be permitted into the country in 2018, which was 45,000, we haven’t reached that number in terms of actual people settled. With only a few weeks remaining in the fiscal year – the Administration, they only admitted only 20,000 refugees, so not even half of the number that it said that it would take into the country.

That is what is front of mind for me. As we reduce the number of people who are allowed to come in through the formalised resettlement process, we are denying people from war-torn countries. People who have been persecuted due to their lifestyle, beliefs, and professions, or individuals who have been forced to leave their country as staying posed serious concerns for their life.

We are saying these people cannot legally come to this country. It leads to what is going on at the southern border. Many people are seeking protection. They are allowed under international law to seek protection from the violence they are fleeing from.

The narrative being presented is that people are coming here ‘illegally.’ That they are lawbreakers or doing things that are not allowed. Truly, a lot of these people who are coming are coming to seek protection from violent regimes in their home country.

That is what they are allowed to do under asylum laws. It is something the US has adhered to. Now, we are also seeking to reduce the number of refugees who can come to this country. That is really in front of mind for me.

As our political leaders demonstrate a lack of leadership and stoke the flames of xenophobia and contribute to that with othering rhetoric, we are not really on a track to be able to welcome people and successfully integrate and assimilate people who are truly seeking refuge.

We will need to be focused on what solutions are, because nobody, right now, can say it is a problem that doesn’t concern them. It touches all of us. So, we have to be really mindful of it.

Those who we have had a decades-long history of welcoming. That is a disturbing turn of events. I find in this country. It is something we see across the world as we see countries closing borders and becoming hesitant to accept newcomers.

I am concerned that it is becoming entrenched along political lines. That is, it is not seen as a human or a humanitarian issue. That is of great concern to me. There are the UN Global Compacts of Refugees and Migration.

That should be formally adopted in December if I am not mistaken. That is going to be the first time that there is ever a global agreement on migration. Of course, there have been global agreements on refugees but not on migration.

We have a lack of political will from the Trump Administration withdrawing from the process. I think it is vital that other countries and the international community continue to invest in that process and really come to some logical solutions on how to deal with what is going to be an ever-increasing flow of people – leaving their origin countries.

People are also forced to leave their countries of origin due to climate change. This is going to continue unless we are in a place to reach the political solutions and the solutions needed for climate change to prevent natural disasters and different people from having to leave their different countries due to lack of water.

We will need to be focused on what solutions are, because nobody, right now, can say it is a problem that doesn’t concern them. It touches all of us. So, we have to be really mindful of it.

Jacobsen: With climate change worsening, are the projects such that there will be more refugees and migrants around the world as climate change becomes worse, e.g., as the problem of water scarcity worsens due to climate change, as you mentioned in the response?

Nia: Yes, of course, it is hard to predict the future. But, at the moment, we are on track to have some serious water shortages because that will lead to different people leaving and seeking quite literally greener pastures, because they will be dealing with incredible challenges at home. Already, we see this in Iran with some severe water shortages. It is causing draught and impacting subsistence farmers. We will see that pattern globally.

Of course, there is evidence to show the civil unrest in Syria and the initial protests were stoked by drought and by farmers being very unhappy with certain circumstances. I think there is evidence of that globally.

We see a negative trend when it comes to that. I do not see that resolving anytime soon; unless there are serious global solutions being proposed to counter it.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Gisso

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2022-04-19

Md. Sazzadul Hoque: A Call for Help for an Inhumane Persecution

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/10/17

Md. Sazzadul Hoque, a Bangladeshi blogger, human rights defender, and online activist, is in trouble. He is a member of the Humane First Movement and the founder of penman.in. Here is his current status.

For activist work and writing, Hoque has suffered on a number of levels, including receiving death threats. In 2017, he was forced to leave Bangladesh out of safety concerns. He has been living in India since May 2017 under inhumane conditions and circumstances.

Despite surviving through those death threats and now living in a relatively safe environment, Hoque faces barriers in his access to education. Hoque was expelled from college because of his activist work. Now, he lives with a stalled academic progress, uncertain about his future.

In a recent encounter, Hoques mentioned, “I don’t know what will happen to me or how long I will survive”, and then stated, “I do not know whether I could ever go back to my country. I do not know when I would be able to meet my mother again.”

Fighting for minorities and the use of freedom of expression lost Hoque paternal connection, postsecondary studies status, and death threats tied to messages of violence. Hoque is now under ‘tourist’ status in India and, fortunately, had his visa extended recently. He is in a tight situation, nonetheless.

Hoque has been on the run from place to place. The Imams or the Islamic Priests from a variety of mosques have been calling for the murder of Hoque. Why?

He is an atheist. He is a kafir. Imams interpret this, through Islamic law, to mean that the death penalty needs to be imposed to Hoque. He has a good relationship with an uncle of his, who informed Hoque of the call made to be on the hunt for him, by the mullahs. Thus, the run continues, and there is a worry that this hunt extends beyond Bangladesh.

“Realizing I could no longer stay in Bangladesh safely – I would be slaughtered like cattle if I did -, I fled the country and moved to India on May 30, 2017,” Hoque states. “On June 6, 2017″, Hoque continues, “I posted an article on Facebook explaining my situation and the post went viral.”

More than one thousand people reacted to the post with about 700 comments on the post. 90% were death threats. Various fundamentalist groups since 2017 continue to make the same threats. The most recent arose on September 17, 2018. What was the result?

His Facebook account was suspended, not those inciting public violence and making calls for murder: either as individuals or as a group.

Hoque continued, “One of the popular online news portals covered my situation with the headline: Blogger Md. Sazzadul Haque was thrust to death, thus he had to leave the country”

Now, the publisher has faced death threats too. The trend is that, those with activism or writings against some Imams and mullahs, and some of the public, become justifications for declarations of violence against the activists and writers, if not outright murder demands on the parts of the followers of the Imams and mullahs themselves.

“Furthermore, now I am voluntarily involved as an administrator in Istishon, a social networking group of a community blog. I am also working as a graphic designer and programmer for the blog’s website,” Hoque said.

Now, Hoque is campaigning through Humane First. The purpose of the organization is to promote the civil liberties and rights of individuals without regard to their identity or background.

This, by implication, works in contradistinction to the efforts of the religious fundamentalist ideas through respectful and civil conversation, discourse, dialogue, and debate.

It can be found through #behumanefirst. With help from the Protecting Belief Fund and the Center for Inquiry, Hoque has been staying in a temporary shelter. His activism and writing, as per the story, left him homeless, as a freethinker.

“My life is in danger due to speaking about Humanism, Secularism and LGBT Rights. In spite of having immense threats, I haven’t stopped my writing,” Hoque concluded, “I have been living in inhumane conditions since May 2017. That’s why I am becoming mentally ill… My family has disowned me due to speaking about the rights of LGBT and other activities. I have no relation with my family since 2017. They do not support me. I can be I attacked by fundamentalist terrorists at any time even in India.”

This is solely the result of Hoques’ activist work, which embodies atheism and secularism. Hoque is just one of many bloggers who has had to flee Bangladesh because of their activism. Bloggers in Bangladesh are being attacked, imprisoned, and executed, for their views.

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2022-04-19

Anti-Vaxxers and the Persistent Myth of Harmful Vaccinations

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/08/07

In this interview with Conatus News, Claire Klingenberg discusses vaccinations and the “anti-vaxxer” movement.

Claire has a background in law and psychology, and is currently working on her degree in Religious Studies. She has been involved in the skeptic movement since 2013 as co-organizer of the Czech Paranormal Challenge. Since then, she has consulted on various projects, where woo and belief meet science. Claire has spoken at multiple science and skepticism conferences and events. She also organized the European Skeptics Congress in 2017, and both years of the Czech March for Science.

Her current activities include chairing the European Council of Skeptical Organisations, running the “Don’t Be Fooled” project (which provides free critical thinking seminars to interested high schools), contributing to the Czech Religious Studies journal Dingir, as well as to their news in religion website. In her free time, Claire visits various religious movements to understand better what draws people to certain beliefs.

Claire lives in Prague, Czech Republic, with her partner and dog.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: The epithet used against those who reject the vast evidence on the effectiveness of vaccines is “anti-vaxxer.” What do they stand for? Why are they a threat to the public health?

Claire Klingenberg: Their idea is that all medical choices should be the decision of the individual or, when it comes to children, the decision of the parent. That is one of their main arguments.

The reason why they are applying this argument to vaccinations is that they believe a lot of misinformation and lies about the harmfulness of vaccinations. They do not understand how serious it is for an epidemic to spread. They don’t understand that it is not just a personal choice that won’t affect anyone else.

Even though, there is an epidemic of measles spreading through Europe right now. Anti-vaxxers do not see that as a consequence of non-vaccinations. They play it off or see getting measles as an inconsequential thing.

Jacobsen: What are the reasons for their pushback to legitimate scientific and public health concerns?

Klingenberg: It is the same as conspiracy groups. They believe the scientists have been paid by pharmaceutical companies or some other secret or shadow organizations.

They believe that true information comes from individual doctors or individuals who are [laughing]no longer doctors or scientists, or even gurus or alternative medicine people. Those people play into that fear.

They are more likely to believe an emotional story of one parent than heaps of data. At the same time, though, it has to be a parent that toes their party line. If it’s a story of a parent who regrets not vaccinating after their child died of a preventable disease, they think that it must be a made up story, or the parent was paid to say that.

Jacobsen: How do parents fall into this other than through emotional appeals?

Klingenberg: There are mainly emotional appeals because there is no cumulative data for vaccine harm. Of course, many people have mild reactions to vaccinations. And yes, there is a small percentage of people who have serious negative reactions.

I do not deny that because to deny that would be to deny reality. But it is such a small percentage, compared to the harm caused by the disease itself. The threat of not vaccinating or of getting a serious disease or of spreading the agents of this disease makes the chances of getting the disease much higher.

There is a big misunderstanding here about the importance of herd immunity. Anti-vaxxers do not understand that it is not just about them. It is not a personal medical choice, but a choice that influences and has an impact on the whole society.

Jacobsen: How can people become more informed about vaccinations in general? How can we contribute to the conversation on anti-vaccination views?

Klingenberg: For quality vaccine information in general, look at the website of the World Health Organization. When it comes to getting information about your nation, it is best to look at the ministry health of a particular country or official health organizations within your particular country. Always use sources which cumulate the most data. Websites and blogs built around one or two stories are not reliabl

When it comes to spreading the message about vaccinations, there is the Twitter campaign: #provaxchallenge. We invite people to take pictures from when they get themselves, their kids, and animals vaccinated. I’m sure you’ll see my tweets there, too.

Now, unfortunately, the anti-vaccination rhetoric has now spread on to concern pets as well. There is talk of autistic dogs, and how rabies is just a puppy disease you don’t have to vaccinate against.

When we talk to people to get them off the conspiracy train, we cannot reason someone out of something they did not reason themselves into.

You can ask them, “When you were vaccinated, did you have any reactions?” You can make them realize that we do not have polio anymore [laughing]. Ask lots of questions. Be gentle when correcting their point. Show them videos of how kids with serious diseases like measles look like. There is this belief that measles and all of these diseases we vaccinate against do not do great harm. Show them it isn’t true.

At the same time, you need to be careful not to manipulate the other person. Of course, showing heartbreaking videos is a type of emotional manipulation, that is why it should not be the crux of your argument, more like an illustration. Make sure all of the information that you are giving is all correct. No hyperboles, no exaggerations, no matter how well-meaning there are.

First, you cannot afford to lie and manipulate the same way anti-vaxxers do. Second, you don’t have to because the facts are on your side. I understand that it is easier and faster to gain a person’s agreement by manipulating them. However, if you are caught once manipulating information or giving false information, you (and not just you) will lose all credibility and never have a chance to convince that person again.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Claire.

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2022-04-19

Black Nonbelievers, Inc: Can Atheist Black Women Beat Back Fundamentalism In America?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/21

Black Nonbelievers, Inc. founder Mandisa Thomas on black atheism, how sexism hurts activist communities, and empowering the next generation.

On Black Women As Nonbelievers

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I want to ask a more personal line of questions around being a black woman in America who is a nonbeliever. I know Maryam Namazie uses the phrase “minority within a minority” to describe ex-Muslims within the Muslim community within the United Kingdom. What are some of the more emotionally difficult circumstances you have had to overcome in that positions?

Thomas: One is the idea that all black women are believers. The culture of black community, particularly the black church, even though it is misogynistic; women have been the backbone of the church.

Women are the ones who organize, but the men are the ones who get the credit. We see the same within the atheist community. As for myself, I started Black Nonbelievers. I am the face of the organization. There has been a significant amount of coverage.

Jacobsen: Do you feel there is a lot of sexism for women who are atheists and want to propagate their message to overcome?

Thomas: Men are viewed as the spokespersons. Our views are obscured as well as our work. I still battle that. Somehow, my voice isn’t as valuable as a black pastor who may have left church, even if they do not identify as an atheist.

You see some men who are detracting from Christianity, pastors leaving religion, but, yet, people are looking into these default spokespersons for atheism.

Their journey out of religion seems more amplified than a black women atheist founder of a national organization.

Jacobsen: What are some other barriers?

Thomas: Some are openly identifying, trying to get people together. So many people have gotten used to this sense of social ostracism. You are afraid to venture out and meet others. We understand that life gets in the way, but it is still a matter of getting people together, as well as help out and volunteer.

The idea of getting people comfortable with that open identification. That is where the open support comes in.

Jacobsen: Are there social tools or epithets in place to derogate or prevent open identification?

Thomas: I wouldn’t say there’s anything in particular. That is, there is nothing in place that inherently prevents people from doing it. There is a lot implied. The fear of the ostracism. The fear of alienation, the fear of people abandoning them.

That is more prevalent. It is a matter of making people comfortable with not simply speaking out, but also finding likeminded individuals and connecting with them. It is overcoming the fear.

Jacobsen: How does being a mother of three influence your long-term thoughts about the prospects for the nonbelieving movement in the future? We are noticing a broad phenomenon of religiosity on the wane in America, but also more open fundamentalism in some respects.

Thomas: Right, I want my children and other children to know that they have choices. This isn’t something that they should have to fight as they get older. Open identification as an atheist shouldn’t be stigmatizing for them.

They shouldn’t have to fight with their peers or other adults if they or their parents openly identify as an atheist or have a different point of view. They shouldn’t have to worry about religious ideals being imposed in a public setting or in their schools.

They have the power to fight that. For me, the purpose of doing this is that whatever they become passionate about, they should have the right to speak up. No one should have the right to silence them. I try to be an example for them.

Jacobsen: Recently, you transitioned from full-time work to full-time activism. You also have a Patreon page to support you in this effort. Where can we find this Patreon page?

Mandisa Thomas: The Patreon website is as follows: www.patreon.com/mandisalateefah. It isn’t a searchable link or a searchable page because it contains adult content.

You can also reach me by email mandisa@blacknonbelievers.org. You can reach me at our website www.blacknonbelievers.org for more information. I decided to resign from my full-time job to pursue activism full-time because there was a need to continue to grow the organization as well as grow my activism to a new level.

Jacobsen: How can people donate funds? How can they provide exposure to your new full-time activism?

Thomas: The most important thing would be to support Black Nonbelievers. We are a 501(c)3 organization. The more you donate, then the more we are able to create full-time positions. In the meantime, Patreon is a donation website where you can pledge as little as dollar a month to support my activism. Or you can do both! [Laughing]

Jacobsen: With the funds people will no doubt be giving or donating to you, what would you hope to do with it in the next 12 months?

Thomas: In the next 12 months, we will be supporting Black Nonbelievers as an organization. We recently launched a chapter in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. We look to establish, on the ground, chapters, where people are hosting meetups, hosting in-person events, and collaborating offline wherever we are needed.

We are always looking for people who are willing to work and volunteer with us. Those dollars would, of course, go to supporting myself and the work that I do.

Black Nonbelievers, myself included, donate to other secular organizations and entities, as well as our members, that need help. There is the potential to support a podcast for us. Also, it will allow me to be able to travel to places where I am requested because I get a lot of requests to speak.

That would keep overhead low. Also, when these presentations are recorded, they are made available for later viewing and for information. There is a lot. I have, hopefully, covered some in that response.

Jacobsen: Also, you are part of a radio program. That should be something people should take note of because you have experience with audio presentation of news of the day and conversation topics, which would make the podcast a natural transition.

Thomas: Absolutely, oh yes.

Jacobsen: What are other ways people can get to know you?

Thomas: You can find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandisalateefah. Patreon really is the place to get to know me a lot better. I shared a lot of unfiltered thoughts, and unfiltered guidance and advice on leadership and community building.

These come from a more practical standpoint. At my previous job, I was an event services manager, which plays a lot into why Black Nonbelievers has been successful – particularly with interacting with people in person.

I have experience engaging with people extensively. This is something people in the atheist community can benefit from considering a lot of the problems that we’re seeing now with regards to interactions with others, particularly women.

There is a lot of people can learn about basic human interactions, which they are not learning from the regular activism and the intellectual aspect. I bring that to the table.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Mandisa.

Thomas: No Problem! Thank you.

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2022-04-19

Secular Therapy: Ending the Dogma of Alcoholics Anonymous

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/20

Dr. Caleb W. Lack talks to Conatus News on the dangers of some cult-like Alcoholics Anonymous groups and how secular therapy can help.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Now, I want to do some systemic comparison between Alcoholics Anonymous and secular therapy. What is the meta-theme, the big sky, that envelopes each practices’ therapy?

Dr. Caleb Lack: The overall theme of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step groups, and this is going to be controversial as they would vehemently argue against this, is that people who have problematic levels of drinking are inherently flawed and bad people who need to rely on something outside of their own abilities in order to improve their lives. AA, and other similar groups, conveniently provide the thing on which you must rely, which is their dogmatic and rigid system of specific acts you must engage in. This is reflected in the ideas they have such as “one drink, one drunk” and the idea that you must abstain from all drinking or you will “fall off the wagon” as well as the insistence of relying on someone else (such as your sponsor or people at the very frequent meetings) to monitor your behavior.

Contrast that idea (that something is wrong with you and will always be, so you need someone else to tell you exactly how to live your life) to the work of evidence-based, secular therapists. In this model, you are taught and practice various tools to use that we know help to achieve particular outcomes. Those tools and skills, when implemented and used regularly, put you back in the driver’s seat of your life, enabling you to cope with the various stressors thrown your way in a healthy manner. My job as a therapist is, as I tell the people I work with, to put myself out of a job. In other words, I’m trying to make sure that you don’t need me any longer, that you have all the skills you need to have a healthy, productive life.

Jacobsen: How does religion become a force for good and evil in each, if at all, in either evaluative case?

Lack: For secular therapy, religion and religious beliefs are aspects of a person’s identity that need to be taken into account, considered, and worked within the larger context of therapy. For example, if someone comes to see me and they are struggling with problematic substance use, I would try and find what support networks they have or can tap into in order to increase their social support. That may be a friend group, a family unit, or something like a church family.

A good, ethical secular therapist would not ignore or discount someone’s religious beliefs, they would find a way to use those to help someone achieve the desired change, if possible. But there would not be any insistence that someone needs to declare a new belief system, or pushing changes onto an existing belief system, with a secular therapist. Instead, the therapist would let the empirical and clinical data guide them in what methods would likely help achieve desired change for the individual.

This is pretty different from a system like the 12-step programs, which declare that you must believe in their system, and their way, and that that is the only way that you can be helped. This dogmatism may actually serve as a new belief system that becomes either grafted onto an already existing one or perhaps even supplants it. So it’s not that religion, or religious belief per se, are in any way “good” or “evil” from these viewpoints (or in life in general). Instead, it’s that you have the difference between “we have good evidence to suggest this will work, so let’s try it” compared to “we believe this works, and if you don’t agree it’s because you are a bad person.”

Jacobsen: How do those who come from deeply fundamentalist religious traditions describe their overall experience going through AA and secular therapy, respectively?

Lack: I’d say that depends on if they are still in the hold of that fundamentalist belief system or they have escaped it. For those raised in and still enmeshed in that kind of environment, then the declarations and rigid, controlled system of the 12-step programs familiar and safe. If you’ve been raised in a system that focuses on external controls for your behavior and decisions, then AA and the like could be like putting on a well-worn glove.

The only difference is the specifics of what behaviors you are allowed or forced to do, and what sort of thoughts would be considered proper rather than improper or “sinful.” For someone who has left a fundamentalist tradition, I would say that moving into AA or a similar program would likely cause a huge amount of discomfort, likely activating negative emotions and thoughts because of the similarities.

On the other hand, someone embedded in a fundamentalist system still would likely be a bit taken aback by some of the concepts used in say, cognitive-behavioral therapy. Ideas such as how we can actively evaluate and challenge our thoughts rather than just accept them as true often lead to questioning other things as well. If you’ve been taught to not question authority or “revealed knowledge,” this can be a big shift in your worldview, and could potentially lead to conflict within the system you are. For those who have left such a system, there really shouldn’t be any inherent conflict, although they may still have some of those beliefs and schemas (such as, “You cannot question authority” or “There is only one true way to live”) that may need to be processed during treatment.

Jacobsen: If you removed the higher power portions from AA, as I believe you indicated before, would you be left with many aspects of secular therapy?

Lack: Taking out the reliance on a higher power from AA would still leave a highly rigid set of rules and guidelines. This is a problem for several reasons. Our secular alternatives to AA – programs like SMART Recovery, LIfeRing, or S.O.S. – focus on providing that new, healthier community via peer support while learning effective coping skills that place the emphasis on increasing your self-efficacy. These are strict rules that you “must” do, but instead flexible skills that allow you to better cope with obstacles that come up, regardless of what they are. Being able to roll with the punches of life in this way typically leaves people more able to effectively navigate any difficulties they face. These programs also emphasize that recovering from addiction to something is a process that will not always go in a positive upward line, and so you need to accept any setbacks for what they are – temporary and an opportunity to push forward using your newly learned skills.

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2022-04-19

African-American Theology Can Serve To Lead People To Humanism. Here’s How.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/15

Professor Anthony Pinn speaks on the intersecting philosophies of African-American Theology and advocates a new approach to spread humanistic thought.

Professor Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities at Rice University. He earned his B.A. from Columbia University and M.Div. and PhD in the study of religion from Harvard University and specialises in African-American theology He is an author, humanist, and public speaker. Among other sterling accomplishments, Prof. Pinn is the Founding Director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) at Rice University.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Your specialisation is in African-American religion, constructive theology, and humanist thought. Where do these source themselves in personal or professional life?

Professor Anthony B. Pinn: I’m not sure what you mean. If you are asking if there is something both personal and professional about these interests, my answer is yes.

Jacobsen: As the executive director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning, what tasks and responsibilities come with the position? What are the main research questions of the centre?

Pinn: I developed the Center some years ago as a way to promote critical thinking skills and effective communication strategies both on and off campus. Our work, both in terms of programming and research – involves recognition of the necessary relationship between the University and the larger city of which it is a part. In this way, we promote active learning and scholarship that is informed by and responsive to the conditions/concerns of given communities.

Jacobsen: You did doctoral work in the study of religion at Harvard University. What was your main research question? What were the main findings from your doctoral research? What have been the general findings of subsequent but associated research initiatives in professional life?

Pinn: My initial concern was with the ways in which Christians response to the issue of theodicy; that is, what can be said about God in light of human suffering in the world. I was particularly interested in how humanism challenges typical answers to this question, and how this mode of humanist challenge to theism develops within African American communities. This initial research interests developed to include attention to forms of cultural expression, such as hip-hop, that tend to receive limited attention, as well as more in-depth examination of the nature and meaning of humanism in the United States.

Jacobsen: What is black religious aesthetics? How does this differ from other religious aesthetic tied to ethnic or race groupings? What are the criteria for demarcation between different types?

Pinn: By black religious aesthetics I mean to highlight the style, the tone, the ‘mood’ that informs religious thinking and doing within African American communities. It is my way of highlighting the importance of cultural production and embodiment for a “think” understanding of religiosity. I think there are cultural codes embedded in the workings of various racial groups – certain styles presentation associated with various groups. One gets a sense of this by examining the cultural production of particular groups. However, it is important to remember that I am not essentialising these various groups. I’m not saying, for instance, that all African Americans do this or that, or, all white Americans do this or that.

Jacobsen: What is the sole definition or soul, if you will, of African-American Humanism?

Pinn: African American humanism is a approach to thinking and doing that privileges materiality and understands life to be confined to historical contexts – no transhistorical realities, no divine forces. African American humanism says “YES” to the humanity, the importance, and vitality of black life within the context of a world conditioned to disregard blackness. It embraces certain elements of the Enlightenment and the Modern world while also pointing out the manner in which modernity also entails deep damage and disregard of non-European peoples.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Professor Pinn.

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2022-04-19

Ghada Ibrahim: Sharia is a Threat to Human Rights and Democracy.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/13

Ghada Ibrahim is a Saudi Arabian activist and ex-Muslim. She speaks to Conatus News about Sharia Law and how it affects Islamic societies.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Could you please define what Sharia Law is?

Ghada Ibrahim: Sharia means ‘law’ in Arabic. In this context, it means Religious Law or Islamic Law. It is a set of laws inspired by the Quran and Sunnah (the life and teachings of the prophet Mohammad), the two primary sources of Islamic law.

Jacobsen: Why do so many individuals in Muslim-majority countries want this form of religious laws implemented over secular ones? I’m curious as to their arguments, rather than more Western/soft interpretations of what preachers and jurists state in an open forum with believers in the faith.

Ibrahim: Because it is the only form of law they have ever been exposed to. They also look at secular laws, i.e. man-made laws, as inferior to divine law, which is, according to them, a law that comes directly from God. Religious law is final and true, as it is the word of an omnipotent God, the Creator, as seen by Islamic theology.

If the religious law isn’t imposed, individuals in Muslim-majority countries think, then all hell can break loose in the world. Some of the things I’ve heard about secular law is that it wants to “Strip your mother’s sister” and “Allow you to marry your mother” among other utterly ridiculous arguments. Of course, they have a misconception of what secular law really is, as they have never been exposed to it.

Jacobsen: How does the public deal with those who do not want Sharia in their lands?

Ibrahim: Public smear campaigns if they are from within the community. They’re usually called ‘Western Agents‘, ‘Atheists‘ – a very derogatory term for Muslims– things along those lines. If they are from outside the community, they are called ‘Dirty‘, ‘or “Immoral“. It is considered blasphemy to speak against God or Sharia law.

Jacobsen: In more secular, democratic countries, it is the case that such people need to live alongside ordinary Muslims. How does this attitude carry over into minority sections of immigrants who live in Muslim-majority communities, when minorities have no intention of integration?

Ibrahim: I think you are referring to minority sects within Muslim populations. In Muslim-majority countries, there are small courts that deal with minority issues. How does that attitude carry around? I don’t really know. I like to think minority sects see the damage a religious law does and how it discriminates against people, but I don’t believe that is the case. There are, indeed, problems of integration for minorities within Muslim-majority communities, as they need to fully adapt to the standards of these communities.

Jacobsen: How does the Islamic system of jurisprudence manage or deal with women?

Ibrahim: The biggest issue with the Islamic system’s treatment of women is in family law. Women are not given their fair share of inheritance due to their gender; divorce is on the side of the man along with custody. Men are allowed to beat their wives and there is no concept of marital rape. I don’t believe an Islamic court system would ever be fair to a woman. This is simply because Islamic courts follow Islamic teachings, mostly the Quran and the Sunnah, which are inherently against the rights of women, meaning that an Islamic court cannot claim to be fair towards men and women if it is Islamic.

Jacobsen: How many women religious jurists and legal professionals are there, and what is their ratio to men? If there’s a difference, is this due to a simple difference of choices based on professional and individual preferences or explicit bias and barriers well-known to objective observers?

Ibrahim: There are no women religious jurists or legal professionals. In Islam, jurisprudence and religious law is a man’s job. One of the requirements of a religious jurist is to be ‘a male of sound mind and age’ and possess religious knowledge.

Jacobsen: Any feelings or thoughts in conclusion?

Ibrahim: The concept of religious law is not entirely foreign to the west. Religious extremists of all stripes will always want to implement “God’s Law” over “Man’s Law“. They warn people of the evils of secular laws. There are, indeed, cases in Western countries where God’s law is being imposed on top of Man’s law, and some Muslims are no different in this regard.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Ghada.

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2022-04-19

Quebec is Currently Leading a Secular Revolution in Canada. Here’s How.

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/10

David Rand, President of the Atheist Freethinkers of Canada, speaks to Conatus News about secularism and the challenges facing secularists in Quebec.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: David, let us start with definitions, what defines “Quebec secularism?” There was the proposed Bill 60 or, otherwise called, “Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests”. This encouraged some debate statements relevant to the idea of “Quebec secularism.”

David Rand: When I say “Quebec secularism” I simply mean secularism. I refer to Quebec because it is the only jurisdiction in Canada or the USA where a serious attempt at implementing state secularism has been made. The First Amendment of the US Constitution, which established that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is undoubtedly better than anything in Canadian federal legislation, but it does not implement secularism. As Shadia B. Drury has pointed out (Free Inquiry, vol 32, #3), “The establishment clause is not an endorsement of secularism but of nonsectarianism.”

What Drury calls nonsectarianism, I would call religious neutrality. It means that the state does not favour one religion over others; that there is no state religion. Very good so far. But secularism is much more than that. Secularism starts with religious neutrality and adds separation between religion and state, i.e. rejecting all religious interference in its affairs and legislation. That is, religion’s influence in politics and education is nonexistent. Secularism is universalist: the secular state refuses to recognize religions and treats all citizens equally, regardless of religious affiliation. It does not give religions any privileges and it does not accommodate religious practice.

A simple example will illustrate. Recently a Montreal city councillor suggested that the Montreal police force allow police officers to wear religious symbols such as Sikh turbans and Islamic hijabs while on duty. This is an atrociously bad idea, for many reasons, and Quebec secularists in general immediately stood up and said so. In the vanguard of this opposition was the organisation AQNAL (Quebec Association of North Africans for Secularism) many of whose members lived through the dark days of the 1990s in Algeria. Our organisation, AFT, issued a press release in support of AQNAL.

There are so many reasons why allowing police to wear religious symbols is a bad idea, but the most important is that it violates religion/state separation because police officers are agents of the state and should present a neutral image. Not only would such a measure violate secularism, it would even violate the weaker principle of religious neutrality, unless a similar accommodation were provided for every religion that wants one. If Sikhs and Muslims have their special uniform, why not a special one with a huge crucifix for Christians, or a colander as hat for Pastafarians, or some other accouterment for Hindus, Jews, Scientologists, etc., and why not accommodate Marxists, Friedmanites, and other ideologues too. There is no end to the variants that would be required. But some of these “religions” I have listed are not really religions, you say? Well then, who is to decide which are “true” religions and which are not?

The only reasonable solution is to respect religion/state separation and not to introduce such symbols to be worn by police. They can wear whatever they want when off duty.

But what happened when secularists made this very reasonable point? They were publicly accused of all sorts of sins, just as were those who supported the Charter of Secularism back in 2013-2014. Quebec secularists are regularly demonised. Justin Trudeau and other anti-secularists bring out their usual nonsense vocabulary about “diversity” and “tolerance” – by which they mean exactly the opposite of what those words signify: no diversity of opinion will be tolerated. If you disagree with them then you must be a horrible person. Slander and defamation are the norms because the anti-secularists have no reasonable arguments to support their views.

There is no secular movement in Canada outside Quebec. That probably sounds like an extreme statement, but it is a simple observation. There are some isolated secularists in Canada, and many more who would probably rally to secularism if the subject could be debated openly and fairly, but they are cowed into silence by the very vocal pseudo-secularists who join the chorus of demonization. Secularism in Canada outside Quebec has been neutralized. The only exception I know of is the editorial board of the magazine Humanist Perspectives which dares to publish articles which criticize multiculturalism and discuss related issues. Only in Quebec is there still a truly secular movement, and proponents of cultural relativism (a.k.a. multiculturalism), in an objective alliance with political Islam, are trying to kill it in Quebec too. They have not yet succeeded. The battle is raging.

Has any so-called “secular” organisation in Canada outside Quebec recently (since Bill 60) taken a position against the wearing of religious symbols by public servants while on duty, especially those with coercive power such as police? Did any such organisation outside Quebec criticise the court decision that granted Zunera Ishaq the “right” to wear a niqab during a state ceremony? Did any such organisation criticise Quebec’s Bill 62 for not going far enough (as we at AFT did: Blog 089, Blog 078) in banning face-coverings?

Pseudo-secularists in Canada outside Quebec chose prejudice and conformism over principle. They chose to throw Quebec secularists under the bus.

The final death knell for secularism in Canada federally, as well as definitive proof of the complete incompatibility between secularism and multiculturalism, was marked by the recent publication of the report “Taking Action Against Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination Including Islamophobia” from the parliamentary committee whose mandate was to study the implications of Motion M-103. This report’s first recommendation is to update anti-racism programs, extending them to include religious discrimination. This conflates religion (a personal choice) with race (an immutable attribute), meaning that criticising religion can henceforth be denounced as racist. Wow.

Did any ostensibly secular organisation in Canada outside Quebec show any opposition to this extremely dangerous recommendation (as we at AFT did)? If they did, I am unaware of it.

Finally, a clarification about the Quebec Charter of Secularism (Bill 60) which was abandoned when the government which proposed it was defeated in 2014. We at AFT supported it, but critically, because it had one major failing: it did not address the important issue of religions’ economic privileges. Also, it did not mention the crucifix hanging in Quebec’s National Assembly. However, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP), which ferociously opposed the Charter and won the election, took an explicit position, during the election campaign, to maintain the crucifix where it is, an obvious play for traditionalist voters. If the Charter had been adopted, the crucifix would have had to go eventually, because its continued presence is incompatible with the Charter’s secular principles.

Jacobsen: There were responses to the form of secularism, Quebec secularism, enshrined, in part, in Bill 60. One from what you call multiculturalists. Another from what you call Islamists. What is the problem with multiculturalism and Islamism allied there, against Bill 60? How does this intrude on the many decades-long progress towards further secularisation in Quebec?

Rand: Quebec has been secularising ever since the beginning of the so-called “Quiet Revolution” in the mid 20^th century when the right-wing Duplessis government (which put the crucifix in the National Assembly) was definitively defeated. The omnipresence of Catholicism in schools and hospitals was mostly eliminated. A Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms was adopted in 1975, and sexual orientation was added to it in 1977, earlier than any other province in Canada or any state in the USA. The secularisation process is not complete, but major progress has been made.

The Charter of Secularism was a natural next step in this continuing process. The QLP betrayed its liberal principles by opposing the Charter, and it did so with much support from a small number of very vocal proponents of political Islam. Together they have done enormous harm, and they continue to do so. Québécois, in general, are very sympathetic towards secularism. But the QLP has adopted multiculturalism which opposes secularism. This dovetails with the goals of Islamists whose highest priorities include defeating secularism, which is why they particularly target France, for example.

Jacobsen: Can you give an example of how identity politics intrudes on the active work of secularists or impinges on the principle of secularism with the state via, for example, restraint and neutrality?

Rand: There is nothing inherently wrong with having an identity. Valuing identity, like nationalism and populism, can be good or bad, left or right. But all three are currently being denounced and even demonised for a dubious reason: neoliberalism. Weakening the nation-state serves the interests of international free-market capitalism. Political Islam has latched onto this issue as a way to promote its agenda: Islamists demonise Quebec secularists for being “identitarian.” But in reality, no-one could be more obsessed with identity than Islamists themselves; they claim to speak for all Muslims, assert religious identity over all others (such as citizenship) and promote the veil in its various forms to impose that identity, with the goal of making it omnipresent.

Furthermore, being a Québécois or being a Canadian are two competing identities, two competing nationalisms. Choosing one over the other is more a matter of personal taste than anything else. The Quebec identity is just as legitimate as the Canadian identity.

Jacobsen: Parti Québécois (PQ) is a centre-left political party. You describe how the PQ has a sovereignty orientation policy and a secularism policy, but these policies merge. The critics of the PQ proposed Charter used the term “racist,” sometimes. How does the use of the epithet ignore the thrust of the Charter and fail in furthering the dialogue about secularism, Quebec sovereignty, and the Charter itself, as well as acknowledge the individuation of each topic in the larger discussion on secularism?

Rand: Secularism and Quebec independence are two completely distinct issues – or at least they should be. However, they have become inextricably linked. The Quiet Revolution which began the secularisation process also saw the development of a strong independence movement, and the partisans of one are often partisans of the other.

Furthermore, criticism of and opposition to the Quebec independence movement is often highly unprincipled. Instead of using rational arguments to oppose Quebec separatism, anti-separatists often engage in slanderous discourse, accusing separatists of “racism” and similar nonsense. This habit of vilification has been recycled to oppose secularism in Quebec, thus mixing the two issues even further. Islamists have taken full advantage of this for their purposes.

Jacobsen: You also talk about traditionalists in the province. Have they changed at all regarding the perspectives on the PQ proposed Charter or Quebec secularism generally? Or are the main groups – the traditionalists, the purported multiculturalists and some Islamists, and secularists – mostly stuck in their paths?

Rand: Traditionalists still exist in Quebec, but they are marginal. They suffered a major defeat with the 2015 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada prohibiting prayers at municipal council meetings. This was a major victory for Québécois secularists who had been fighting this battle in lower courts for years. However the recent successes of political Islam – which include motion M-103 and the recommendations of the subsequent parliamentary committee – tend to awaken quiescent traditionalists who, whether out of resentment or opportunism, see the successful promotion of one religion as a reason to promote their own.

Jacobsen: You talk about conformity and the overriding of principle, and “betrayal” of the principle of secularism, for the preference of conformism to reign. Can you expand on this point, please? Also, can you provide any relevant updates to the developments of the conversations in the public sphere around Quebec secularism?

Rand: I think I have already answered that question in large part in my previous comments.

Those in Canada outside Quebec who claim to be secularists need to swallow their pride and admit that Québécois are way ahead of them on this one issue: secularism. But so far, many Canadians have not given up their strong attachment to Quebec bashing, a sort of virtue signalling on steroids. Ironically, smearing Québécois by accusing them of “racism” is itself racist; here I am using that word in the general sense of bigotry against an ethnic group, as explained in my article “Racism: Real and Imagined”.

Secularism is a progressive, left-wing political program, but it has been abandoned and is even opposed by the postmodernist “left.” The anti-secular voices in Canada, including some who hypocritically claim to be secular, constitute an expression of that regressive, postmodernist left, a degenerate form of left-wing politics which panders to religion, wallows in cultural relativism, discredits the left and ultimately strengthens the right and the far-right.

Jacobsen: Any feelings or thoughts in conclusion?

Rand: Several points that need to be stressed:

You cannot have secularism without some restrictions in some contexts. If bans on wearing religious symbols are never acceptable, which is apparently what pseudo-secularists promote, then that means a great victory for religious privilege and a smorgasbord of religious identitarianism everywhere, in particular in public services.
Any attempt to assign collective guilt to Québécois in general for the crimes of Alexandre Bissonnette (the massacre at the Quebec City mosque in January of 2017) is a form of hate propaganda, as odious as blaming the Jewish people for the death of Jesus.
Slander is censorship. The vilification of Quebec secularists has one goal: to silence them by making it difficult or impossible to express their very reasonable ideas in public debates, and thus, to deny Québécois their right to choose secularism.
The term “Islamophobia” is simply the new blasphemy for the 21^st century, but concentrating on one particular religion. The word is unacceptable if used as an accusation, is unrelated to racism and should never be used in government legislation, regulations or programs.
Islamism is indeed dangerous in Canada, although it has not yet progressed nearly as far here as it has in Europe. We have the Atlantic Ocean to thank for that. But it is just a matter of time.
Favouring Islam by suppressing criticism of it will inevitably increase both hostility towards Muslims and the aspirations of competing religions, especially Christianity, for similar privileges. The result will be to strengthen the political right wing, on the far-right of which lies Islamofascism, a.k.a. Islamism or political Islam. The federal government continues to enable Islamism by pandering to some of its demands.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Mr. Rand.

David Rand is the president of Atheist Freethinkers (LPA-AFT) based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The organization participates in a local coalition Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Quebec) and is affiliated with two international associations: Atheist Alliance International (AAI) and the International Association of Freethought (IAFT).

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2022-04-19

Biases, Individualism vs Collectivism, and the Philosophy of Psychology

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/07/03

Conatus News speaks to Dr Sven van de Wetering about ecological validity in psychology, in part 4 of an ongoing series on the philosophy of psychology.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You have an interest in ecological validity and critical thinking from a psychological perspective. Psychology requires a Swiss army approach to problem-solving, as you have noted in other conversations with me, which is exemplified in the number of disciplines and sub-disciplines within the field. The external validity amounts to the extent that one can extrapolate and generalise the findings of psychology. Ecological validity is one aspect of the extrapolation and generalisation. It looks at the extensions into the real world. From a psychological perspective, how can the apparent simplicity of a research finding become troublesome when taken into the real world?

Dr Sven van de Wetering: I think your phrasing captures the problem: “simplicity of a good solid psychological research finding” is a delightful phrase because it captures so succinctly what is wrong with the way many research psychologists (including me in my less reflective moments) think of their research findings. Findings in physics are often satisfyingly simple and reliable. Think of Newton shining light through a prism, Galileo dropping stuff off of towers, or Robert Boyle goofing around with a vacuum pump. In this model of science, you find a result, you assume that the physical reality underlying the result is fairly simple. Furthermore, you assume that that physical reality will not change over time, and you feel free to draw sweeping generalisations based on the simple experiment (though it turns out Boyle was pretty cautious about doing that, an example we could probably learn from). That approach has gotten us far in physics, presumably because the assumptions of simplicity and changelessness correspond fairly well to the physical reality. A similar approach seems to be less useful in psychology, and I would argue that that is because the subject matter of psychology, human behaviour, is neither changeless nor straightforward.

To take a straightforward example, any good social psychology textbook, and most bad ones as well will talk about the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which is also called correspondence bias, a term which I much prefer. In its simplest form, FAE is the tendency for people to assume that other people’s actions tell us a lot about their inner traits, beliefs, and values while ignoring the fact that many of the influences on people’s actions are situational in nature. The thing that irritates me about the name “Fundamental Attribution Error” is the word “fundamental” seems to imply that the error is anchored in a core aspect of human psychological functioning, one that is universal across individuals, cultures, and situations. When this assumption is examined, it is found that the tendency fails to occur in some situations, that there are individual differences in the degree to which people fall prey to this bias, and that members of individualist cultures are much more susceptible to the bias than members of collectivist cultures. In short, many investigators of the FAE seem to assume that people’s behaviour in a small number of fairly contrived situations tells us something important about the way they behave all the time. To maybe highlight the illogic of this, it almost looks like many of these investigators engaged in more egregious examples of FAE than the people in their experiments. If I were more psychodynamically inclined, I might even accuse these researchers of projection.

As I said above, I am probably as vulnerable to this tendency as anyone else. I wonder if part of the problem is linguistic. Research psychologists often formulate their hypotheses as universal generalisations, something like “People do X.” It is certainly true that some people, some of the time, under some circumstances, do X; if they didn’t, the results of the experiment wouldn’t have come out the way they did. Researchers are aware that universalism is an assumption, but it’s not problematised as much as it probably should be. Usually, if the phenomenon is replicated with a few slight procedural variations and a couple of different populations, the assumption of universality is considered provisionally acceptable. I don’t really want to be too critical of this; the time, energy, and money necessary to really thoroughly explore the limits of the phenomena studied by psychologists are often not available. Psychologists do what they can, and perhaps are too busy and harried to really take a long, hard look at the intellectual baggage that psychology has picked up that leads to those assumptions of universality.

Jacobsen: What research findings seem to show robust findings – highly reliable and valid – in the ‘laboratory’ but fail to produce real-world results? Those bigger research findings one may find in an introductory psychology textbook.

van de Wetering: I’m certainly not in a position to give a comprehensive list, but here’s one I find a little ironic. One of the cornerstones of the critical thinking course you cited above was confirmation bias, which is a cluster of biases centred around the tendency to selectively test one’s hypotheses in a way that makes it relatively easy to confirm the hypothesis one already has in mind but difficult to disconfirm that same hypothesis. Some of my best students started to look into the literature and found that the whole intellectual edifice of confirmation bias was based on only a small number of experimental paradigms. Snyder and Swann developed one of the research paradigms in question in 1976. They asked people to prepare to interview another person. Their job in that interview was to find out whether the person in question was an introvert or an extrovert. It found that people often used what is called a positive test strategy; that is, if the interviewer was trying to find out if the person was an extravert, they chose a lot of questions that an extravert would tend to answer “yes” to. This has been taken to indicate confirmation bias on the part of the research participants.

What doesn’t get emphasised when most textbooks cite the above study is that the research participants did not create their interview questions from scratch. Instead, they were asked to choose some from a list. My students wondered if research participants would do the same thing if they could make up questions. We ran a small study on this question, and we did weakly replicate the original study; that is, people asked to find out if someone was an introvert were slightly more likely to ask questions that an introvert would say “yes” to, and people asked to find out if someone was an extravert had a nonsignificant tendency to ask more questions that an extravert would answer yes to. What we found striking, though, was that a substantial majority of the questions our participants came up with were not yes-no questions at all, but rather open-ended ones that at least had the potential to be informative regardless of whether the hypothesis was true or false. Thus, confirmation bias was, at best, a minor undercurrent in the test strategies used by most of our participants.

Jacobsen: How can those former examples become the basis for critical thinking and a better comprehension of ecological validity?

van de Wetering: One thing I take from these examples is that human behaviour is highly context-dependent. The issue in these examples is not that people have made a false universal generalization about human behaviour that needs to be replaced with a true universal generalization. The issue is that universal generalizations may not be the way to go in order to explain most facets of human psychological functioning. Nor do I think that we can see people as passive recipients of cultural influences or some other form of learning. Any given person does have neural hardware, an evolutionary history, a history of learning experiences, a social milieu, a set of goals, of likes, of dislikes, of behavioral predispositions, and so on. Most psychologists recognize that this is so, but their hypothesis-testing methods tend to be designed with the assumption that all these different factors operate independently of each other, without interacting. This is probably not a useful assumption to make. I also don’t know what to replace it with, because I’m not mathematician enough to know how to cope with the sort of complexity one gets if every factor interacts with every other factor. I know that some people advocate for a turn from a hypothetico-deductive psychology toward a more interpretive one, but no one has yet shown me a version of this that is disciplined enough to give investigators a fighting chance of overcoming their own biases. So I’m kind of stuck in a methodological cul-de-sac. My own tendency is to more or less stick with existing methodological precepts, but to try to be a little bit skeptical and aware that things may go badly awry. Situations matter, and should be in the forefront of the investigator’s mind even when there is no way of actually accounting for their influence.

Jacobsen: Let us take a controversial example with the pendulum swings within the educational philosophies. Some are fads, while others are substantiated. In either case, the attempt is to make a relatively controlled setting, e.g. a single school’s educational environment in one community or standardized tests, extrapolate into improved school performance on some identifiable markers such as those found on the PISA tests, university English preparedness or – ahem – university preparedness, or even training for citizenship in one of the more amorphous claims, and so on. What educational paradigms, within this temporal and cultural quicksand, stand the test of time for general predictive success on a variety of metrics, i.e. have high general ecological validity for education and even life success?

van de Wetering: I confess I find this a thorny issue. Once again, culture matters. In the US, asking children to work on problems they have chosen themselves is very much more motivating than asking them to work on problems chosen by their mothers. In some collectivist cultures (maybe most or even all, this hasn’t been tested a lot) the reverse is the case. This sort of thing makes me wonder how important something like child-centred education is.

One fad we probably shouldn’t get too excited about is the idea that all important learning is procedural, and that it is, therefore, unimportant to learn about content. In the area of critical thinking, it turns out that the most important single tool (if you can call it that) is lots and lots of domain-specific knowledge. Once a person has that, procedures may increase that person’s ability to use that knowledge effectively, but without the knowledge, all the procedures in the world don’t seem to do any good. Reading an article from Wikipedia doesn’t cut it; those bullshit detectors that are so important to critical thinking only develop as a result of fairly deep engagement with a body of material. That said, procedural knowledge is tremendously important; my issue is with the assumption that because knowing how is important knowing what is unimportant.

Probably the number one most important factor in education is an attitudinal one. If we think of educating our children and young adults as a sacred mission, we have a reasonable chance of success. This goes along with reasonably high social status for educators, though not necessarily money. If we think of education as something we do because it keeps kids off of the streets until they are 18 or because it enhances people’s “human capital” for the sake of the job market, then we may be trouble. Then you risk having educators going through the motions; if your educators are not passionate about what they are doing, it is pretty much guaranteed that your students won’t be, either, and then you’ve got a real problem.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Sven.

van de Wetering: Thank you, Scott. As always, a thought-provoking exercise.

Dr. Sven van de Wetering is an associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. He is on the Advisory Board of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. Dr. van de Wetering earned his BSc in Biology at The University of British Columbia, his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Concordia University and his Master of Arts, and a PhD in Psychology from Simon Fraser University. His research interest lies in conservation psychology, lay conceptions of evil, relationships between personality variables and political attitudes. Session 1, Session 2, & Session 3 can be found here.

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2022-04-19

Science and Faith: Is There Really a Conflict? – A Conversation with Professor Tom McLeish

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/25

Science and faith are often seen as battling each other for dominance. Is it possible for them to coexist?

Professor Tom McLeish, B.A., Ph.D., is Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics and works at the Center for Medieval Studies and the Humanities Research Centre at The University of York.

Scott Douglas Jacobson: Where do you stand on the perceived conflict between science and faith?

Professor Tom McLeish, B.A., Ph.D.: I stand on the extreme non-conflict end of the spectrum. I am off-spectrum because I don’t recognize the question of conflict as a real one, in this sense. I am a scientist. I am a theoretical physicist. I am a Christian. Occasionally, I preach at my local church – but all these things are of one life, not two in conflict.

I have some theological training as well. When I am asked, “How do you reconcile your science with your effects?” it sounds to me like the question, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” There is no good answer to this.

The question presumes a whole mindset. I am not there. The question of conflict doesn’t even mean anything.

Jacobsen: So, we shift that conversation to where those questions become meaningless. It is like people trying to resolve some paradox in philosophy between being and non-being. It shifts the question.

McLeish: How do you resolve a conflict between your religious faith and your gardening? You grow tomatoes. Then you believe this extraordinary stuff about God creating the tomatoes and the gardener and you. Do these conflict? Well, no, they don’t.

Because your story, if I am talking to someone who is a Christian or a Jew, is not a made-up story. It is a real story. It is a true story. It has a beginning and a middle and an end. You are reading it somewhere. You are in it, with lots of other people.

Also, you believe you are here for a purpose. You might think, “Tomatoes are purposeless. Nonetheless, here you are doing your gardening. The reason there is no conflict is that your gardening rests within your largest story.”

Science is from God. So, I see science not as a threat to faith, if you like, or a threat to belief in God. I see science as a gift from God. God is a rather particular, rather advanced, way in which we know the universe in which we find ourselves.

Jacobsen: When it comes to formal argumentation for a god, in particular, a Christian God, what arguments do you find more appealing or convincing?

McLeish: So, I haven’t always been a Christian any more than I haven’t always believed in quantum mechanics either. So, if science is evidence-based, based on reason and experience, then to a large extent, faith must be as well.

Faith is supposed to be believing in ten impossible things before breakfast. Or maybe six. Of course, it isn’t like that to me. It doesn’t feel like that to me. The sense of religious commitment feels like being in the middle of a scientific project.

This is how it works: you have a strong hypothesis that looks very possible, but the only way to test it is to get inside it and start experimenting. So, if that is not a direct answer to your question, it puts it in context. Living the life and thought of a Christian is a bit like doing a large experiment.

On the other hand, you want the truth. Let’s look at four or five categories of things that make me suspicious that theism should be taken seriously. So, the fundamental issue is ontology. Why should there be things? Why should anything exist?

In an atheist’s worldview, that is a non-question. You will never know why things exist. They exist, live with it. But it is entirely legitimate to ask about the reason that things exist. The ground of all being, if you like.

The second, we find mind and structure in the universe wherever we look. It is rather extraordinary, the deeper we look in the atom, the furthest out to the furthest galaxies. Or into the structures of life, we see structures, anticipate structures that can be grasped by our own minds yet are not simply echoes of our own minds.

We’re finding ourselves stretched. Quantum mechanics, whatever it is. Even Feynman says no one understands it! It is a feature of the physical world that we did not expect to find, but we have the mental equipment to begin to approach it. That is miraculous in the old sense of the world. It makes me wonder absolutely.

The third reason is an odd one; not many people quote reasons for believing in God as this, as normally it is a problem for them. But for me, the existence of evil is a strong pointer towards God rather than away.

To the objection that there cannot be a great God out there, in the face of terrible, evil things, I say, “What did you say? How do you know that evil? How is it that one of our human observations is wanting to point to things that are irreducibly bad, horrors that we want to be unrepeatable? Particularly after the 20^th century?”

That is almost like observing the Big Bang. Looking at worldviews that are honest about evil was one of the reasons that attracted me to Christianity in particular. Because it made a realistic account of the existence of non-relative evil.

Another reason I was attracted to Christianity when I began to understand it, was that it is an anti-religion in an important sense. Its whole dynamic is completely inverted to all that is ‘religious’ – rather than humans attempting enlightenment and perfection across a huge divide, God makes the move in the opposite direction. I was rather attracted to that.

Then you have the witness of history. You do have things, documents, individuals through history, the extraordinary creative power of this revolution. The unbelievably humble and never recorded little thousands of miracles a day of people who tell you that they’re doing this in obedience to this pers

This person they might call Jesus or might call God.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Professor McLeish.

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2022-04-19

Ramin Hossein Panahi – Kurdish Dissident In Iran To Die Today

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/22

As young Kurdish Iranian dissident Ramin Hossein Panahi heads to his death, a look at the desperate efforts, locally and internationally to save him.

According to the Iran Human Rights Monitor, there has been a call to Iran from the United Nations (UN) human rights experts. The call is for an annulment of the death sentence for the Iranian Kurd Ramin Hossein Panahi, who is 24-years-old. There is reportage on Panahi being executed after the end of the month of Ramadan. It was originally set for May 3, but was postponed.

Iran Human Rights Monitor stated that the request for a judicial review has been rejected by the Iranian Supreme Court in late May. Now, the death sentence was referred to the office responsible for completion of the penalty.

The UN human rights experts stated, “The Iranian authorities must now halt the execution of Mr. Panahi and annul the death sentence against him.”

This follows one appeal made by Agnes Callamard, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Callamard explained the concerns about Panahi being given an unfair trial or not being given a fair trial.

In fact, Panahi was put into detention and then “mistreated and tortured.”

Callamard continued, “While acknowledging the postponement of the sentence in May, we regret that Iran seems intent on executing Mr. Panahi, disregarding previous calls to annul the death sentence, and ensure he is given a fair trial.”

In Erbil, Kurdistan region, there have been protests. The protesters released a statement based on their disagreements and frustrations with the case, treatment, and death penalty for their Kurdish fellow in Iran at the moment.

The protestors’ statement stated the purpose for the protests in Kerbil, as follows:

Today we have gathered here to protest and call on the UN to put tough pressure on halting the verdict of the execution of Ramin Hossein Panahi, as in a so-called court and in an unjust way an execution verdict was issued to him and it could be implemented at any time and on any date… All the preparations have been made to carry out the execution.

With the denial of access to medical care and a lawyer, being held incommunicado, and the poor handling of the case with the torture of Panahi, too, UN experts and human rights campaigners echoed many of the same sentiments.

“The experts also stressed their concern that the charges against Mr. Panahi did not meet international standards, which specify that the death penalty must be limited to cases of intentional killing,” the Iran Human Rights Monitor explained, “Mr. Panahi was arrested in June last year for alleged membership of the Kurdish nationalist group Komala. He was convicted of taking up arms against the State, and sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court in January 2018.”

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2022-04-19

What Really Drives Populism? A Conversation with Dr. Frank Mols

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/14

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Your work has focused on a specific paradox between the acquisition of wealth and the “hardening” of attitudes or stances on issues. What does this mean? How is wealth defined in this work and the hardening of attitudes here?

Dr Frank Mols: For many decades, the debate about populism and far-right voting has been informed by three (to date unchallenged) assumptions:

(1) Populist, far-right parties thrive in times of economic crisis (when unemployment surges and people are ‘doing it tough financially’)

(2) Populist, far-right parties thrive when there is a sudden peak in immigration and/or asylum-seeking

(3) Populist/far-right parties tend to be more popular among low-income earners (low socio-economic groups) and particularly uneducated white males

Our book examines all three assumptions (by looking at long-term election results in many different countries) and finds no correlation and no evidence for the first two assumptions: in fact, populist far-right parties have been remarkably successful in times of economic prosperity, low unemployment, and low levels of immigration, and often not successful at all in times of economic downturn and peaks in immigration. In other words, while the first two assumptions are widespread and often treated as self-evident, the evidence is simply non-existent.

The third assumption is only partially accurate. Our research shows that populist parties attract two kinds of voters, namely low-income earners who do it tough financially (who experience Relative Deprivation), and those on above-average incomes (who experience Relative Gratification). The former fit the existing stereotype (poor, working class) but the latter (who often remain in the closet) often outnumber the former. Hence we see that, paradoxically, Trump voters earned more than average, not less than average (Rothwell-Diego Rosell, 2016) and that Brexit ‘Leave’ voters were more likely to identify as middle-class rather than working class (Dorling 2016). The overall picture of two kinds of voters being attracted to populist parties produces what can be described as a V-curve pattern in populist support and voting.

When we were half-way into writing the book, we discovered that similar counterintuitive findings had been reported in the charitable giving and development aid literature. There too we see that low-income earners are more generous than high-income earners. We wrote a chapter about this in our book, and together the chapters of our book point to what we think is a fascinating trend: wealth and affluence are typically associated with heightened anxiety, fear of falling, sense of entitlement, and harsher attitudes towards the less well-off (immigrants, asylum-seekers, welfare recipients.

We did many lab experiments, to delve deeper into the psychology of affluence, and we encountered many more counterintuitive effects. For example, in an experiment in which we made students feel either certain or uncertain about their job prospects after graduating, it was those we felt more confident in their job prospects who were most supportive of measures to curb immigration. I could go on and on, but the counterintuitive findings of these experiments are all reported in the book.

Jacobsen: The common sense, face value, expectation for the increase in wealth would be a liberalisation of attitudes. However, the data and analysis of the trends represent a more nuanced set of findings. What happens? Why?

Mols: The standard explanation of why Relative Deprivation leads to populist voting is well-known (deprivation leading to frustration, aggression, lashing out and scapegoating third parties) – there is no need to revisit or question this side of the V-curve. However, the link between Relative Gratification and populist voting is less well understood, and in our book we propose a number of hypotheses, including ‘sense of entitlement’, ‘fear of falling or slipping back’, ‘fear one’s wealth is a bubble’. Rather than to argue it is one or the other, we propose that future research ought to examine this more carefully

In our more recent research, we also analyze the link between inequality (e.g. using indicators like the Gini Coefficients) and populist voting, and here too we see that there is no simple causal relation between actual levels of inequality and support for populist anti-immigration messages. Rather, at times real inequality is very high, without this translating into support for anti-immigration measures, and at times inequality is very low, and support for anti-immigration messages is high. Indeed, yet another (wealth) paradox!

Jacobsen: Within the frame of reference of the increase in wealth and the hardening of attitudes, what does this imply for advanced economies and pluralistic liberal democracies found in North America and Western Europe?

Mols: Populist parties use a narrative that pits the ‘virtuous people’ against the ‘malicious elite’, and the key message is that the malicious elite have rigged the system and taking advantage of ordinary hard-working citizens. They often go to extremes and use age-old conspiracy theories to create a declinist zeitgeist, and to persuade voters society is at the brink of collapse. This is a real challenge for liberal democracy, as citizens may lose faith in experts and their policy expertise. As public policy researchers will be able to attest, evidence-based policy making is difficult to achieve at the best of times, but under these circumstances ‘evidence’ and evidence-based policy making will become almost impossible.

Jacobsen: What is your assessment of the trends in the increase in wealth plus the hardening of attitudes of the public?

Mols: We all know the expression ‘Wealth doesn’t buy happiness’, and many of us will believe that this is true. Yet, relatively few of us live life accordingly, and most of us (including myself) are somehow caught up in our material and other aspirations. On the one hand, this is positive, because without this drive humankind would not have made the progress we have achieved. However, it is a double-edged sword, because it is this aspirational side in us that makes us vulnerable to greed, harshness, cheating, anti-social behavior and so on.

To appreciate all this, one could begin with research into happiness. We have had more or less continuous growth in material wealth and health since WWII, yet our happiness levels are the same as in the immediate post-WWII years. This phenomenon is known as Easterlin’s paradox. Also, UK researchers examining happiness among millionaires found that millionaires continue to worry about their financial future. As for the hardening attitudes, research by Postmes & Smith (2009) has shown that wealthier people tend to self-stereotype as ‘cold but competent’, and research by Piff and colleagues (2012) has shown that more affluent people are more likely to engage in anti-social behaviour (cheating, ignoring road rules, etc). In other words, we know from existing research that wealth is associated with the hardening of attitudes and loss of compassion for the less well-off, and it is hence not all that surprising to find that more affluent voters are often drawn to parties proposing harsher immigration and asylum policies.

Jacobsen: What are some books or articles that, people can look further into, in order to further grasp the subtleties of this and similar trends in economics and public opinion?

Mols: One way to ease into this intriguing subject is to read Alain de Botton’s book ‘Status Anxiety’. One of the key messages of this book is that meritocracy has two faces. On the one hand, meritocracy enables hard-working individuals to climb the ladder and to make it to the top (i.e. upward social mobility is possible), and most of us will see this as positive. However, the shadow side is that a person’s (good or bad) fortunes become viewed as a reflection of the individual’s ability or inability to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps”.

So, a rich person is considered to be rich because they worked hard and earned it, not because they were lucky to be born in a wealthy family, and a person who is poor is viewed as not having tried hard enough, rather than being unlucky and being born/raised in suboptimal circumstances. In other words, in a meritocracy, poverty is equated with personal failure, and this explains why people in meritocratic societies are not only more prone to become anxious and stressed (since slipping back towards poverty will be viewed as a personal failure), but also more motivated to become protective of their wealth and to view newcomers as a threat. In a society where social class is fixed (e.g. India, or Victorian England) this stress is absent because a person’s class and fortunes are predetermined by birth, and people will hence not fret as much about their status in society.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dr Mols.

Dr Frank Mols is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland. He is the author of The Wealth Paradox: Economic Prosperity and the Hardening of Attitudes.

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2022-04-19

Universal Pharmacare Coverage: Perspective from the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/11

There are few downsides to a Universal Pharmacare programme, as Professor Gordon Guyatt, university professor and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences points out.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Who does or would benefit from universal pharmacare coverage? I ask these questions because of the conversation in Canada at the moment. Canada has a national healthcare program, but not a national pharmacare program, unlike other comparable developed countries.

Professor Gordon Guyatt: The answer is most of the Canadian population will benefit from universal pharmacare coverage.

Jacobsen: Who would benefit the most from universal pharmacare coverage?

Guyatt: Who benefits most will be people who are poor, who are not on social assistance, who are under 65, and who cannot currently afford their drugs, these people have real health problems because they are unable to afford their drugs.

Jacobsen: How many people does this include?

Guyatt: It is in the order of 15-20% of Canadians. They will be the biggest beneficiaries. The next group who would benefit would be people who can afford their drugs, but who are currently paying for their drugs either through private drug plans or paying out of pocket.

The reason that they will be beneficiaries is because a national pharmacare program will make them pay somewhat more in taxes, but they will be paying much less overall than at present.

The net benefit in terms of their take-home will be appreciably greater. That is, the amount they have in their pockets at the end of paying for their taxes or drug costs will be more. Those people will be the beneficiaries. A little less of a beneficiary will be someone, like me, where part of the benefits program of the job is a drug program.

I have to pay a bit out of pocket, but some personal drug costs are paid for by my employer. That is, they are in part paid for through the benefits package of the job. I might benefit somewhat less than others, but I will still be better off than others who do not have the program.

You might say, of the potential national pharmacare program: it is not in their interest at all. It is the very wealthy who have no problem currently paying for their drugs and who pay a higher tax rate than other people. A national pharmacare program is of no benefit to them.

The very wealthy can afford their drugs with no problem at the moment. Their higher taxes might be a wash or even a net loss. That would be the one group who would not benefit. The very wealthy would not benefit from a national pharmacare program in Canada.

Put it this way. If you were to grade the benefits, then the scale would be from the poor who cannot afford their drugs who would get substantial benefits.

This would include substantial benefits for most Canadians – middle-income Canadians – who will be paying more taxes, but will be saving substantially on drug costs. Then, at the other end of the sliding scale, the least benefit would be for the wealthy.

What is not, unfortunately common knowledge that there are going to be very large savings for Canadians with a national drug program. I do not think that is common knowledge, and it is important for the general population to be aware of this.

Jacobsen: Why do you think this is the case?

Guyatt: Control of the media. The wealthy, the ones who have the least to gain and would benefit the least from a national pharmacare program both in terms of decreased cost and equity have a disproportionate influence on what people hear and see on television, and read in newspapers and other media outlets, then the benefits of a national pharmacare program – might be more well-known among Canadians. That is something that has to be remedied.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time once more, Professor Guyatt.

We conducted an extensive interview before: here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have other interviews in Canadian Atheist (here and here), Conatus News (here), Humanist Voices, and The Good Men Project. Here we talk about national pharmacare.

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2022-04-19

Q&A on the Philosophy of Economics with Dr. Alexander Douglas – Session 6

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/11

Scott Jacobsen: Let’s move into your new research, as those who have followed the previous sessions know, you have an expertise in the philosophy of economics. Dr. Stephen Law recommended you. How else can social sciences differentiate from and inform society in contrast to the natural sciences?

Dr. Alexander Douglas: I class psychology as a natural science rather than a social science. I think psychological research can serve many important social functions – for example educating us out of moral prejudices, but this is not what you’re asking about.Social sciences can be what Joan Robinson called “an organ of self-consciousness” because they can expose the origins of our social institutions. This can lead us to see them in a different light. And then, sometimes, they exercise less control over us.

For example, René Girard, whom I admire very much, went as far as he possibly could in identifying scapegoating as the hidden mechanism that underlies many of our institutions and social practices. He found that art, theatre, worship, criminal trials, marriage – there are many more examples – have their origin in scapegoating rituals. This is in stark contrast to the more rationalistic functional explanations given by other social scientists.

While I have no expertise to pronounce on whether or not he was right, I admire his work because it inspires us to take a second look at our institutions, to see that they really are what we think they are. It was crucial for Girard that once we recognise a practice as a scapegoating practice, we can no longer commit to it. Scapegoating only works when those participating in it think they’re doing something else, i.e., prosecuting a deserving criminal.

This is, perhaps, an example of what Joan Robinson was talking about. When we become self-conscious in our institutions, they stop working on us. In political economy, when we start to see that what we have been institutionalised to think of as a market composed of individual exchanges might be in fact something quite different, we begin to wriggle loose from an ideology that controls much of our social life. Likewise with many other social practices and institutionalised forms of life.

In future work, I plan to look at early modern theories of society, particularly those of Spinoza, Hobbes, and some of their contemporaries.

Jacobsen: You have a deep interest and have published research on Spinoza. Who was Spinoza? Does his work inform your own on the philosophy of economics?

Douglas: Spinoza was the most philosophically radical thinker of the Early Modern period, at least in Western Europe. He challenged the theological prejudices of his day while retaining the grand and sweeping cast of mind of a religious thinker. He believed in the power of pure reason with a conviction seldom found elsewhere in Europe, outside of the period of ‘Idealist’ philosophy.

His work informs my views on everything, including on the philosophy of economics. One thing I’ve been interested in lately is the treatment of time inconsistency in economic models. A time-inconsistent policy is, roughly, one that determines what it is best to do now versus what it is best to do in the future. The inconsistency arises from what was previously ‘the future’ eventually becoming ‘now’, in which case the same policy delivers a different result inconsistent with the first. Spinoza was one of the first philosophers, to my knowledge, to consider time-inconsistency. The last few propositions of Part Four of his masterpiece, Ethics Demonstrated in Geometrical Order, discuss how a crucial component of rationality is the avoidance of time-inconsistency.

Spinoza also deals with the social aspects of human desire, in a way that I find more insightful than the standard liberal tradition. Spinoza notices how insecure we often are in our desires: we’re really very unsure about what we want. One effect of this is that we both model our desires on those we seem to observe in others and aim at being emulated in our desires. Having others around us wanting certain things confirms our belief that we really want those things. This plays havoc with the transactions that economists treat as basic and standard. Exchange, for example, is profoundly complicated by the tendency of desires to converge on certain goods rather than being spread stably across diverse goods.

This is, I believe, part of the explanation of why one of Spinoza’s chief influences, Hobbes did not believe that any stable allocation of goods could temper the tendency to rivalrous violence in the ‘state of nature’. This insight puzzled his contemporaries, but Spinoza’s psychological account fills in some crucial details. Here I take inspiration from the work of Paul Dumouchel and Jean-Pierre Dupuy, who have looked from this angle at Hobbes, Adam Smith, and other supposed founding figures in the liberal tradition.

Jacobsen: Spinoza had an interest in Ibn Khaldoun, who was the father of trickle-down economics. Why did Spinoza have this interest? What is behind the philosophy of trickle-down economics in past and the present?

Douglas: I don’t know of any evidence that Spinoza read Ibn Khaldoun. I’m not sure Khaldoun was very well known in Western Europe until after Spinoza’s time. But Spinoza was more connected, via the Hebrew tradition, to the medieval Arabic literature than many of his contemporaries.

I don’t really know much about the history of trickle-down economics. Arthur Laffer wrote an article on his famous ‘curve’, showing some historical precedents for the central idea. The Laffer Curve is, roughly, the idea that increasing tax rates up to some point increases overall revenue to the Exchequer, but increasing it past that point decreases overall revenue due to a detrimental effect on national income. It’s often cited as a prime example of an economic idea with very little practical importance, due to the strength of its assumptions and its abstraction from complicating issues.

Spinoza has very little to say about taxation as such. In the Political Treatise (ch.6, §12) he argues that during peacetime there should be no taxation, though all land and housing should be publicly owned and then leased from the government. In this sense, he can be interpreted as an early proponent of the Land Value Tax famously promoted by Henry George in the nineteenth century. But trickle-down economics doesn’t seem to me to appear anywhere in his writings.

Jacobsen: Were there any social and cultural values – including freedom of speech – that Spinoza supported in order for the economic flourishing of society?

Douglas: It’s almost the other way around for Spinoza. He argues that commercial relations foster peaceful cooperation among people so that they can bind together under a common law and sovereign power. For him, the best guarantee of free speech is a powerful sovereign authority, subject to the democratic control of the citizens, which acts to protect freedom of speech from the soft power of religious and private institutions. So long as the citizens know what is good for them, they will insist upon the sovereign power acting in this way.

Commercial relations support the stability of the state, and thus the authority of the sovereign power, which is the protector of freedom of speech and other rights of citizens. Commerce is important because it keeps the citizens interested in each other’s welfare; “everyone defends the cause of another just so far as he believes that in this way he makes his own situation more stable” (Political Treatise, ch.7, §8). And there’s a positive feedback loop since, as Spinoza argues in the Theologico-Political Treatise, support for free speech and other civic rights ends up strengthening the sovereign authority and the rule of law.

On the other hand, Spinoza is well aware that economic institutions can often work to divide people rather than bringing them together. In the Political Treatise he has a few suggestions for ensuring that the institutions work in the right way; also in the Theologico-Political Treatise he speaks favourably of the Biblical debt jubilee. But, as I’ve argued in a recent paper (“Spinoza, money, and desire”), there is always a risk, on Spinoza’s theory, that our economic institutions will foster socially destructive passions rather than working in more pro-social ways.

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2022-04-19

France: The Inability of a Secular State to Protect Secularists

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/16

Despite living in one of the most secular countries worldwide, ex-Muslim secularists in France still face hate speech, death threats, and an idle government.

Waleed Al-Husseini founded the Council of Ex-Muslims of France. He escaped the Palestinian Authority after torture and imprisonment in Palestine, fleeing to Jordan and then France. He is an ex-Muslim and an atheist. We have published interviews in Canadian Atheist (here, here, here, and here), The Good Men Project (here), Humanist Voices (here), and Conatus News (here, here, and here). Here is an educational interview on ex-Muslims in France.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Ex-Muslims in France are in a more secular culture. There is a different sense of secularism in the culture there too, as France can be described as one of the most secular countries in the world, at least constitutionally. Ex-Muslims probably welcome the transition from Muslim home life to a more secular culture. What is French secularism like for many ex-Muslims?

Waleed Al-Husseini: For us, secularism in France; it’s the most important. We like it. We are trying to defend it and go forward with it; we don’t like those who try to reduce or remove it. We do not want to move the dial back, especially with Islamism. Those who use it to spread their non-secular values.

That is why we were against Macron, the French President when he said that French society is not a secular country while the state is secular. The state is the only secular institution. We were against him too when he went to talk to Church officials asking them to become part of and more active in political life.

All these things are taking secularism back, away from us. We don’t like this because it opens a big door for Islamism to come, infiltrating more and more into the country. “French secularism”, and every kind of secularism, actually, means religion is out of politics. That is something we need. We are fed up with religion. All these wars that are taking place worldwide take place in the name of religion.

Secularism came after 400 years of war so we can understand the meaning of it and how much it is important. French secularism, or Laïcité, is what we all need in this world.

Jacobsen: How do ex-Muslims manage the transition into the more secular life in France?

Al-Husseini: Many of us have this value and found it to be the best, so it’s so easy for us to be in this life. People dream of it for a very long time. That is why life in France has never been different than our internal values. It’s just sometimes with extremes things do not work that good.

It’s important to us to feel welcome in France and to feel that our secular way of life can be accepted. Because the extremist Muslims, Christians or Jewish people will never accept our values. To be more direct, especially Muslim extremists are our big problem. We live our life easily in the secular life, but we still take care of our safety.

Jacobsen: Can ex-Muslims feel bullied and harassed by some Muslim communities and enclaves in France?

Al-Husseini: This is one of our main problems, not only from Islamism but even from random Muslims who will recognise ex-Muslims. They will insult or try to beat us, like what happened to me many times when I tried to voice my opinion regarding my values.

The worst threats for us coming from some leaders of Muslim associations or imams as many of them ask their followers and disciples to kill us and that we deserve to die. The religious leaders say that we are traitors.

This type of hate speech against us makes us easy targets for Muslims. The more they speak means that we actually have effect in society, but it also means that death threats and dangers are rising.

Jacobsen: How can the French government better protect the rights and livelihood of the French ex-Muslim population?

Al-Husseini: It is complicated here, but at least they can stop the hate speech against us by arresting those who do it. They can be more strict against these type of imams and leaders who make these unwarranted and hateful assertions.

The French government has a lot to do in general, even in fighting terrorists and fundamentalism. But what should be fast should be to stop and actually halt political Islam, or Islamism, and even ban it.

Islam should be just private relations. That is what should happen everywhere. Religion is a private matter, and everyone should be able to condemn it and, more importantly, it should take no part in politics.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Waleed.

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2022-04-19

Fighting For Secularism with PJ Slinger – Editor, Freedom From Religion Foundation

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/28

PJ Slinger, the editor for the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), speaks to Conatus News about his work and activism.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How did you become involved in the non-religious movement?

PJ Slinger: It wasn’t until I started at FFRF in 2015 that I “became involved.” Before that, I was a vocal proponent of nontheism, whether it was in discussions with friends face-to-face or, later, on Facebook with “friends.” It got to the point that anytime I was in a conversation and religion came up, people would immediately look to me, like, “Ooh, what do you think about that?”

Jacobsen: What about the Freedom From Religion Foundation? What intrigued you about its activities?

Slinger: I hadn’t heard of FFRF until I moved back to Madison, Wisconsin in the year 2000. (I had lived in Minnesota for about a decade before that, after graduating college from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in journalism.) I got a job at The Capital Times newspaper (where I held various roles throughout my 15 years there), which had a subscription to Freethought Today, the 10-times-a-year newspaper of FFRF. So I glanced through it and found myself drawn to FFRF because it was so in line with my thoughts. I would always look forward to the day that would arrive, and eventually, the newspaper’s editor would just put it directly on my desk when it came in the mail.

At that point, I was less interested in the activism part of what FFRF stood for than the nontheism aspect. I always found a lot of interesting articles and comments that helped me in my discussions with others.

But I also soon learned that fighting for state-church separation was part and parcel of being a freethinker. Before that, I was ambivalent about, say, a Christian cross being on public property. I figured, what’s the big deal? But then I came to the logical conclusion that allowing these small transgressions was no different allowing larger state-church violations. I realised that the small-scale violations were wrong for the same reasons as the bigger ones and that it wasn’t a matter of degree. If it was a First Amendment violation, big or small, it needed to be rectified.

Jacobsen: How did you become involved in the work and activism there?

Slinger: A bit of luck, I suppose. While working at The Capital Times, each reporter and editor (of which I was at the time of this story) was required to interview a prominent or interesting person from the community for an in-depth Q&A. On this particular occasion, I chose Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of FFRF. She came into the newspaper office, and we sat down and talked about FFRF’s activities, the new multi-million dollar building expansion that was happening and where she saw FFRF heading in the future. As we concluded the interview, we discussed FFRF in general, and I brought up Bill Dunn, who at that time was editor of Freethought Today. I had worked with Bill at The Capital Times before he left for FFRF. Annie Laurie then mentioned that he was getting close to retiring and that they would be looking for a new editor. My eyes grew wide, no doubt! About 18 months later, The Capital Times offered buyouts (a sign of the times in the newspaper business, unfortunately) and I took it, completely forgetting about a potential job at FFRF. About a week later, I got a call from Annie Laurie, asking me to come in for an interview. I couldn’t have been happier!

Jacobsen: What have been some of your more recent activities through the organisation?

Slinger: As editor of Freethought Today, I work mostly behind the scenes. Part of my job is to promote, in the paper, the great things FFRF is doing in our battle to keep church and state separate. It’s on me to give our members (33,000 of them!) something that keeps them informed of everything we do at FFRF, give them articles of interest relating to nontheism or church-state issues, and entertain them with cartoons, photos and other items relevant to our mission. I feel it’s a good mix of serious news, information and fun.

It’s amazing how much content there is on a monthly basis. We publish 24 pages, but that number could easily be higher.

Jacobsen: As someone raised Methodist but being an atheist nearly your whole life, you have also spent time as a copy editor, sportswriter and online editor for The Capital Times. How does this inform your work through FFRF and help with the advancement of the secular movements and the church-state separation communities?

Slinger: I feel fortunate to have worked at The Capital Times, a progressive newspaper, where things like state-church separation are important. It’s there that I began to understand minority communities, be they racial, gender, economic or religious. As an atheist, I saw the similarities among those communities in how and why the majorities held power and what was needed to break those cycles of control. While choosing to be an atheist is considerably different than being born black or LGBTQ, just being part of the minority (for now) nonreligious community has helped me understand and empathise with those groups.

Jacobsen: What is the next big step for the FFRF in its battles with those who have tendencies toward the theocratic rather than the democratic?

Slinger: Well, that’s a loaded question! We are currently in a time of great unease about the future of state-church separation. With the administration we currently have in the White House and the beyond-strange Christian evangelical backing of it, it seems as if we are losing ground day by day, even as FFRF continues to pile up victories in our legal battles. It’s clear that in our current political climate, religion — specifically Christianity — holds a more prominent position in governmental decisions and outcomes. More and more states are spending time and money to have things like “In God We Trust” banners put in schools, rather than tackling the real issues that confront public education. There is no shortage of these kinds of things happening all over the country.

But part of me remains optimistic, based on the studies and reports that show the number of nonreligious people in America is growing at a rapid rate, mostly because of the younger generations. I am hopeful that as time progresses, reason and logic will be used as determining factors in governmental decisions rather than religious platitudes.

I feel that the ultimate goal for FFRF is not to have to exist at all. Unfortunately, it appears our work is only becoming more necessary. So FFRF has to keep pressuring politicians to keep religion out of government, and if we have to go to court to do it, well, that’s what we do. But it’s an uphill climb.

Jacobsen: Any final feelings or thoughts in conclusion based on the conversation today?

Slinger: I’d like to invite anyone who has an interest in helping FFRF fight these battles to join our organisation. We are a five-star nonprofit that uses your membership dues (only $40 a year!) wisely and judiciously. It’s a great way to support the upholding of our First Amendment.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Mr Slinger.

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2022-04-19

Sceptic Amardeo Sarma on Humanism and Rationalism in the West

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/25

German sceptic Amardeo Sarma discusses critically analysing entrenched belief systems, including religion and a shockingly fervent homeopathic movement.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Was there a family background in humanism or rationalism for you?

Amardeo Sarma: No, because both my parents were moderately religious. In fact, to give you an example, when I grew up, my father was a Hindu, I am half Indian, my mother is Christian, German. When I was growing up, my dad was liberal in that sense.

He said you can become whatever you like. If you want to be a Hindu or a Christian, fine. Even if you want to be a Muslim, that’s fine because we lived in India where there were a lot of Muslims. But then I do not think he reckoned with me deciding to be nothing.

In a way, I became a sceptic before I became an atheist or humanist. That’s because of my reading. I used to read a lot of books when I was a kid. When I was 16, 17, I came across a number of books such as Charles Berlitz: The Bermuda Triangle or other of his books.

I found them quite fascinating. One of the books that got me thinking was a book by Larry Kusche, who wrote Bermuda Triangle Solved, and I found it fantastic for somebody to take pains to go into everything and find out that a lot of the claims are wrong.

That got me into scepticism and at some stage I stopped buying into the diffused beliefs that I had before. So, the quick answer to your question is no, there is no family background of it.

Jacobsen: Your parents did not reconcile with you having non-belief?

Sarma: Well, they did in the sense that they accepted it. I do not think they were particularly happy, but they did not make a fuss about it.

Jacobsen: For other friends growing up around where you lived, was it different?

Sarma: Yeah, it was different because most of them stayed religious. My brother had a similar path even though he’s not so engaged in the sceptical movement as I am. He was one of the founders along with me, but he hasn’t been active. He’s been a sceptic even before me and he’s also a non-believer, or whatever you would call that.

Jacobsen: There is plenty of names, irreligious, nones, non-believers, etc.

Sarma: I am not an atheist in the sense that I do not go around preaching non-belief. I am an atheist in the sense that I do not believe in God or any superior being, which is not the same as positively stating that there is no God. It is up to the believers to prove their case that there is a God, not mine to prove that there isn’t. Also, atheism is not my motivation. Being a sceptic is, and that means promoting science and critical thinking, which is what I have been doing for over 30 years.

Jacobsen: And as the leader of the German Sceptics Group, what are some of your tasks and responsibilities that you take on board?

Sarma: I have been responsible for the overall strategy and direction we are going and what topics we choose, as well as making sure that the organization grows. There is a lot of administration as well.

We are quite happy that the last 30 years the organization has had steady growth. We now have more than 1600 members. Additionally, about two and a half thousand people subscribe to the magazine Skeptiker. It is growing steadily. So I try to make sure that the sceptics’ organization is on the right path and keeps growing.

Specifically, I have been involved in some topics as well. In the past, it is been homeopathy and the methods of science: how to do investigations, how to do tests. In the earlier stages of the organization, in the 90s, I organized and designed tests together with James Randi, so that was quite an experience at the time.

So at the moment, I have been looking more into things like climate change and global warming as well, so that’s been one of the new topics. We hope to be taking up broader science issues that are part of the public discussion.

Jacobsen: How is German culture in regards to scepticism? What is its attitude towards it? What is the level of critical thinking too?

Sarma: On face value, everybody says, “Yes, science is good and critical thinking is good,” but when it comes to topics like homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine, people are not into critical thinking in that sense.

Compared to the US and Canada, there is not as much of a pro-science sentiment in general in the public. It is more difficult to get across that point of view, even though people on face value are in favor of science and critical thinking. Of course, everybody thinks critical thinking is a good thing.

But they seem to look at critical thinking not as scientifically investigating these claims, but being critical about things. Being critical means denying whether something is true or not. It is difficult to get across that we need more than that: Both claims and criticism need evidence and we should not forget that we cannot ignore the rest of the body of scientific knowledge.

But we’ve been making some progress especially as far as homeopathy is concerned. We’ve been able to turn the tide here in Germany. If you look at the reports in the newspapers and some of the magazines, the tone has changed.

Whereas 10 or 20 years ago, many of the reports on homeopathy would be positive, pro-homeopathy, now not just us but many journalists or bloggers have been writing much more critically about homeopathy. Also, sales of homeopathic medicines are down for the first time and medical doctors are getting more reluctant to promote homeopathy.

This is a hard task, but shows you can change things if you bring convincing arguments forward. We are also grateful to the rest of the global scientific and sceptical community that has been effective of late and that has been a huge asset.

And also it is important to be sympathetic in the way your scepticism comes across. Be nice and do not attack people, attack ideas. Make sure you’re firm in your position or scientific standpoint but not trying to insult others, which there is always a tendency for some sceptics to do.

Jacobsen: Also, do you think, because of the nature of these beliefs, that there is a hypersensitivity on the part of – not necessarily practitioners – but believers in the practitioners when discussing these issues?

Sarma: Yes, much so. In particular, in the case of alternative medicine and homeopathy for example, it seems to be almost easier to discuss with a believer in God or a Christian and be critical about the Bible and things like that than to discuss with somebody who is a believer in homeopathy [Laughing].

Apparently people, I do not know about them in the US and in the Americas, but in Europe, theologians and believers have gotten used to being criticized and they still get along with you. Even atheists get invited to church or events organized by the Church to get the other point of view.

They are much more open to critical thinking, even from the point of view of atheists than many believers in homeopathy are. At least they mostly do not yell at you. On the other hand, I have had cases where even friends get up and leave when you start discussing homeopathy critically.

Again the short answer is yes; people are sensitive. Belief in things like homeopathy can be as strong or even much stronger than belief in God. They are held much more strongly, with much more resistance to criticism.

Jacobsen: You mentioned Skeptiker.

Sarma: Skeptiker, yes.

Jacobsen: The name answers itself.

Sarma: That’s a magazine. We started publishing that in 1987, so it has been 30 years now since we started. In the beginning, it was a small magazine but that’s grown now. It is now comparable to any other published magazine. We publish it 4 times a year and the contents are good.

Jacobsen: Not biased on the matter at all?

Sarma: [Laughing] No, not at all. But we get good feedback from other sceptic groups in other countries when they compare it to their own magazines. They say the way it is done up and the topics we address, that it is quite good.

Jacobsen: What are some of your ongoing activities outside of the magazine and work in combatting things like homeopathy and dowsing in Germany through the sceptics group?

Sarma: To give you an example, at the end of every year, we evaluate the predictions of astrologers and soothsayers. We collect, at the beginning of the year, whatever has been forecast to happen. At the end of the year, we show what happened and that’s quite sobering.

At the end you see that the predictions turn out to be wrong most of the time of course. The results are as you would expect by chance. If you would do random predictions, you’d probably end up with a better score than the astrologers because some of the predictions they make are basically impossible.

For example, one of the predictions they made was there is going to be a landing on Mars next year. To make this happen, the spacecraft should have already started. So, some of the predictions they made are completely impossible and they couldn’t ever turn out to be correct unless somebody had sent out a Mars mission in secret or something like that.

But apparently this does not affect the astrologers much. They continue to make their predictions even if they are also faced with our criticism at the end of it. Apparently it is advertising for them. They get attention and they do not care if it turns out or wrong at the end of the year.

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2022-04-19

Atheist Woman Fleeing Persecution in Tunisia Seeks Refuge in Germany

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/20

Trabelsi Zeineb is a bisexual atheist woman fleeing hostility and potential persecution from neighbours and family in Tunisia, seeking refuge in Germany.

Trabelsi Zeineb grew up in a highly religious family in the Tunis suburbs. Her father is a prominent member of the Party of El-Nahda. She spent her early life in this highly religious household. Religious enough that she felt the sting of restrictions and double standards against women. This was simply life in Tunisia for her.

Trabelsi was forced to wear the veil, forced to pray, forced to fast, and only allowed to leave the house to study, which was under the control of her brother or male guardian.

Zeineb lived without rights for a long time as girl, a woman, in a highly religious Islamic home. Then the revolution came, which gave her a chance to get away from her patriarchal household in suburbanite Tunis.

She began to fight for individual rights, for her rights as a non-believer and woman. It was a breath of freedom. She came out as a bisexual at this time as well. However, once her family found out about her bisexuality and atheism, they rejected her. She was threatened by family and neighbours.

In 2013, she got married. Her ex-husband, she reports, mistreated her. She described life with the ex-husband, the few months, as “hell.” After a few months, they got divorced.

She then began to formulate a plan to get out, get anywhere, for a new life: Europe was the obvious choice.

On the 1st of October, 2017, Zeineb got a tourist visa for 15 days to spend a week in Spain. From there, she went to Germany in order to apply for asylum. The German authorities rejected her.

I asked Trabelsi about the treatment of sexual minorities and atheists within Tunisia. She said, “The situation in Tunisia is unstable and we are being threatened because we are minorities.”

“We are threatened with death from the family and the community. And we do not find our right when we want to resort to the judiciary Germany may refuse asylum,” Zeineb explained, “because it considers Tunisia a state of rights and freedoms after the revolution. If they refuse asylum, they will return to Tunisia and face renewed death threats from my family.”

Zeineb is concerned about being potentially returned to Tunisia because, if she does then, she will potentially face penalties for being a bisexual and an atheist in a country with a culture against sexual minorities and unbelievers.

“Arabe Article 226 provides for imprisonment for any person who infringes on good morals and public morals. Article 230 of the Tunisian Penal Code provides for the perpetrator of homosexuality or manslaughter to be sentenced to three years’ imprisonment,” Zeineb said.

She noted that she risks even her family simply killing her. The future is unknown for her, as she is meeting with German authorities today, on April the 20th.

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2022-04-19

Liberal Islam and Migrant Integration with Seyran Ateş

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/04/13

Seyran Ateş, a lawyer and feminist activist, speaks with Conatus News about law, faith, feminism, and integrating migrants in Western societies.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: To begin, what was your background in faith and feminism? Insofar as I know, you are of Kurdish descent.

Seyran Ateş: My mother is Turkish. My father is Kurdish. He died in 2014. My family background is Sunni. I was 6 when I came to Berlin, so I grew up there. Faith or religion was not a primary or daily issue.

My parents used to leave everybody alone with their religious beliefs. They were liberal on this point. I always believed in God. I was never an activist or something like that. I had the chance to see that Islam is a pluralist religion.

Turkey was at this time much more open, modern and plural when it came to religion. The pressure on the people was perhaps because there was no democracy, but never because of religion when I was growing up.

For that reason, faith was never something that I had to run away from or something public. It was interior and individual. Even as a child, I believed in a merciful God full of love. That is the background of my childhood.

Jacobsen: You studied criminal and family law at the University of Berlin.

Ateş: I started studying law in 1983 at the age of 20. I worked parallel to my studies as a social worker in a centre for women. We helped women who were victims of domestic violence and other [forms of abuse].

We taught them to read and write in German, and helped them with their daily life. This is what I did when I was 20. At the age of 21, in the third semester of my study, I was shot there by a man of Turkish origin.

The woman, who was one of our clients, was there that day. She was sitting close. I was translating. She died when he shot the two of us. That experience was bad, but important for my life. Those people are willing to kill women because [the women] are fighting for their rights.

I stopped studying because of my health situation. I was unable to use my left arm. I finished my studies in 1997 and then started my office as a lawyer.

Jacobsen: That ties into your work as a feminist working for equal rights for women and girls, and in particular Muslim women and girls – also work in civil rights.

Ateş: I started identifying as a feminist at the age of 15. I lived in a conservative and traditional family. To see gender apartheid that early, for that reason, maybe [the reason]I became a feminist.

Jacobsen: A violent Islamic reactionary attacked another woman and yourself. Does this reflect the experience of other Muslim feminists and other women Muslim civil rights activists?

Ateş: When it comes to violence against women, I would say it a little different. We have violence against women in every culture and religion, but we have to look at each religion individually.

Especially and unfortunately, in the Islamic countries and especially here in Europe in the Muslim communities, you can find 10 or 20 percent higher rates of violence against women. When you find violence, sometimes, it is much harder to talk about the origin of it, living here.

There is a timetable difference between the societies. That is what I worked out, from more than 30 years’ experience as a feminist.

Jacobsen: You have been critical of an immigrant Muslim society within Germany that reflects an even more conservative view than its counterpart in Turkey. You also wrote a book called Islam Needs a Sexual Revolution. On those two points of contact, I note a non-conservative orientation within the faith from you. What are your areas of critique of the former organisation and propositions for a sexual revolution in the latter example?

Ateş: My critique is not only against the immigrant Muslim society; it is a critique of Muslim culture all over the world. When it comes to the migrants, you can see they are living in Western and modern countries, but they do not want to integrate themselves into the modern values and lifestyles of these nations.

They are coming from Turkey or these other countries and not developing. The migrants are used to building parallel societies, where they are not willing to integrate themselves into the wider community.

On the other side, the country treats them like guests or like foreigners who should one day go back to their home country. That schism is one point that we have to talk about when it comes to problems of integration.

But [Germany expecting immigrants to return home] should not be an excuse for [Muslim immigrants] not accepting gender equality or democracy. So, my critiques against the Muslim societies are that they do not accept that sexuality is an important point, and that we have to talk and debate and discuss this issue.

The answer is that sexuality is such an important thing for the Muslim communities. That they are singing about it the whole day, but it is forbidden to do?

It is recommended in every field. Every time men and women come together, they think that they will have sex together. It is an overlap.

Jacobsen: You went into hiding in 2008 based on threats against you. What were some of the threats? What was a pivotal moment in that process of hiding?

Ateş: I got the death threats in 2006 and 2009, and also now after opening the mosque. It was not only in 2008 because you said in 2008. I got many death threats because of that. I decided not to work anymore in this field. I stopped for three or four years and then started as a lawyer for a bit in 2012.

Jacobsen: Then you started the Ibn Rushd Goethe Moschee Berlin. What was the inspiration for the title and the orientation of the mosque?

Ateş: Ibn Rushd was a man of enlightenment and a bridge builder between orient and occident. As well, Goethe was the first European who had a different view about Islam compared to others like Voltaire and other contemporary writers who mostly explain Islam as a sick religion [Laughing].

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Ateş: It was based on the sexually overactive Prophet. It explained Islam as more like a sect rather than a religion. Goethe was not satisfied with this picture of Islam. Also, he read lots of books from poets. He was extremely interested in the harmony and poetry of Islam, the language and the poetry.

For this reason, I decided one name from the Occident and one name from the Orient. You could ask why I as a feminist do not take a woman’s name. But as a feminist, I can note that some men have done some great things for humans, like Ibn Rushd and Goethe, [who acted]as bridge makers.

Ibn Rushd is one of the most important reformers of Islam. I love his books, reform ideas, and how he explains us, the Quran, and Islam.

Jacobsen: This is the first liberal mosque in Germany.

Ateş: It is the first open for the public, yes. There are other groups, liberal Muslims and Muslim forums, working in the same style – coming together in the same manner. But there is no other place called mosque or liberal mosque.

Jacobsen: The Egyptian Fatwa Council has condemned this at Al Azhar University in Egypt, which is a major university.

Ateş: Not only Egypt but Turkey and Iran also, the Iranian centre from Humboldt, which, as I say, it was a fatwa. We never get it as a paper [Laughing].

We do not get any papers. I am not shocked. We were not shocked. They were so fast. They never wrote a fatwa against the Islamic State or against the terrorists who kill people in the name of Islam.

It is interesting. It was, for me, again, proof that we have to fight against these so-called authorities in Islamic theology, who call themselves the biggest and most important university in the Islamic world.

They did nothing. It has nothing to do with theology. It was political, personal.

Jacobsen: If you take most faiths at a glance and look at the leaders, and if you look at the leaders, most tend to be men. Why is this?

Ateş: It is the patriarchal structure all over the world. It was the same with violence against women and with the religions. Women are always fighting for more rights, not only in society but also in religions and institutions that work wherever.

We always have to fight and say, “We have the same value as humans.” It is the same game. The hardline leaders of religion used to be always men. In most languages, “God” is explained as a man.

Jacobsen: Now, looking forward to the future, what are some projects that you have coming down the pike? What are you hoping to do with them?

Ateş: I have big dreams and visions [Laughing].

One of my dreams is to have a liberal mosque in every European capital and a more prominent place for our mosque here in Berlin, and to be much more connected to liberal Muslims all over the world – and try to be accepted as a part of Muslim society and Islam.

I also have the dream and the wish that Western countries — and especially Left-wing people — [would stop]confusing me when they discuss the issues of Islam, e.g. the headscarf and how Muslim men treat women. They are incredibly tolerant when it comes to Muslims, but they are never as tolerant of the men in their societies. They would never accept so much violence and pressure on women as they accept in Muslim cultures and communities.

It is so sad that it comes from the Left, as I come from the Left and am a feminist. To discuss all of these issues with Left-wing people who call them the good guys makes me tired somehow. The point is that we have to check what is a practice against human rights, what is acceptable, and accepted by our constitutions and rights.

There should be no difference between culture and religion, to call something against women’s rights and forbid it. There should not be a cultural bonus.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Seyran.

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2022-04-19

The Enlightenment, Humanism and Morality with Dr Stephen Law

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/18

In Part 4 of this interview series, Dr Stephen Law speaks to Conatus News about the Enlightenment, Humanism, Morality and more.

Scott Jacobsen: New data and analysis make arguments for humanism and positive progress based on Enlightenment values and scientific discovery easier now. Some of the most prominent humanists, including Professor Steven Pinker in Enlightenment Now (2018) make arguments of these forms. Do these arguments seem valid and more reliable than in previous centuries to you? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Dr Stephen Law: It’s an empirical question whether the post-Enlightenment world is getting better in various respects. I have not read Pinker’s book or looked at much of the research, so not well-placed to comment on that. I am aware of the fact that you will likely get differing answers depending on exactly which question you ask of the available data, of course.

My interest in the Enlightenment has tended to focus particularly on those who want to blame the Enlightenment for various ills.

There are some post-modern thinkers who do this – who blame the Enlightenment for the Holocaust, for example. Lyotard is one of them. There are also religiously conservative thinkers who blame the Enlightenment for the Holocaust. Journalist Melanie Philips does so quite explicitly, and I seem to remember historian Michael Burleigh made a TV programme which also made that argument. Here’s Philips:

The Enlightenment gave us freedom and liberal values, but it also gave us … The Holocaust.

Philosopher John Gray says about Count Joseph de Maistre, a staunch defender of the Church and Pope and one of the Enlightenment’s most vigorous critics, that:

[w]hen he represents reason and analysis as corrosive and destructive, solvents of custom and allegiance that cannot replace the bonds of sentiment and tradition which they weaken and demolish, he illuminates, better perhaps than any subsequent writer, the absurdity of the Enlightenment faith [for such it undoubtedly was]that human society can have a rational foundation. If to reason is to question, then questioning will have no end, until it has wrought the dissolution of the civilization that gave it birth.

So someone like Pinker, or me, who thinks that reason and the Enlightenment value of thinking independently and for oneself should lie at the heart of raising good citizens will come under attack from two different directions. We are criticised by post-modern thinkers who think that this elevation of reason turns it into a highly oppressive authority. We are also criticised by religious conservatives who blame the kind of independent critical thinking espoused by Enlightenment thinkers for undermining traditional sources of authority, promoting relativism, and unravelling the social and ethical fabric.

Neither of these critiques is correct, of course.

Jacobsen: Continuing from the previous question, how does the humanist framework provide a way in which to think about ethics practically, especially with all of the technology involved at every level of decision-making now?

Law: That is an enormous question. Humanism does not really offer a specific philosophical ethical theory. Some humanists are utilitarians; some are not, some humanists are moral realists, some are not. One thing humanists do have in common is a rejection of the thought that some special texts or people must be deferred to because they are sources of divine guidance.

Hume was probably right that science reveals only what is the case, not what one ought to do, and one cannot rationally support an ought conclusion using only ‘is’ premises. So science alone cannot answer moral questions. Many humanists accept that (not all – Sam Harris disagrees, for example). However, that still leaves a great deal of scope for science to inform our moral thinking. If I believe women should not get the vote because I believe dim people should not get the vote and that women are dim, my moral position can be demolished scientifically, because it’s based in part on a false empirical claim: women are dim.

Almost everyone agrees that, whether or not science alone can justify moral positions, it can be hugely helpful with moral judgements. Almost everyone agrees morality has at least something to do with human flourishing in this life. And it’s an empirical matter what helps humans flourish in this life, so scientific investigation of what helps us flourish will be very valuable, morally speaking. What we think will help us flourish often turns out to be incorrect.

Jacobsen: With these positive gains in the scientific world and the expansion of the moral sphere, what new values that are now fringe considerations in ethical decisions will in the coming decades become mainstream and even central in moral choices?

Law: Well one obvious candidate is genetic enhancement – designer babies. As the technology develops, we will have some hard decisions to make. I was also recently involved in discussion with John Danaher about robot sex. That is already a thing, apparently (robotic sex dolls are on sale). That also raises lots of interesting questions about human relationships, freedom, the law, etc.

In my opinion, what should now come to the fore, but probably won’t, is class. We are all acutely aware that racism, sexism, homophobia are forms of discrimination that hurt our fellow human beings badly. “I’d suggest a form of discrimination that hurts our life prospects at least as much as these other forms is class discrimination: classism if you like.”

Of course, this is controversial. Currently, more on the right are beginning to voice publicly what many think privately – that the lower classes are genetically inferior, and that this is overwhelmingly what explains their lack of social mobility. Whether this is true is an empirical matter, of course.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dr Law.

Dr Stephen Law is Reader in Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London. He is also the editor of THINK: Philosophy for Everyone, a journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy (published by Cambridge University Press). Stephen has published numerous books on philosophy, including The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking (on which an Oxford University online course has since been based) and The Philosophy Files (aimed at children 12+). Stephen is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts. Our prior article, here, and main interview, here, and sessions in this series here, here, and here.

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2022-04-19

BBC Appeals To The UN To Protect Its Iran-Based Staff From Harassment

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/18

The BBC has appealed to the United Nations to protect the rights of its Iran-based journalists, who allegedly face harassment and intimidation.

BBC News has appealed to the United Nations to protect its journalists’ rights in Iran.

The complaints to the United Nations follow years of allegations of harassment and persecution by the Iranian authorities of journalists as well as their families. In 2017, the complaints had intensified compared to previous years.

The Iranian authorities opened a criminal investigation against BBC Persian Service journalists. Their alleged crime was opposition to the national security of Iran. The BBC World Service owns the foreign language services and received funds from the Foreign Office until 2014.

These facts have been questionable to the Iranian authorities. The BBC has listed a number of complaints about Iran, including arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists’ family members, passport confiscations, bans on travel and especially out of Iran, and the surveillance of the journalists’ families and the journalists themselves.

All of them connected to even further spreading of defamation and fake news. The targets, interestingly, have been female journalists. Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, explained:

…because our own attempts to persuade the Iranian authorities to end their harassment have been completely ignored…

…In fact, during the past nine years, the collective punishment of BBC Persian Service journalists and their families has worsened. This is not just about the BBC – we are not the only media organisation to have been harassed or forced to compromise when dealing with Iran.

In truth, this story is much wider: it is a story about fundamental human rights. We are now asking the community of nations at the UN to support the BBC and uphold the right to freedom of expression.

The Deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, Jeremy Dear, explained that the Iranian journalists, for several years, have been suffering and forced into exile and hiding to escape punishments, even being caught and arrest, jailed and then given intimidation, routine harassment, and violence.

“Iranians now increasingly turn to the international media to find out what is happening in their own country,” Dear said, “Targeting family members in Iran in an attempt to silence journalists working in London must be stopped. The international community must act now.”

David Kaye and Asma Jahangir, United Nations Special Rapporteurs, received an urgent appeal from the BBC World Service last October. The appeal noted that the corporation’s journalists would address the Human Rights Council in a session in Geneva this week with a call for United Nations member states to act to protect the rights of BBC staff to report freely.

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2022-04-19

Women in Colombia Address Conflict-Associated Sexual Abuse

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/17

The United Nations Refugee Agency reported on Columbian women and their work to combat sexual abuse. Michelle Begue stated that women in Columbia are working through the court system to find justice in sexual abuse and rape cases.

Leonor Galeano and her 12-year-old daughter, for instance, had to flee their homes during fighting between the FARC rebels and the government.

When Galeano and her daughter settled into a new house in Southern Columbia, she befriended a local official. The official, without Galeano’s knowledge, raped her daughter several times.

Galeano’s daughter became pregnant. “Because we are displaced, people believe that we are worthless, that we don’t have the same rights,” Galeano stated.

In the half-century old armed conflict in Columbia, stories like these are common. 7.4 million people have been extirpated from the borders of their country. Mothers and daughters, like Leonor and her child, comprise the more than half of the displaced population.

Women and children are particularly vulnerable in these circumstances. People are concerned about the daily needs of survival, and lack social and familial support networks. This makes refugees of conflict, especially women and children, vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

“There is a deep relation between sexual violence and displacement… But sexual violence isn’t just a cause for displacement,” said Adri Villa, a community-based protection assistant at the United Nations Refugee Agency. “It sometimes occurs during and after displacement, once they have settled in their new home.”

No specific information exists on the total number of children and women victims of sexual violence in the 50+ year conflict in Columbia, but this is linked to a deeper problem: the lack of any official registry.

Individual citizens lack knowledge of their rights, resources, and connections to do anything about it. To combat this, women’s protection collectives have been forming independently.

One is in Putumayo province in the south. It is an umbrella of 66 groups which are advocating and enforcing the rights of women. This has proven difficult in a scenario in which “tens of thousands of displaced women [are]among nearly 146,000 victims of the armed conflict in the region bordering Ecuador.”

“The problem of sexual violence… is most prevalent among families who have been forcibly displaced, because they are in a state of greater vulnerability,” said Muriel Fatima, the President of the Life Weavers Women’s Alliance.

Life Weavers is a pilot project for peace in Columbia. The organisation gives empowerment workshops and counselling to women affected by sexual violence and abuse in the region.

As the Life Weavers Women’s Alliance has allied with the United Nations Refugee Agency, there has been an increased chance for the women survivors of rape and sexual violence to be able to fight for justice in a court system. This is largely due to generous financial resources from the UNHCR.

The UNHCR has been keeping its commitments and promises by doing so. In 2016, there was a peace agreement reached between the FARC rebels and the government. This has temporarily ended the hostilities between the two warring groups.

“I am thankful because with the help of the alliance and UNHCR I have survived,” Leonor Galeano said, “I consider myself a survivor, because I have moved forward.”

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2022-04-19

Student Walkout over Gun Violence Threatened with Disciplinary Action

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/17

Students who take part in a walkout to protest gun violence in America could be faced with disciplinary action by their schools.

Demonstrations against gun violence have been ongoing after the mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

In the wake of the tragedy, March For Our Lives was founded in reaction to the issue of gun violence, which has affected many schools.

According to the March For Our Lives website, the tally on the marches around the world in protest against gun violence, especially those in schools, comes to 766 at the time of reporting.

There is an interactive map of the international protests, mostly occurring in the Western Hemisphere and in particular North America, staged on March 14.

Mass murderer 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz sat in court while thousands of high school students took part in the walkout.

The Cruz shooting was one of at least 14 at a public school in 2018 alone, coming to 3 shootings every two weeks. Some have described this as a generation raised on gun violence.

Several Republican politicians made accusations against students taking part in the hundreds of protests against gun violence in National Walkout Day. They claim that the students are political pawns in a Liberal cause.

One Charleston Democratic senator chastised the Republican leaders who made the allegations. South Carolina Governor, Henry McMaster, said that the walkouts over gun violence are shameful. In full, he stated:

This is a tricky move, I believe, by a left-wing group, from the information I’ve seen, to use these children as a tool to further their own means… It sounds like a protest to me. It’s not a memorial, it’s certainly not a prayer service, it’s a political statement by a left-wing group and it’s shameful.
What we should all do and what these students should do — I imagine a lot of them intend to do — is to pray and to hope for the families of those who were slain.

It is a First Amendment right of the students to peacefully assemble and protest. The schools that impeded the protests could face consequences. On the other hand, some students may face penalties for missing class.

Vera Eidelman, a fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that some schools may punish the students who take part in the walkout – for missing class.

Eidelman further explained, “But what the school can’t do is discipline students more harshly because they are walking out to express a political view or because school administrators don’t support the views behind the protest.”

There have been a variety of reactions to the National Walkout Day from support, to denouncement, to lambasting those who spoke out against the students and the walkout, to the students actually being punished for the walkouts.

One case was at Harney Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada. 60 students are being required to take part in RPCs, or Required Parent Conferences, and were not being allowed to return to class on Wednesday.

Students in Metro Atlanta were disciplined for their participation in the walkouts. Those at Lindenhurst High are being forced to stay afterschool. The largest school district in South Carolina said that it would discipline upwards of 530 students for taking part in the walkouts.

Many students across the United States were given the choice to either walk out and face disciplinary action or stay in class. Some students were allegedly administered corporal punishment for taking part in the walkout.

The full consequences of the National Walkout Day, March For Our Lives, disciplinary action, and the court case for Cruz, are still unfolding.

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2022-04-19

How The World Celebrated International Women’s Day

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/11

International Women’s Day, instituted to commemorate women and their achievements, saw protests, marches and vigorous activism all around the world

On International Women’s Day Spanish women went on strike in protest against gender inequality, in what some have been calling a “feminist strike.” It was not a marginal event, but a historic act involving millions of protesters.

One teacher present at a picket line in Madrid, Concha Noverges, told Reuters, “I lived under the dictatorship, I lived under democracy and we haven’t made much headway… A lot remains to be done and we, in the education sector, have a big role to play.”

The strike lasted for 24-hours and involved an estimated 5.3 million people, according to the major Spanish unions. The march and protest were echoed in other countries, and follow on the heels of the #MeToo movements campaigning for the reduction and eventual elimination of sexual violence and harassment in workplace settings.

Two important people showed up to the event alongside the protestors – the mayors of Madrid and Bareclona, Manuela Carmena and Ada Colau.

“As people in public positions, we have the duty to mobilise on behalf of those who can’t go on strike. This is the century of women and of feminism; we’ve raised our voices and we won’t stop. No more violence, discrimination or pay gap,” The Guardian reported Colau as saying.

As Elisabetta Povoledo and others reported at length in their article in the New York Times, the strike was simply one of the bigger branches of a worldwide movement of people showing up in protest and solidarity favour of women’s liberation and empowerment.

Women also marched in London. The March4Women last Sunday marked the 100^th anniversary of women earning the right to vote in the United Kingdom, making this another historic event. It was the sixth annual march of Care International.

Several major celebrities took part in the march, including Bianca Jagger, Anne-Marie Duff and Natalie Imbruglia. Biffy Clyro and Michael Sheen also joined London’s mayor Sadiq Khan.

Khan said, “It is an honour to walk in the footsteps of the women and men who fought for women’s suffrage, retracing their protest route from Parliament to Trafalgar Square.”

Famed actor Michael Sheen said he would take a pay cut to make a point about equal pay, and stated “I think it’s absolutely imperative that no matter what the industry, no matter what the profession, that people should be paid the same for doing the same work. That’s just a given.”

The protesters called for an end to violence in the workplace and gender discrimination, many wearing sashes bearing the words “deeds not words.”

The Gulf News stated that thousands were present at the protest, with Refinery29 putting the number at upwards of 10,000, which has been taken by some as an uptick in the intensity of the demands for various kinds of gender equality.

“I think we are living in a world where there are some dinosaurs that are trying to take us back. And there are those that are moving together, trying to say ‘that’s not the way we want this world to look’,” Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, said.

“Moving us forward, we should be looking at issues around inequality and naming prejudice and all sorts of forms of entitlement, that just shouldn’t be part of the scene of the 21st century,” she added.

The march started in Millbank’s Old Palace Yard and finished in Trafalgar Square with important speeches on the history of women’s right to vote, where women’s rights campaigners spoke in the same place leading up to the Representation of the People Act of 1918.

Women who owned property, through the act, were able to vote if over the age of 30. This eventually paved the way for universal women’s suffrage.

Outside of the west, it looks like voices for women’s empowerment were just as passionate, with The Associated Press reporting, “Demonstrators filled the streets in several Asian cities, including Manila, Seoul and New Delhi. Clad in pink and purple shirts, activists in Manila lambasted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, calling him among the worst violator of women’s rights in Asia. Human rights groups have condemned Duterte’s sexist remarks, including a suggestion that troops shoot female communist rebels in the genitals.”

The global solidarity movement focused around International Women’s Day continues to grow, and was coordinated and executed highly successfully, which should be a boon to those hoping to change gender dynamics in and out of the workplace.

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2022-04-19

Mina Ahadi: Abuse of Women’s Rights in Iran Calls for a New Revolution

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Interviewer) and Stephanie Wimmers (Translator)

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/11

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Mina, what is your family background regarding religion, geography, culture, language, and education?

Mina Ahadi: I was born in Abhar, a little town in Iran. My mother tongue was Turkish but we learnt and spoke Persian in school. My father was active in the Tudeh party in Iran, but he died when I was 4 years old. He was a teacher. My family was Muslim and traditional. My grandfather, my mother’s father, was an atheist.

Jacobsen: Was there a family background in activism?

Ahadi: Politics was always a subject. My father and uncle were in Iran’s communist party, Tudeh, and the student movement was very strong back then in Iran and I witnessed all of that.

Jacobsen: You were born in 1956. So, you have experience with the world and its changes over several decades. What have been some most impactful, even emotionally moving, moments in world history that you have personally been a part of? What about simply witness to by your judgment?

Ahadi: The Iranian revolution in 1979 was a very important and big emotional event. I was an activist back then and have seen and learnt a lot, afterwards I read a lot about revolutions in other countries.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You are a member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran. What tasks and responsibilities come with this position?

Ahadi: I work with the Communist Worker’s Party of Iran. We are trying to reach younger generations in Iran and have done and achieved a lot up to this point. I’m in contact with women in Iran with whom we talk about women’s rights violations and gender apartheid in Iran. With the Party’s committee, we have campaigned against stoning in Iran and have saved many women and men. I’ve done a lot myself against executions in Iran and aided a movement against executions, too. We’re trying to help the secular and modern movement in Iran and we would like to topple the Islamic regime with another revolution. The party is very important on that level.

Jacobsen: What are the main targeted objectives of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran in the far future?

Ahadi: In Iran, we would like to topple the Islamic regime and build up a democratic and human-rights oriented regime instead. We want to get rid of all Islamic laws and sharia law, we want freedom of speech, and for equality and liberty to be guaranteed for everyone. Every person should be free and happy, and that’s doable with the options of modern science and communication. We think Iran has a large women’s rights movement, workers’ movement and also anti-religious movement, and after the Islamic regime, we will be able to show all the world how, with the help of social media and communication, you can build a direct system that helps people every day to talk and decide about their lives and how their society functions.

Jacobsen: Faith, in many ways, can be seen as a virus, and an oppressive one in general, with some positives such as hope and community-building. Although, this can be seen as false hope, and community can be built in other ways. How does faith enter the law? How is this tangled up with religion?

Ahadi: Faith and religion is a result of fear and powerlessness of people. Religion nowadays, especially Islam and political Islam, has shown the ugly face of religion, and many people, especially women and teenagers, are against those religions, even in so-called Islamic countries. Religion and faith get weaker the more people live better and get enlightened. I believe that freedom of speech should be a right for everyone in the future. Religion has to be a private matter and stay private. Religion should disappear from the state’s matters and from schools. But, everyone who does have a religion should have to option to practice it, religious organisations should work like NGO organisations, and in it should be possible to criticise religion without fear, and enlightenment work and prosperity and freedom helps people to gain even more distance from faith.

Jacobsen: What has been successful in reducing the incidence of religious and faith influence on the law?

Ahadi: Religion has a huge influence on laws in Islam. Sharia is the Islamic law and everything gets defined against women’s rights and human rights, in general. When religion manifests in law, us women lose all our rights, homosexuals lose their rights, and children and people of other faiths have no rights either.

Jacobsen: How can women, and everyone else, benefit from one secular law for all that especially respects women’s reproductive rights?

Ahadi: Secularism is a very important step for women’s rights, and also for all humans. A secular system means the government is neutral and no religion is allowed to interfere with the system. Religion shouldn’t be in the school curriculum and children shouldn’t wear hijabs in school either, no religious signs in the workplace, so also no hijab in the workplace. Secularism is a guarantee that religions cannot split people in the world of work, and that is especially important today.

Jacobsen: Your husband was executed, on the anniversary of you two as a couple. How did this affect you? What emotions arose? Any messages for those enduring that level of pain and coping?

Ahadi: Yes, my husband was murdered on our anniversary, and that was very difficult for me as a young woman. At the end of May 1980, we had guests in our house and I and my husband spoke about those people in Kurdish dress that were at our house, and I told my husband I was tired and that we would talk about this issue the next day. The next day, I was at work, and when I came home I saw the religious police in our flat and I did not go home because it was very dangerous for me, too. After one month I read in the newspaper that my husband and all our guests from Kurdistan had been executed. I cried all night, and cannot forget about it – that your loved one is taken away and executed is very painful and incredibly bitter. Maybe that’s why I have fought against execution my entire life.

Jacobsen: Do you ever heal completely? If not, how much do you heal? How do you use this to motivate change for the betterment of all – based on the loss of a true love?

Ahadi: I have never gotten away from this tragedy. Every year at the end of June, the anniversary of the execution, I fall into depression. I have never had an opportunity to work through this grief, but with much strength I have helped other people to not be executed. The fight against the death penalty is an important part of my life and my work, and that’s very well known in Iran.

Jacobsen: Why is capital punishment a bad thing, an evil? How does the International Committee Against Executions help show this and prevent capital punishment as a norm? When is capital punishment permissible?

Ahadi: The death penalty is barbaric and inhumane. No government or individual should be allowed to take another person’s life, no one must do such a thing to anyone. I think humanity should abolish this barbarism. I am trying to organise a campaign in Iran against the death penalty, by giving these people a face. I work with pictures of those people and conduct interviews with those affected in prison. I am trying to work with various TV and radio shows to publish interviews and reports of the life stories of those affected, and I do more work on women’s stories. For example, we have organised very big campaigns about Nazanin Fatehi or Ryhane Jabbari, and also about Sina Dehghan, an ex-Muslim, people who have or will be executed in Iran, and multiple others, and we have saved many, but also conducted educational enlightenment work against the death penalty

Jacobsen: You are a co-founder of the German Central Council of Ex-Muslims. What was the impetus for its foundation? Why are ex-Muslims so persecuted to the point of death threats and outright murder in secular countries?

Ahadi: The central council of ex-Muslims was founded in 2007. I said back then that we were 4 million foreigners in Germany, and suddenly we all got labelled as ‘Muslims’. The German government arranged the Islam Conference with Islamic organisations and then sold it as integration. I saw that when someone in Denmark made a caricature of Mohammed, the German television showed a man from the Islamic organisation of the Central Council of Muslims who said all Muslims were offended. So, we were against that kind of politics and founded the ZDE (Central Council of Ex-Muslims) because we needed a different voice and a different set of politics.

Four million people came to Germany for freedom and a better life, not for more religious indoctrination or more influence of Islamic organisations. We are an organisation that is for a headscarf ban in the workplace, and for a ban of headscarves on children. We are against religious classes in school, the wearing of the hijab and the building of more mosques, and we are for integration with modern culture and women’s rights-oriented politics.

Apostasy in Islamic countries is taboo and ex-Muslims can be executed in some countries. We want to show that freedom from religion is a basic human right and must not be punished. In a secular country that also mustn’t be punished with death threats. I have received death threats in Germany multiple times and also have to have personal security.

Jacobsen: How can people help what Maryam Namazie calls the “minority within the minority”? Also, women have less status and finances and, therefore, the capability to move away from religion, in general. What can empower women more, and girls too?

Ahadi: First off, it has to be said that we are dealing with a political Islam that is very aggressive and brutal in the 21st century. Stoning and honour killings and human rights violations in Islamic countries is not our culture, but barbarism from the side of political Islam. But you also have to acknowledge that Islam as a religion is misogynistic and has influenced our culture for centuries, so we are dealing with a complex subject. We have to explain enlightenment worldwide, and the reason is that it has helped people and these aren’t just Western values but human rights and have to be accepted and implemented everywhere. Women’s rights are human rights and universal rights, and primarily, Islamic laws and sharia have to be abolished. The headscarf is a symbol of political Islam and has to be banned worldwide, and women in Iran or other countries should be helped against the forced wearing of the headscarf.

Jacobsen: What seems like the main issue in the ex-Muslim community now? What about the Muslim community?

Ahadi: Being an ex-Muslim in Islamic countries is not easy, but there are more ex-Muslims today. Being an ex-Muslim in Iran or Pakistan or Saudi Arabia means that a person is for secularism and for women’s rights and modern culture. Many ex-Muslims cannot stay in their country of origin and are refugees at the moment, we help refugees and also ex-Muslims that are in prison and have been given the death sentence. For ex-Muslims, it is important now to make religion a private matter in the system in our countries, and to get rid of Sharia laws. For Muslims, I have to say religion is a matter of succession, it is inherited. So I have coincidentally been born into a Muslim family, and so I become a Muslim – and many Muslims are cultural Muslims and live completely normally, and don’t agree with Sharia or Islamists, and that also has to be seen. In Islamic countries, many Muslims are victims of these barbaric regimes, and are also opposed to it.

Jacobsen: How can we best fight political Islam and apostasy laws?

Ahadi: You have to see on a global basis which problems we are talking about. We are talking about political problems that have to do with western governments and their politics. In 1979, in Iran, we had a revolution for a better life, and Islamists have only gained power there with the help of USA, and that’s important. I would like to say that it wasn’t that people had become any more religious and that was why the Islamists had come into power, no, Islamists have come into power with the help of Islamic and western governments, and now Islam and Islamism is a very important political tendency. We have to work against political Islam, and first and foremost help people in Iran and other countries who are against Islamic governments. We have to fight women’s rights violations and not play everything down as just being culture. I’m very critical towards traditions of the Left that define Islamism and political Islam as a genuine fight of oppressed people against imperialism. No, political Islam stands for the taking of power by reactionary governments and has to be fought. We also have to be against apostasy laws and against the death penalty for apostasy and help these people.

Jacobsen: Who is Nazanin Fatehi? How did you help her?

Ahadi: Nazanin Fatehi is in Iran and I heard she has married and is living normally. Nazan was 16 years old when she was out with other young girls in Karaj when she was attacked by some young men. Those men wanted to rape Nazanin and she went at them with a knife. She got arrested and got sentenced to death. There was another Nazanin in Canada, Nazanin Afshin Jam, who wanted to save Nazanin – she made contact with me and I helped her find Nazanin in the Iranian prisons, and together we did a very important campaign and saved Nazanin, that was a big discussion, also about women’s rights and death penalty for minors and everything. I am very happy about this fight we have won, and there is a book about this achievement.

Jacobsen: You have been living under police protection. This is common for publicly outspoken ex-Muslims, especially well-spoken, articulate, and thoughtful ones. As the chairwoman of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims, what has been your main challenge?

Ahadi: Yeah, I had six bodyguards for a long time, and also now when I do public events, I have personal security. That’s a problem in Europe as well. When we criticise Islam or show ourselves as ex-Muslims, we have to fear for our lives. But I wasn’t afraid and I also always say I’m not scared of Islamists either because I’ve known those monsters from the start and fought against those monsters. I am a woman who fights against misogynistic laws and culture. I criticise Islam and all other religions, and unfortunately, that’s dangerous today. I also get labelled as a racist by some left wingers in Germany, and that is also a problem. I want to appear worldwide for secular societies and freedom and women’s rights, and my work is enlightenment work and I also want to help refugees and especially women who fled those countries.

Jacobsen: You won the Secularist of the Year from the UK National Secular Society. How does this feel? What additional responsibilities to the community come with this?

Ahadi: It was an honour for me and I was very happy about it. What I do and say now is not in the direction of European governments, and in Europe my work is not acknowledged as integration work, therefore women like me and especially women who are communists do not get any recognition or prizes. In Germany, women who call themselves Muslim and advertise for a moderate Islam get prizes every day… but at least this was my first prize now in the UK and worldwide and it was very good because that way, we can show that our work is recognised and we gain more attention. For me it was very important what Richard Dawkins said there, he said that he always thought that women in Islamic countries will rise up and do something against Islamists, and Mina Ahadi is an important person against misogynistic laws.

Jacobsen: You have two daughters. What world do you hope for them to have into the near and far future? How does this vision extend to all girls, young women, and women?

Ahadi: I have two daughters who are very important to me. I wish for my children for a life free of any form of discrimination or violence. I wish for my children to be free from any form of interference of religion, to enjoy their life. A world without war and exploitation, without reactionary culture and I wish for the millions of girls or women today for better lives, and want to help my daughters and all those other people.

Jacobsen: How can people become involved and see more of your work in the future?

Ahadi: We are a small group and have received no money from the government or other institutions up to now. However, ex-Muslims are a movement now and we help several people who need help each day, or who fight for freedom and secularism in Islamic countries. I think we have to see this movement and those bloggers or writers who, with much trouble, help do enlightenment work in Islamic countries. We need money, television or other communication platforms, and professional help.

Jacobsen: What are the upcoming presentations and ideas that you want to explore in the near future?

Ahadi: I want to invite all ex-Muslims in Europe to organise a congress. We need to show ourselves and everyone needs to see that we’re doing very important humanist work. I want to organise a large symposium over the hijab and would like to present our fight against the headscarf there first. My generation in Iran in 1978 was on the streets, we were thousands of women and we said that women’s rights aren’t eastern or western, but universal, and in the Iran of current times, young people have made a call to go out on Wednesdays without a hijab, and they go out on the streets without the headscarf, and they get insulted by those in power in Iran. I want to show this movement in all Islamic countries. I also want to organise a conference with bloggers from Islamic countries and show that thousands are on social media every day and criticise religion and Islam.

Jacobsen: Any feelings or thoughts in conclusion?

Ahadi: I thank you very much and hope our voice gets heard even more and our activities will be recognised worldwide, and we aren’t victims anymore, but an alternative for a better future, and rebellious women who have a vision and also a lot of experience, and so far we have achieved a lot as well.

Jacobsen: Thank you for your time, Mina, honour and pleasur

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2022-04-19

Global Secular Humanist Movement: A Reality in the Near Future?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/08

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, founder of Ideas Beyond Borders and the Global Secular Humanist Movement speaks to Conatus News about secularism in the Middle East.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are some initiatives you’re hoping to lay out for 2018 with the Global Secular Humanist Movement?

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Global Secular Humanist Movement has been undergoing multiple evolutions. During the Arab Spring in the middle of 2009 and then 2010, I saw potential for a movement that would unite secularists globally. I wanted to share the message of activists within the Arab world, a message I felt deserved a larger audience, to the world.

Initially, I thought I was the only one who thought that way. Then the page grew to 350,000 people. Often, when there is a significant terrorist attack, we hear the question, “Who are the secularists in the region?”

The goal for 2018 is to highlight the incredibly important work of people who are on the frontline fighting extremism in the region. Also, we want to expand beyond Islamic extremism.

We want to speak out against the far Right and the extremists on the Left. We want it to be more of a hub for many of these writers, journalists, and activists the world over – for them to be able to express themselves.

For the Arab world, we have the program called ASAP – Arab Secular Assistance Project –which is part of Ideas Beyond Borders but frequently shared on GSHM Channels. The goal is to introduce progressive Arab voices to the world by translating their material into English and other languages as well.

The goal is to promote the freedom fighters, especially secular freedom fighter in a way that would help the general public as well as policymakers.

We can amplify their voices in the struggle against authoritarians and Islamists. That is the goal of the Global Secular Humanist Movement. The goal is to get their stories viral.

Jacobsen: Who have been some of the more prominent writers to come out of that outlet?

Mutar: Over the past three years, I have worked more as an agent to activists within the Arab world. The goal was not to publish people inside the Global Secular Humanist Platforms but, rather, to publish them on multiple news platforms like The Daily Beast and CNN.

Then we share their articles on the Global Secular Humanist Movements. Of the more prominent cases we have worked on have been those of the Bengali bloggers. They have endured horrendous atrocities in the region, and many of them lost their lives, but we have been publishing their work.

We have been able to publish them on English-language outlets, such as the aforementioned. An organisation I worked for was the hub in spreading these voices as well as figures like Raif Badawi, Secular Iranians, Saudi and women’s rights activists like Manal Sharif, and people like Waleed Al-Husseini from Palestine. He was in prison for ten years for his non-belief.

It became a platform for activists to get to know each other as well. Many friendships are the product of that page! We share articles and spark conversations and use videos, all to highlight the work of these brave activists.

Jacobsen: With Ideas Beyond Borders, what are some initiatives you hope will bring about change in 2018?

Mutar: Our major initiative now is to translate books related to science, humanism, critical thinking, Enlightenment values, and so on, from English to Arabic. What we are doing is getting the legal licenses from these authors, people like Steven Pinker, Sam Harris, and many others to get their books translated into Arabic.

The goal is to do the actual translation, and over the time we will be building partnerships across the Arab speaking world with many social media pages. Now, we are building ones with TV and radio stations, where we promote and make small videos that discuss some of these writings.

We call this the House of Wisdom. In the 13th century in Baghdad, there was a Caliph called the Mamun. They used to translate books from other languages – mostly Latin and Greek – into Arabic.

Our program is called House of Wisdom or Bayt al-Hikma 2.0. We are doing the digital version of what the Caliph did the 13th century. We are doing it digitally because it can more easily be accessible.

We are aiming to distribute these books for free. Getting licenses and such requires money, but we are hoping to make this information as accessible as possible to mainly young Arab-speaking audiences.

Many initiatives originating in the Arab world have aimed to do this. The only difference or the major difference is that I am aiming to do it in a more legal or sustainable way. For example, The God Delusion has been downloaded 15 million times across the Arab world.

The issue is that some of these publishing companies have a problem with that because this is copyrighted material. We are trying to do it legally and sustainably, as opposed to relying on various translators in their basements.

I am inspired by these translators who are living under dangerous circumstances in Baghdad or Syria and disseminating that knowledge. For us, Ideas Beyond Borders is where the idea came from; it is a bridge between the Arab speaking and the English speaking world. This project has never been realised in the West, which is kind of saddening.

It gives Ideas Beyond Borders a niche market. That will be the primary program. But we do have other programs that will be implemented this year. One of them is the “positive counter-extremism messaging.”

The goal is that when there is a terrorist attack like Orlando or something like that, the news media focuses on how bad the state of the world is. What I think is missing, what I think terrorists want to achieve, is to make things hopeless for people to achieve anything. Positive counter-extremism messaging, where we can highlight the positive things happening and the projects and ways people can donate to initiatives that are working to build that counter-narrative.

The positive counter-message would be “look at this LGBT conference happening in Tunisia, here is how to get involved with them.” When the terrorists try to say “give up and it is all meaningless,” we can counter with “no, there is life and reason to hope.”

One message will be a Global Secular Humanist Movement and Ideas Beyond Borders merger, where we highlight progressive Arab voices, translate their books, and build a database. If a journalist or writer like yourself wants to interview people in Syria with a secular and liberal perspective, we will be your go-to people.

We can tell you that we have forged relationships with people. Here is a translation of their work so you can have a backstory of what they do. We can introduce these folks into the world. Also, we are trying to build an art program that matches that as well.

One of the things conservative and ultra-conservative versions of Islam are trying to achieve is to destroy art and music and literature and philosophy. As you know, the Middle East and even South Asia and these other countries have a rich history when it comes to art and music.

We are trying to digitise that art, which itself builds a counter-narrative to the Far Right who are trying to say, “Those people from there are savages without culture and art.”

Also, it is a form of a counter-narrative to Islamists who say the culture is a homogenous Islamic one. We are working with an amazing professor. Her name is Sadif Jaffer. We are looking to build that once we get that proposal into a program with steps, as well as acquire the funding for it.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Faisal.

Mutar: Sure, thank you!

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2022-04-19

Could Research into Synesthesia Lead to a Better Understanding of Autism?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/07

It appears that synesthesia may be the result of abnormal brain connections, as in the case of other conditions, such as autism.

Science Magazine reported on the new research on synesthesia, the ability to directly perceive and experience multiple senses at once, where one of the five base senses are cross-wired. What does this mean in practical terms?

A person with the synesthesia will hear the colour blue and taste G sharp. It amounts to a “mingling of the senses” and sounds eerily like “colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”

It is estimated to affect only as little as 3 to 5 percent of the general population. There are different types of synesthesia, too, with grapheme-colour synesthesia, in which numbers and letters become associated with particular colors, as the most commonly studied.

University of Amsterdam researcher Romke Rouw found the results very exciting. A number of genes might predispose individuals for synesthesia. Further research may provide a window into other disorders such as autism.

It appears that synesthesia may be the result of abnormal brain connections, as in the case of other conditions, such as autism. According to Rouw’s analysis, the abnormal brain connections are tied to hyperconnectivity, where the hyperconnectivity influences the brain and so the sensation perception of the synesthete.

Psychologists and neuroscientists were unwilling to research synesthesia for decades. Some even denied its existence. It was highly difficult to study because of the subjective nature of the unusual, and involuntary, condition.

Mutations, which could be tracked in families, may serve to shed light upon the condition. Simon Fisher at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands used whole-exome sequencing to find the gene variants responsible for the condition.

This type of gene-sequencing technique only targets DNA meant to encode proteins. Fisher gather genomes from four or five synesthetes, and one non-synesthete, covering three generations from each family researched.

The synesthetes had color-sound synesthesia. 37 genes predicted the family members who would and would not have the inherited synesthesia that causes cross-talk between color and sound in experience. No genetic variant appeared to be shared in the three families studied with no single synesthete gene or gene set assumed to be present based on the new research.

6 of the variants were related to genes associated with the development of connections between neurons and axons. These variants were shown to be active in the auditory and visual cortices.

In has been suggested in previous research that synesthetes have a higher number of connections between brain regions. With this research evidence, it would appear to be supported with hyperconnectivity as the principle and the regions of the brain as the marker for the type of synesthesia.

Rouw cautions, “In the end, replication is going to be key.” That is, there needs to be more research, as research scientists are commonly know to say with good reason, which means the preliminary findings here are a good means through which to further the research into synesthesia and support some hypotheses more than others to carve out the empirical truth of the matter.

Price concluded, “If the findings pan out, studying neuronal connections in synesthesia could be a boon to autism researchers. Many people with autism spectrum disorder also have an enhanced sensitivity to stimuli such as sounds or touch, and there’s mounting evidence that abnormal brain connections—more in some regions, fewer in others—might play a significant role.”

References

Herman, L.M. (2017, February 24). Synesthesia. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/synesthesia.

Price, M. (2016, November 15). European diseases left a genetic mark on Native Americans. Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/european-diseases-left-genetic-mark-native-americans.

Price, M. (2018, March 5). Synesthesia’s mysterious ‘mingling of the senses’ may result from hyperconnected neurons. Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/synesthesia-s-mysterious-mingling-senses-may-result-hyperconnected-neurons.

Tilot, A.K. et al. (2018, March 5). Rare variants in axonogenesis genes connect three families with sound–color synesthesia. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/27/1715492115.

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2022-04-19

Tear Gas and Arrests Follow Turkish Women’s Rights Protests

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/06

On March 4, Turkish protesters were on the streets of Ankara, Turkey, for the advancement of women’s rights and were met with arrests and tear gas.

At a gathering ahead of International Women’s Day, which is on March 8, the marchers ignored calls to disperse their protests. This was not taken well by the riot police, as the protests were dealt with force. The force included the arrest of several women protesters and tear gas being fired at the crowds.

15 protesters, all women, were detained, according to The Japan Times. 1,500 women organised in Istanbul in Bakirkoy district on the European section of the society alone. It was a joint protest against the government of Turkey and its leadership’s decisions, especially those of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a subject of continual controversy nationally and internationally on a variety of topics and decisions, and actions.

Hurriyet Daily News reported that the rioters were mostly from the Ankara Women’s Platform (AWP), a non-governmental organisation devoted to the promotion of women’s rights. These were women’s rights campaigners and activists who were met with tear gas and arrested after refusing to disperse on the demands of the riot police.

One banner raised by the marcher’s said, “We are getting stronger in solidarity.”

The AWP was protesting the opposition to the Turkish military campaign in Syria. President Erdogan considers these people terrorists in Turkey.

One woman in talking to the AFP said, “There is a war on our border. We cannot remain indifferent.” Protests by women rights activists and campaigners are not new in Turkey. There is a noble and honourable tradition that deserves international praise. There was a protest as recent as last summer over dress codes in Turkey

This is the continuance of resistance to the restrictions of and violence of the current leadership of the country.

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2022-04-19

French Embassy in Burkina Faso attacked by jihadist terrorists

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/03/04

A terrorist attack on the French Embassy in Burkina Faso on Friday, March 3, believed to be targeting the anti-terror force G5-Sahel has killed dozens.

A jihadist terror attack on the French Embassy in Burkina Faso claimed dozens of lives on Friday, March 3. There were two attacks, with one on the French Embassy in Burkina Faso and an assault on the military headquarters of Burkina Faso, which was a meeting for regional anti-jihadist forces talks. These coordinated attacks mark an ongoing struggle of West African nations to contain the continual onslaught of jihadist terrorism.

According to the Burkina Faso government, the attack on the military was a suicide car bombing. A planned meeting of the G5 Sahel regional anti-terrorism force may have been the target of the terrorist attack. There were officials from Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger present, as they are the countries represented in the G5.These five countries have launched a joint military force to combat the growing threat of jihadists in the southern Saharan region.80 people were wounded, and eight members of the Armed Forces were killed in the combined body and injury count of the combined, coordinated attacks on Burkina Faso, according to Security Minister Clement Sawadogo. The eight attackers of the combined Jihadist attacks were shot dead.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore stated, “Our country was once again the target of dark forces.” According to witnesses, five men who are armed got out of the car and opened fire on people passing by before they began to head towards the French Embassy.

The G5 forces will be comprised of approximately 5,000 soldiers, which will be fully operational by the end of March. The French army will back these forces with additional deployments of soldiers. France has so far deployed 4,000 troops to support the G5 joint force.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) declared that some of its members were involved in the terrorist attacks. France 24 said, “Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Murabitoun group, which was led by the one-eyed Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar.”

Burkina Faso’s Information Minister, Remis Fulgance Dandjinou described the essence of the attack as having “strong overtones of terrorism.”

There has been an interim United Nations report by the AFP that has warned about the growing threat of jihadist him as ideology and the hottest terrorism. The various insurgencies in the region have caused thousands of deaths in addition to making tens of thousands of people flee their homes. This has continued to deal harsh “blows” to the economy of some of the poorest people in the world.

References

France 24. (2018, February 22). Video: What is the G5 Sahel joint military force?. Retrieved from http://www.france24.com/en/video/20180222-video-what-g5-sahel-joint-military-force.

France 24. (March 3). Burkina Faso attacks may have targeted G5 Sahel anti-terrorism talks, govt says. Retrieved from http://www.france24.com/en/20180303-french-embassy-army-attack-burkina-faso-ouagadougou-target-g5-sahel-antiterror-jihad.

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2022-04-19

Andrew Copson: Humanism and Secularism in Modern Society

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/02/28

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and President of IHEU, talks to Conatus News about humanism and secularism in modern society.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I wanted to talk about humanism: the hows and whys, the theoretical and practical. To begin, what is humanism properly defined in its most general sense?

Andrew Copson: In English, since the mid-nineteenth century, when it first appeared as a word, ‘humanism’ has had two main meanings. One is to refer to the cultural milieu of Renaissance Europe (which we now more often call ‘Renaissance humanism’); the second is to refer to a non-religious approach to questions of value, meaning, and truth which emphasises the role of humanity in these areas of life rather than the role of any deity. This ‘humanism’ is the one which has inspired the setting up of humanist organisations and the development, by humanist thinkers and activists, of the more fully worked out approach to life or worldview that we refer to with the word ‘humanism’ today.

Jacobsen: As you are based in the U.K., and you have leadership roles within the U.K. for humanism, how do you mobilise British humanists outside of a faith-based framework?

Copson: I don’t know if it’s that different. Humanists, like anyone else, are motivated to action by their beliefs. Undoubtedly, humanist organisations and leaders don’t have the god-backed power to instruct their fellow believers to do this or that, but then that doesn’t work out well for religious leaders either. I think that leadership in a humanist context is about being clear in public forums about our values and beliefs and the living out and modelling them in practice too. If people agree with your reasoning and warm to your manner, they will consider doing as you suggest.

Jacobsen: Who do you consider the founder of humanistic values, at the individual and societal level?

Copson: Throughout recorded history and around the world there have been humanists, and this is not surprising as humanist beliefs and values can be arrived anywhere by anyone with reason and empathy. There have probably always been such people. The first people who expressed at least some humanist views that we know about and who left their thoughts for us in writing are people like Mengzi in China 2,300 years ago, followers of the Charvaka school in India 2,500 years ago, and thinkers of the Greek and Roman world of 2,500 to 1,800 years ago. None of the societies in which these views were expressed could be described as humanist – they were diverse societies in which there were many schools of thought – but they were undoubtedly more humanistic than, for example, the Christian states of medieval Europe. It was in part the rediscovery and reception of these humanistic thinkers that kickstarted the humanistic trends that have transformed the world and made it modern.

Jacobsen: Who do you consider the founder of modern humanism as a fully fledged alternate, explicit life philosophy?

Copson: There is no doubt that the most apparent English speaking framer of humanism in the specific sense of a defined worldview rather than a general social and intellectual trend is one of my predecessors as Chief Executive of Humanists UK – Harold Blackham. In the early twentieth century, he enlisted great thinkers and reformers to give form to this ‘humanism’ both in the UK and internationally as the first Secretary General of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He was joined in this internationally by the Dutch thinker and activist Jaap van Praag, who I would also want to name in any humanist hall of founders.

Jacobsen: From the perspective of humanists, what are perennial threats to their free practice of belief and living out humanism?

Copson: The biggest threats to humanists have always been those of culture, tradition, religion and ideology. All of these forces, especially when allied to political or state power, restrict the scope for freethinking and the dynamic challenging of authority through our reason, which is the hallmark of the humanist approach. Racism, xenophobia, and nationalism, which all attempt to reduce the types of people entitled to our empathy and moral concern, are the second group of continuing threats to our life stance.

Jacobsen: You represent the young and the old. If there is survey data, empirical information in other words, what are the general concerns of young humanists?

Copson: Survey data don’t seem to suggest that there are significant differences between older and younger humanists. What they have in common is a preference for liberal and tolerant social policies. Younger people tend to be less reluctant to question and critique the beliefs of religious believers in their cohort than older people were or are. I think this is an extension of their greater commitment to tolerance, but I also think it is something of a concern, as it is so important for every generation to be critically-minded to face the perennial threats that target human reason and empathy.

Jacobsen: Tied to the previous question, even without firm empirical data, what are, or at least seem to be, the issues for older cohorts of humanists?

Copson: Older humanists in the UK tend to be surprised that there are still issues around religion and politics in UK society. They grew up in a context where religion was fading from the public agenda and now – primarily due to immigration – it is back on that agenda. So older people tend to be very concerned that the liberal social gains that there have seen secured in their lifetime – around liberal education, the human rights of children, the secularisation of social policy – may be reversed and that this will worsen the lives of their children and grandchildren. If I had to pick one policy issue that concerns them, I think assisted dying would be it. Older people have to deal with a very particular situation that few older people in the history of our species have faced. Modern medicine has preserved their lives and health beyond imagination, but the new problem this raises is how to bring a dignified end to individual human existence when worthwhile life is over. Older humanists don’t see why their freedom of choice and their human dignity should be compromised in the way that religious lobbies and opponents of choice have successfully kept it as being.

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2022-04-19

Fundamentalism and Sex: Guilt, Taboos, and Recovery

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/23

Iconoclastic, witty, and insightful, Dr. Darrel Ray’s works are must-reads. In the following interview, he gives readers an inside look into fundamentalism and its warped view of sex.

Leaving fundamentalism

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You grew up in a Christian fundamentalist family in Wichita, Kansas. From a youth perspective, what’s running through a child’s mind as they’re growing up in this environment?

Dr. Darrel Ray: As you’re growing up, you’re being taught a whole lot of things, one of which is the language you’re speaking or you’re going to speak. There aren’t any children that sit around thinking, ‘I wonder why mom isn’t teaching my Chinese, or why am I not learning Zulu.’

Jacobsen: [Laughing] That’s right.

Ray: At the same time, you’re learning a lot of other things–how to have polite manners at the table, how to treat other people, and what beliefs govern the household.

To a child, language acquisition and religious acquisition are happening at the same time and they are not going to question why they are not being taught Catholicism or Buddhism. They accept their parents’ beliefs at this age.

In a hunter-gatherer society–from which we’re only separated by a few thousand years–children are genetically and biologically wired to listen to their parents.

If there’s a lion out there that can eat you, you’d better listen to your parents when they say, ‘Don’t go into that bush over there, because there’s tigers and lions that might eat you.’

If Mom and Dad turn around the next day and say, ‘Don’t go into that bush over there because there are demons that will send you to Hell,’ how does a child know the difference?

Jacobsen: They don’t.

Ray: They can’t. So, by age 10, kids have programmed all those kinds of ideas without the ability to critically analyse them. Once they’re embedded in your brain, they’re embedded deeply and, often, permanently.

Notions like Hell can profoundly scare a child who goes to a Pentecostal meeting where eternal damnation is described in explicit detail.

It can easily trigger responses that are no different than those triggered by the threat of a lion. Your brain is going to respond to that threat, whether it’s the threat of Hell or the threat of a lion eating yo

‘Your brain is going to respond to that threat, whether it’s the threat of Hell or the threat of a lion eating you’

I work, we work, with a lot of people who are dealing with the fear of Hell. They’re atheists, but they were raised in families like the Westboro Baptist Church.

Even as adults, they still wake up in a cold sweat at night from their nightmares. We know now that’s probably related to post traumatic stress disorder.

In fact, Dr. Marlene Winnell, pioneer psychologist over in the Bay Area, renamed it ‘religious trauma syndrome’ because she could see from her work that the post-traumatic stress of somebody coming back from a war zone in Afghanistan looks a lot like the stress people had being raised in religious environments from early on. That’s a long answer to a short question.

Recovery

Jacobsen: Tell me a little more about Recovering from Religion.

Ray: We help people deal with the consequences and trauma of leaving religion. Let’s say a 40-year-old with 2 children now recognises that everything he was taught is a bunch of phooey, what does he do now?

He has already raised his kids religious. His wife is still religious. Who does he turn to? He certainly can’t go talk to his minister. I started Recovering from Religion in 2009 and we’ve since grown phenomenally.

We now have a hotline somebody can call and say exactly what they feel. We get calls from religious people. We get parents. Parents, for example, will call us and say ‘We love our child, they say they’re an atheist now and we found you on the Internet. We want to respect our child, but we don’t know how to deal with it because we’re Catholic or we’re Jewish or we’re Buddhist.’

We have small group meetings all over the world. People meet about once a month, talk to each other about recovering issues. We have many other programs.

But the short answer is we’re helping people deal with the trauma and consequences of leaving religion.

Obstacles

Jacobsen: What personality factors or variables play into the rate at which someone can recover? Is the level of general intelligence, or the degree to which someone can adhere strongly to engaging in executive function behaviour, a factor? Grit?

Ray: I write extensively about that in my book, The God Virus. It has little to do with intelligence. That’s not say to intelligence doesn’t have anything to do with it. There are five major personality components in human beings. Four of those components do not correlate at all with religiosity.

The fifth one, however, does–curiosity, and openness to new experience. The research seems to show that the less curious you are, the less open you are to new experience, the more likely you are to be infected with religious notions of any kind.

On the other hand, children who are raised by parents who are religious, but who are open to curiosity, are going to be constantly asking ‘Why?’

It’s hard to infect that kid or keep them infected because they keep asking the wrong questions. The other child, the one who’s not open to new experience and who isn’t particularly curious, they don’t ask those questions in the first place.

Generally people go through a phase, anywhere from two to three years, where they deal with that dissonance, that conflict between emotions that say, ‘There is a hell,’ or emotions that say, ‘God is watching me all the time.’

Logic says, ‘That’s crazy.’ But it takes quite a while–sometimes a lifetime. Like I said, I got people dealing with it who have been nonreligious for decades.

I don’t think there’s a formula. With Recovering from Religion, we take people where they are. Obviously, we don’t give them personality tests or IQ tests or anything. But IQ does correlate with curiosity and a willingness to have new experiences. There is the phenomena that the more educated you are, the less religious you’re likely to be. 94 percent of all the top scientists in the United States are atheists.

The God Virus

Jacobsen: You use the term ‘infected’ when talking about children. Does that come from Richard Dawkins’ use of the words ‘viruses’ and ‘infections’ to describe religions?

Ray: My book The God Virus was largely inspired by an essay he wrote back in 1989 called “Viruses of the Mind.” This metaphor has been around since he wrote his book The Selfish Gene back in 1976.

Dawkins is a biologist. Daniel Dennett is a philosopher. Sam Harris is a neurologist. None, however, is a psychologist. Nobody is looking at it from an anthropological, sociological, or psychological point of view.

So, I basically stole Dawkins’ notion of a mind virus and applied it specifically to religion. He quite approved of it. I met Richard several times and he likes the book, The God Virus, likes its specific application, from a psychological perspective.

Religious therapists

Jacobsen: Who have been your unexpected, even religious, allies with Recovering from Religion and the Secular Therapy Project?

Ray: With Recovery from Religion, we are appreciative of Unitarians. While they may be somewhat religious, they can be secular too.

Secular Jewish organisations have also been good allies. Other groups include the Satanic Temple and Flying Spaghetti Monster. People like that love us. Those are all groups that we have some alliances with, that we cooperate with.

The LGBTQ community is one of our biggest allies, and vice versa. So many people in the LGBTQ community have been disfellowshipped or thrown out or in some way, ostracised by their families and their community.

As a result, other gay church members start asking questions. How many gay music directors and choir directors get exposed and kicked out of their church because they are gay? Now, they’re looking for a community, looking for a place to land. We’re one of those places that’s easy to find on the Internet.

When they find us, they’re on their way out, or somebody outed them and now they’re searching for answers to questions. We are here for them. If they want to stay Catholic or whatever, all we do is listen and help them find solutions. We aren’t in the business of de-conversion.

The beautiful thing is that in 2009 there was no organisation to call.

The only person you’d probably talk to maybe were psychologists. And you certainly wouldn’t talk to your minister. Now, we are here. We have an enormous resource page on our website. We have hundreds and hundreds of links and resources for people in every walk of life, and from every religion. We’re expanding rapidly as we speak. That’s the first answer

As for the Secular Therapy Project, there are real people out there, real psychologists, real social workers who still believe you can pray the gay away. There are psychologists who went to seminary and learned that homosexuality is a sin, being a lesbian is a sin, being trans in a sin, and so on.

They believe this and they practice it. In their practice, they still use Jesus to heal people. It is crazy and dangerous. If a person comes into a practice and says, ‘I’m depressed’ and the psychologist says, ‘You’re depressed because you’re an atheist. You’re depressed because you turned your back on Jesus,’ that certainly doesn’t help the depression. That’s what we faced, and I faced that in 2010, and 2011. After my book The God Virus came out, people who had never heard of me said, ‘Help me find a good psychologist. The last psychologist I went to sent me back to church, or the last psychologist I went to said I need to get Jesus.’

I started looking and it’s impossible to find a secular therapist–no therapist admits they’re an atheist.

The notion of a Christian counsellor has ballooned in popularity over the last 20 years. Entire programs have been developed around Christian counselling. Some of them are Biblical Christian counselling.

There’s no science behind this stuff and yet these people are getting insurance money. They’re licensed. They’re certified in various states. So, I realised that I’m going to have to do something about this.

I started the Secular Therapy Project in 2012 and got a website and database developed. Now, people around the country, and around the world, are coming to us. We just opened our database to the international community. Now a therapist in South Africa, Germany or any other country, can register with us.

We have four highly qualified therapists on our vetting team. If you were a social worker and you wanted to become a part of our database, you would apply. You’d have to prove two things to us. One, that you’re secular. We need evidence of that. We look at what groups you belong to or descriptions on your webpage. Second, you need to prove to us that you use evidence-based methods and are licensed, if appropriate, in your area.

So, once we’ve established you’re bona fide, we let you into the database. Then if I’m searching for a therapist who is secular, I can go into the database. I can register for free. All of this for free– free to the therapist, free to the client.

I can find out if there’s anybody in my zip code or anywhere close to my zip code, like a Match.com between therapists and clients. But it maintains confidentiality and anonymity for the client and for the therapist.

Jacobsen: What is the perception of atheists in the larger society?

Ray: Atheists are the most hated ‘religious’ minority in the United States, even more so than Muslims. It’s funny, but that’s what the few trusted religious surveys have shown for quite a few years now.

Jacobsen: How has religion infiltrated what should be otherwise evidence-based institutions?

In the United States is, places like Liberty University or Regents University, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson’s institutions respectively, and other institutions, like George Fox University, are all fundamentalist colleges and universities.

They have created new programs for family therapy. They are religious institutions teaching family therapy or psychotherapy methods and requiring people to adhere to their theological perspectives throughout their training.

For example, at Brigham Young University, a Mormon Institution, if you are a Ph.D. or Master’s level candidate, you would have to sign a statement saying you will not masturbate and you won’t have sex outside of marriage.

These folks graduate from that college and go out into the world of practice. What are they going to teach people? How are they going to get over their own hang ups around masturbation and help somebody who’s having a lot of sexual guilt?

Religion and sex addiction

Jacobsen: Is sex addiction a real thing? Why do religions, especially Abrahamic ones, try to restrict and direct the sexual activity of young people, especially the women?

Ray: I believe sex addiction is a religious construct. It is not a psychological or scientific construct. In fact, the definition of hypersexuality has changed precisely because it is so difficult to define. Is somebody masturbating 10 times a day hypersexual? If it doesn’t interfere with his life or her life, then they are not hypersexual. In the Catholic worldview, however, masturbating even once makes you a sex addict.

All patriarchal religions have discovered over the centuries that the best way to control people is through their sex and sexuality. I use the term ‘guilt cycle’ in my book The God Virus.

Religions teach you, from an early age, that sex is bad, that masturbation is bad. If you do it, then you’re going to hell: Jesus is watching you.

There’s a voyeuristic God out there who wants to see everything you do and is going to condemn you. I often tell Christians that if you’re a believer, and you have sex, then you have a threesome with Jesus. He’s watching you the whole time.

Patriarchal religions teach you that your own body is your enemy. Look at the story of Adam and Eve.

Women are temptresses and they succumb to temptation. This is present in many religions, not only Christianity. Control of women’s sexuality is a top priority. It starts early on with girls being taught about the religious concept of virginity.

Virginity is not a biological concept. At all. It’s a religious concept. So, what we do is we teach girls that virginity is precious, God owns your virginity; in other words, you do not own your own body, and losing your virginity is a dangerous thing.

You must guard it carefully. Of course, on the opposite side, it assumes that boys are out to get your virginity; that you must protect yourself; that you keep your legs together with an aspirin between them.

All these messages are present purity culture, especially among fundamentalists, but it pervades our whole culture. And when we have people going into our schools right now teaching abstinence only, it is not only unproductive, but most of the messages are guilt messages aimed at girls.

The guilt cycle is further perpetuated when kids explore their sexuality through masturbation and feel compelled to confess. Mitt Romney, when he was bishop of the Mormon church, most likely had to listen to 12-year-old kids telling him if they masturbated.

Then that kid is handed an 8-page piece of literature, from which I quote in my book Sex and God, that uses euphemisms to condemn masturbation, ‘Don’t tamper with the factory.’

Your genitals are a factory for creating sperm (in the case of a boy). It’s going to do its thing and you shouldn’t mess with it. Don’t touch your genitals. And Mitt Romney was giving this thing to people.

Inverting taboos

Jacobsen: What’s the most bizarre sexual taboo that you’ve come across in your research on sex and religion?

Ray: Oh, that’s an easy question to answer. Most Christians say to secularists, ‘You want to be secular because you want to act like an animal. You want to have all the sex you can.’ Let me tell you something.

There are almost no animals on this planet that can have sex whenever they want to. Humans, bonobo apes, chimps, and dolphins can have sex whenever they want to.

But my dog only mates when she’s ready to procreate. That insect that’s getting ready to hatch out of its larva this spring is only going to have sex to procreate.

Most animals in this planet only have sex to procreate. In other words, when the Pope tells you to have sex only to procreate, he’s telling you to have sex like an animal. He’s telling you to have sex like an animal because most animals only have procreative sex. We and the few species I just named, can have sex whenever we want.

As a human, I have sex whenever I want to, and masturbation is a big part of being human. When the Pope says nuns cannot have sex their entire lives, that to me is one of the most perverted sexual things you can ask a person to do.

Jacobsen: Do most people who become nuns or priests self-select or is there reinforcement or encouragement at work?

Ray: They’re somewhat self-selected at an early age before their hormones start flowing. Many, many priests tell me that they committed their life to God when they were only 12- or 13-years-old.

Self-selection does play a role, though. About one percent of the population probably meets the criteria of being asexual. I am guessing that priests and nuns are more likely to be asexual than the general population.

Asexuality and the clergy

Jacobsen: What are the criteria for asexuality?

Ray: If you are asexual, you have no interest in sex at all. Maybe 1% of the population is asexual.

Jacobsen: That’s a lot of people.

Ray: There is probably a large percentage of that population that is situationally asexual. People have told me after they got divorced that they had no interest in sex for three years. Then suddenly their sex life comes back, their libido comes back.

If that one percent of people, however, are self-selecting to become priests, then they have a huge advantage. They’re not interested in sex and never will be interested in sex. So, they’re going to make great priests. But the problem with that is they’re also going to be great priests standing up in front of everybody else and saying, ‘You can’t masturbate. You can’t have sex.’ It’s easy for them to say!

I have no interest in Game of Thrones but I don’t dictate that preference to others.

The fact is that most of those priests are not asexual, though.

I’ve interviewed so many priests. They commit themselves to the church at 12 or 13, often at the behest of their parents because Catholics love to have a boy in the family who’s a priest. That gives them lots of status in the Catholic community. And so, the kid at 12 or 13, under parental pressure and family pressure, goes to an all-boys seminary and in the all-boys seminary, there’s a lot of homosexual activity going on.

These boys are discovering their sexuality at that time, even as they’re going through their celibate and abstinence-only indoctrination. They are being programmed to sexually respond in that environment. That’s a big part of where the pedophile priest issue comes from. My own research and that of others has verified this.

It is the way they’re being trained as boys, because our brains are designed to look for what is the appropriate sexual behaviour and sexual object in our culture.

That’s why what is attractive and beautiful in one culture is not attractive and beautiful in another culture, because the brain has been programmed for that cultural expectation.

An insect or a bird knows exactly who to mate with. We don’t. We must learn that. If your brained is turned on to learning who to mate with when you’re 13, 14, 15, and you’re in an all-boys seminary, or all girl’s nunnery, and you look around, all you see are boys, or all you see are girls, your brain is going to imprint in that environment.

Your brain thinks you should focus your mating behaviour on the kind of sex objects present at that time in your brain’s development. It’s done at a biological and neurological level.

Sexual selection across cultures

Ray: Every culture seems to have a body type that is more prevalent. An extreme example is something called ‘steatopygia’ in Africa. Women with gigantic bottoms.

Now, why do women in certain tribes of Africa have this? Whereas you go to Wales and you look at women there, who, on average, have much larger breasts than women in other places? Then in Asia, women are very petite in both departments. So, you must ask the question,’Why is there such a massive difference in body types across cultures?’ And part of that has to do with what we’re talking about. We literally are breeding ourselves.

There is sexual selection going on right within our own species and different cultures highlight what is sexually attractive in their culture. Then those people tend to breed more successfully. Their offspring tend to carry those characteristics generation after generation.

It’s fascinating to know we’re doing to ourselves what we do with cattle and what we do with dogs. We’re self-breeding. And it’s because the brain is programmed to look around and say, “What is attractive? What is attractive in my culture?

Males and females, starting from around 12 to 13 years of age, have their brains programmed to ask, 0What is the right thing in this culture?’ Once they’ve locked in on that, then that becomes their sexual focus, probably for the rest of their lives.

It is especially true of men. The research shows that men fetishise much more quickly and completely and for much longer than women do. So, if a man has a breast fetish, he locks in on that. He’s probably going to have a breast fetish for the rest of his life.

Sexual fluidity and monogamy

Jacobsen: What are some universally attractive characteristics?

Ray: I’m not sure I can answer that. Humans are the most sexually flexible animals on the planet. There’s almost no other species nearly as sexually flexible as ours. There’s a good book called Sexual Fluidity. It came out about 5 years ago.

It’s a long term study of women and shows how women’s sexual behaviour changes rather dramatically over a lifetime. A woman who may describe herself as straight in her teens may describe herself as bisexual in her 20s and lesbian in her 30s then back to straight in her 40s.

It’s amazing how fluid women’s sexuality is. Men do not seem to be nearly as fluid, but they are still fluid within that window of time that I’ve spoken about when the brain is being programmed.

Humans want variety, constant variety. That’s partially what drives our consumerist society. We’re always looking for the new thing; we always want the latest technology, the newest car, a different colour or shade of lipstick or whatever.

It’s the same thing that drives our sexuality. One of the problems with religious sexuality is its strict prohibition of fluidity of any kind.

The fact is, there’s no human society on this planet that’s monogamous. There’s never been a time in human history that was monogamous. I give talks about this all the time. I ask my audience. Let’s say there are 400 people in the room.

I’d say, ‘How many of you know someone who is monogamous?’ And I bet half the hands will raise up. Now, I say, ‘If it’s not you, how would you know?’ And almost all the hands go down. People lie about their sexual experience, especially women, because sexual experiences are shamed in our culture. Women are shamed for being sexual.

The one size fits all religious straitjacket works for people who have a low sex drive, low level of curiosity, who are asexual, or someone who buys into the religious stuff about staying married to your spouse for the rest of your life.

The rest of us, we don’t want to have deal with that. That’s why the divorce rate is so high. The divorce rate is higher among the most religious. The more religious you are, then the more likely you are to be divorced.

Religion and sexual guilt

Jacobsen: Do religious people tend to experience more guilt with regards to sex?

Ray: Oh, there’s a lot of shame and guilt that they don’t know how to deal with. So, they act it out and that leads to divorce.

You might look at David Barash and Judith Lipton’s book, it’s a great book called The Myth of Monogamy.

Or read Dr. Marty Klein’s essay called “You’re Addicted to What?” Or you might also be interested in Dr. Marty Klein’s book called America’s War on Sex. It’s an interesting look at politics and statistics and practices of America and sexuality.

And of course, if you’re interested in the sex part of it, go look at my book, Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality. There’s a lot of people starting to write about it. The reason I wrote both of my most recent books was because I wasn’t seeing anybody talking about this stuff, especially sex.

Nobody wants to challenge the religious notions about sexuality in our culture. And nobody wants to challenge therapists that are using nonscientific approaches to therapy that cause more problems.

The first rule of medicine is ‘do no harm’ and yet psychotherapists out there are exacerbating the psychological problems that people are having that were initially caused by religion.

As a therapist, my colleagues verify this. 80 percent, probably more, are dealing with sex problems directly related to religious training.

Religion, atheism, and community

Jacobsen: Are there any aspects of religion that you find admirable?

Ray: Religion can bring people together as a community. But this is not unique to religion. Humans are social creatures. We want community.

We want a place where our children can be taught, where they can be safe. And churches claim to do that for people. Unfortunately, once you get in the church, then your children are going to be taught things you probably don’t want them to be taught.

Where’s the secular person going to go? Too many secular people say, ‘I went back to church because I wanted a community. I don’t believe a word that minister is saying.’ But the problem is you’re putting your children through Sunday school where they’re being taught some nasty stuff.

God created genocide, killed everybody on the planet through this cute little story about Noah’s Ark or another cute little story like murdering all the children for making fun of a prophet.

Sunday Assembly is a secular movement out of England. It’s sputtered a bit, but it’s working in some places. Oasis started about 3 years ago. It’s bringing secular community together as well. It’s a weekly meeting on Sunday morning at 11 o’clock where mostly atheists, secularists, and humanists, all come together and have a blast listening to a lecture on an interesting topic, hearing some good music.

There is childcare, which is really important. All churches have childcare. We’ve got childcare. The minute you add childcare to the formula, your population doubles or triples. It’s amazing to see how many people come to these things.

We’re getting 200 people showing up every Sunday. Houston is getting 150 people showing up every Sunday. Now, it sounds crazy and people say it sounds like an atheist church. Oh, no, it’s community, like the Rotary Club is a community

Nobody calls them a church. Our focus is on education, science, and philosophy. We have great speakers, people who challenge your thinking process about stuff like death. What does death mean to an atheist?

We have presentations on polyamory. Now, what church is going to let you talk about swinging or polyamory?

Jacobsen: Not many.

Ray: You would be shocked at the number of polyamorous in the atheist community. About 30 percent of our group in Oasis is poly or poly friendly. The fact is, there’s probably poly people in churches too.

They couldn’t say it. Or they’d get thrown it. Does that answer your question?

Jacobsen: That does, and I’m out of them. So, thank you much for your time, Darrel.

Ray: My pleasure.

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2022-04-19

How will Billy Graham be Remembered?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/23

Influential Evangelical pastor Billy Graham (1918-2018), who played an outsized role in American Evangelical Christianity, died Wednesday at the age of 99.

Rev. Billy Graham was one of the most prominent American preachers of the 20th century. He died on February 21, 2018, at the age of 99. In his public preachings, he attracted as many as 130,000 people.

Some argue he preached to more people than any single preacher in the history of the world. Through his preaching, he wanted to renew in people their sense of God. He was involved in the Civil Rights Era movement.

His early preachings were more conservative and political, but through the course of his life, he began to preach in an apolitical style and in content as well. His wife, Ruth, found the hard way that his preaching came before anything else in the world.

Bill travelled frequently to preaching engagements. His evangelizing for Evangelical Christianity in particular, and Christianity in general, spanned for more than six decades.

According to Mark DeMoss who is a spokesperson for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, “It was described by nurse and doctor as a very peaceful passing […] He was not in any pain, and he wouldn’t have suffered any.”

Dr Lucian Rice of Asheville, who was the personal physician of Graham, stated that “He just wore out.” The funeral procession for “America’s Pastor” has been planned. Graham, prior to death, long suffered from pneumonia, cancer, and other ailments.

US President Donald Trump tweeted, “The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man… gave hope and guidance to generations of Americans.”

Rev. Graham evangelised to over 215 million people. He was listed as one of the “Ten Most Admired Men in the World.” Most will remember Graham for appealing to broad numbers of people for his Christian faith. Others have called him “evil.” His son, William Franklin Graham III, is the official successor based on the claims of Graham.

Billy Graham was a controversial figure. It is still debated whether he was ahead of his time in the Civil Rights era or whether his positions were weak and some of his integration rhetoric and behaviour, token.

His stance on homosexuality, however, was infinitely more clear, with the pastor saying the following: “We traffic in homosexuality at the peril of our spiritual welfare” and claiming homosexuality to be a “sinister form of perversion.”

He played a fundamental role in uniting the evangelical factions of the Christian Right.

His own wishes were to be remembered as a preacher. His body will be laid to rest at the United States Capitol.

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2022-04-19

Humanism: A Basis for Unity and Accountability?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/21

Daniela Wakonigg, Assistant Managing Editor of Humanistic Press, talks to Conatus News about the meaning of and threats to humanism.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Tell us a little about your family and personal background. Where did you grow up? What was the environment like with respect to values and/or religious beliefs?

Daniela Wakonigg: I am Austrian and I grew up in Germany, where I still live today. I was an extremely curious child and still am an extremely curious adult. I’m interested in natural and human sciences, arts, and politics. It’s actually hard to find a topic I’m not interested in!

I was raised as a Roman Catholic but started to doubt and to think about the big questions of life–Is there a god? What will happen after death?–when I was still in primary school. As I couldn’t find answers I decided to study Philosophy and Catholic Theology (and also German Language and Literature, as it appealed to the artistic side in me). I left university with a Master of Arts and as an atheist, after a very lengthy and intense, but unsuccessful, search for convincing reasons to believe in the existence of divine powers.

My personal philosophy involves causing as little harm as possible–to the environment, to my fellow humans, and to non-human animals. I’m also trying to make this world a little better. Fighting for a better world, however, isn’t always possible without hurting someone’s (religious, political etc.) feelings. But sometimes it’s necessary, unfortunately, to hurt someone’s feelings in order to prevent things that are far worse.

Jacobsen: When did humanism ‘click’ for you? When did you decide it was the right path for you?

Wakonigg: After leaving faith, I just didn’t want to think about it anymore. I was simply fed up with it. But over the years, I realised that atheists were again and again attacked or simply not regarded in media, in politics, and so on.

One year, media reported about the Easter Sermon of a famous conservative cardinal in Germany in which he attacked nonbelievers. In his view, all the evil in the world was caused by nonbelievers. I was so angry about it that I decided to find out if there were others like me, nonbelievers, who were no longer willing to accept defamations like that.

So I got in touch with different secular societies in Germany and soon became part of the secular movement in Germany myself. And I found out that I am not just an atheist but also a humanist, which means I do not just define myself by my denial in the existence of a god/gods, but also by my belief that humans should be kind and helpful to one another, uniting through our similarities rather than allowing ourselves to become divided by petty differences.

Jacobsen: Now, you are one of the managing editors for Humanistic Press. Why this name? How did it come about and how has Humanistic Press grown over the years? What are the main activities and impacts of Humanistic Press?

Wakonigg: Humanistic Press was founded in 2006. It’s based on a registered association made up of different societies and private people who promote secular humanism and freethinking in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The registered association “hpd e.V.” is the legal structure that makes our editorial work possible. But our editorial team works independently of the association or its members.

The original idea behind Humanistic Press was to create a press agency that would provide media with secular/humanistic news–just like the Catholic press agency in Germany provides them with news from the Catholic world, and the Protestant press agency in Germany provides them with news from the Protestant world. That’s where the name comes from: Humanistischer Pressedienst (Humanistic Press Service). But the media simply weren’t interested. To them nonbelievers, atheists, and secular humanists, were too small a group to be recognised, although they comprised about 30% of the population even by that time.

So Humanistic Press decided to become a medium itself and started doing what we still do today. We report on the activities and events of different organisations that fight for secular humanism in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We also report on political, legal, and social issues in those countries from a secular point of view. We offer exclusive stories no other media are interested in–stories about blasphemers, about satirical art that criticises religions, about people who were mistreated or abused in religious establishments, about state money given to churches and the links between church and state in general.

We focus mainly on German speaking countries, but we also consistently report on topics that concern humanism and atheism around the world.

Jacobsen: What have been some of the more moving, difficult, or rewarding experiences in your time there?

Wakonigg: The most moving experience was and still is meeting secular activists from other countries and listening to their stories. These are people whose wellbeing and even lives are in danger in their home countries just because they are raising their voices for humanism and atheism.

When you are constantly working for the rights of atheists in your own country, you start seeing just the negative parts, the things that are not yet in order. Meeting atheists from other countries makes you become aware again about the benefits nonbelievers already have in Europe compared to other parts of the world.

And it personally gave me an insight: atheism/secular humanism is really a uniting force. I remember meeting secular bloggers from Bangladesh who were seeking asylum in Germany. When I talked to them I immediately felt familiar with them. We had the same way of looking at the world– a science-based way, a way that focuses on the wellbeing of people, on the need for education, women’s rights, and human rights more broadly.

Though I had never met someone from Bangladesh before and though we had grown up in completely different countries and cultures, I felt more familiar with them than with a deeply religious Christian in Germany.

Jacobsen: What are the biggest needs of the humanist community?

Wakonigg: Their biggest need is to be heard and to be seen as a growing and already very large group in society, because they are still being ignored by politics and media. But it’s up to them to be heard and seen, by publicly saying that they are atheists, by becoming aware that they are a group and by organising.

Jacobsen: What is the best argument for humanism that you have ever come across?

Wakonigg: Your question actually includes two questions. The first one is: What’s the best argument for atheism that you have ever come across? The second is: What’s the best argument for humanism that you have ever come across? Because atheism and humanism are not the same. But the second often results from the first. And for both, there are many sound arguments.

To initiate an inquiry into atheism, I recommend exploring questions like: Why do people in different parts of the world believe in different gods? How could some gods have vanished (Greco-Roman gods, for instance) and why do you think yours won’t vanish? If you have a problem with the idea that the universe/the Big Bang came out of nothing, why don’t you have a problem with the idea that your god came out of nothing?

To me, the most convincing argument for atheism is the amount of suffering in the world. It’s an old problem theologists and philosophers call ‘theodicy’: How can a benevolent tolerate suffering?

For me, all the answers that make room for the existence of God are either cynical or not convincing. This is of course a question for people who grew up with the idea of a loving, merciful god. After finding out that a god like that is logically impossible, it’s just a small step to finding out that the idea of any god is rather ridiculous.

Once you absorb the logical improbabilities of a loving Creator, you realise that there is exists only one possible way to make this world a better place. And that is by making it yourself. No god will help you, no god brings meaning into this world. The only one who can do it is yourself and your fellow humans. To me that’s a pretty good argument for humanism.

Jacobsen: What turns a believer into a non-believer? Arguments from logic and philosophy, evidence from mainstream science, or experience within traditional religious structures?

Wakonigg: There are different reasons why people become atheists. Some people simply never believed because they weren’t indoctrinated with a faith as a child, like most people from the former German Democratic Republic. Then you have people who were heavily indoctrinated with religion as children and who become atheists because they got kind of an overdose.

There are people who had had very emotional, personal experiences with members of a religion, like child abuse. Others simply find out that there are double standards in religions whereby authority figures say holy things and do quite unholy things, which causes them to doubt. Others are naturally more inquisitive and are exposed to different ideas through their reading.

Most of the older atheists I know became atheists either after encountering negative experiences with religious structures or after exploring philosophy and logic. The younger atheists I know are atheists, generally speaking, because they find the explanations of science more convincing than those religion offers.

Jacobsen: What do you consider the main threat to humanism?

Wakonigg: The fear of people to think for themselves.

For some reason people seem to be afraid of fully taking responsibility for themselves and for the world. They want a strong leader who will tell them what’s good or bad and what their purpose in life is.

This is what a god essentially provides–structure and security. Within this system, my tribal god is of course always stronger than yours! And if he isn’t, he is at least providing me with a place in heaven.

Maybe it’s a heritage from our ancestors who used to live in groups with a strong leader.

But if you dare to think and–very importantly–dare to accept the results of your thinking, humanism is just a footstep away.

Jacobsen: What are some of the demographics of the readership at Humanistic Press? (Age, sex, political affiliation, and so on)

Wakonigg: I’m very glad to say that we are being read by people of all ages. 16% of our readers are 18-24, 22% are 25-34, 21% are 35-44, 17% are 45-54, 12% are 55-64 and another 12% are 65 or older.

Roughly 70% of our readers are male and about 30% female. That’s not too surprising because around the world more men than women identify as atheists or nonbelievers and you have more men than women working as activists in secular humanism–something that will hopefully change in the future.

The political affiliation of our readers is also pretty much average for ‘None’s around the world. The majority of ‘None’s and also of our readers has rather a left wing affiliation and a liberal thinking as far as civil rights are concerned.

About 95% percent of our readers are, unsurprisingly, from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland–German speaking countries. But we do, to our surprise, also have a small amount of readers from countries all over the world, despite the fact that our content is completely in German.

Jacobsen: You can be reached through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. How else can people become involved, even donate to, Humanistic Press?

Wakonigg: Of course donations are always welcome! Apart from that, everyone is free to become a member of the registered association that makes our journalistic work possible. But the easiest way to become involved is by voluntary writing for hpd or by giving us tips for stories that might be interesting for our readers. You can also write stories or give us tips in English and we will translate them.

Jacobsen: Thank you for your time, Daniela. It was a pleasure.

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2022-04-19

Canada Struggles with Secularism. What Can We Do? – A chat with Dave McKee, Communist Party of Canada

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/19

Despite being a secular nation, Canada struggles with promoting secularism, as schools and hospitals are highly influenced by religion. An interview with Dave McKee, Communist Party of Canada, on the country’s problems with religiosity in the public sector.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What stereotypes do you often hear about communism in Ontario and Canadian discourse?

Dave McKee: We certainly hear less of the old Cold War stereotypes than we did 15 or 20 years ago. Some of this change is because a lot of time has passed, but I think a lot of it also has to do with an increasing desire for alternative political views that can help explain the increasingly difficult concrete conditions that people face in their daily lives.

That said, there are some stereotypes that occasionally emerge here in Ontario. One is that Communists are a band of authoritarians who want to impose a rigid, mechanical society that is opposed to individual rights. Another stereotype is that the Communist Party is a political movement that is funded by foreign governments. I even had someone ask if, as a communist, I would outlaw pizza!

These statements aren’t at all true – the Communist Party of Canada is a “home-grown” movement that has fought for over 95 years to achieve socialism in this country. Our vision of socialism includes the profound extension of democracy into all aspects of political, economic, social, and cultural life.

Probably the most common stereotype, though, is that “communism has failed” and so our movement and Party are condemned to be ineffective. This is simply ahistorical. True, socialism was overthrown in the USSR and Eastern Europe, but any honest assessment of socialism in those countries will clearly reveal the tremendous achievements and vitality of a dynamic system that transformed the lives of millions of people for the better. I would never argue that Soviet socialism was perfect, but it was not a failure – it still stands as the bar against which current and future liberative movements must seek to measure up. The fact that socialist and communist movements are growing all over the world suggests to me that it is capitalism, not communism, which is failing.

Jacobsen: The UK is more secular than Canada. This gives more flexibility for secular activists too. What organizations should young politically-minded students look into?

McKee: In Ontario, where I live, the main arena for secular activists is probably public education. The provincial government funds a Catholic school system, parallel to the public school system, and this situation has come under increasing criticism and opposition. There are several avenues for activists to get involved in this area – local school councils (sometimes called parent councils) are a good option, although they are not specifically focused on this question. Another option is the Campaign for Public Education, a coalition of labour and community activists, that has worked for many years on issues of equity, funding, and democracy within the public school system.

Another public institution in Canada with lingering religious involvement is hospitals, many of which maintain an association with a particular church or religious order, even though they are publicly funded. The biggest issue for hospitals and healthcare is opposing privatization, so we don’t see a sharp, ongoing debate around religion and hospitals. There are moments when it springs up, though, as in the recent arguments over whether Catholic hospitals should offer medically assisted suicide. These same hospitals have, at different times, been the centre of debates around abortion services. In Ontario, one of the key organizations campaigning for public healthcare and hospitals is the Ontario Health Coalition.

For young secular activists who have a Marxist or socialist perspective, a good organization to look into is the Young Communist League (YCL). This is an organization of youth and students that is politically united with the Communist Party, but organizationally independent. The YCL is active on a range of political and social issues, in both domestic and global contexts.

Jacobsen: You have taken stances against the separate publicly-funded school system in Canada. What is the situation now? Is it becoming more secular or less so?

McKee: It’s a bit of a tricky issue.

Recent studies show that, over the past 15 years, Catholic school enrolment in Ontario has fallen by around 6%. Through the same period, public school enrolment, in general, has also fallen. We can conclude two things from this: First, the proportion of public school students who are enrolled in Catholic schools is slightly reduced. Second, the proportion of students who are enrolled in private schools has increased –many of these institutions are religious, but information about the proportion is not readily available.

Looking at this, we could say that the publicly-funded system is very slowly becoming more secular, but that there also is a growing religious education sector that is privately funded.

Jacobsen: How did Canada implement this separate publicly-funded school system? What effects did and does this have on the democratic values of the country? What are some warnings for other countries’ young people with similar histories regarding their school system, e.g. the faith schools in the UK?

McKee: The whole genesis of Catholic school funding is rather bizarre. It dates back to the “original” constitution of Canada, the British North America Act of 1867 (BNA), which preserved the education rights of certain religious minorities in Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec, respectively). At that time, there were concerns among the ruling class, which was English, about the language and religious rights of the anglophone Protestant minority in francophone Catholic Quebec. These rights were secured through language that pointed to the example of Catholic rights in Ontario, and were preserved. Concretely, Catholics were entitled to a Catholic school in Ontario and Protestants were entitled to a Protestant school in Quebec. This language is so specific to Ontario and Quebec that it is not even entirely clear how binding it is on other provinces in Canada.

Currently, it is generally interpreted as enshrining the right of Catholic schools in Ontario to receive the same public funding as the secular public school system. It is probably the most-used argument against establishing a single secular school system in Ontario.

This is problematic and undemocratic on so many levels. Catholic school funding is based on a constitutional provision that emerged through the desire of English-speaking Canada to protect and maintain its privileged and powerful minority within Quebec. As such, it is a universalized policy that is peculiar to a particular dynamic in Canada – the oppression of the francophone nation by the anglophone nation. But here we are now, a century and a half later, and some basic questions are being asked: “What about the rights of other religious minorities in Ontario?” “How appropriate is a policy that equates religion with national identity?” “Should religious education be publicly funded at all?” “Since society is dynamic, shouldn’t the constitution reflect and respond to changes over time?” “If an institution is to be publicly funded, should it not also be governed and delivered in a manner that is universally accessible?”

In 1999, the United Nations Human Rights Commission considered the issue of Catholic school funding in Ontario and determined that it was a discriminatory practice. The committee stated that, in order to comply with its legal obligations, Ontario should either stop funding Catholic schools or provide education funding to all religious schools. The government chose to ignore the decision, maintaining a policy and practice at odds with international law.

As you note, the issue of public funding for religious schools is not unique to Ontario or Canada. While there are differences between the situation here and, say, that of faith schools in the UK, the current effect of publicly funded religious education is substantially the same in at least three ways:

1. It preserves the dominance of one religion (in this case, Christianity) over all others;
2. It ensures that religious views generally maintain a high profile within society, far out of proportion with a relatively smaller population of actively religious people; and
3. It continually ascribes a sizeable and broad public role to a specific religious institution, thereby hampering the fully universal provision of public services, which can only be achieved through secular institutions.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dave.

McKee: Thank you!

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2022-04-19

Can Contemporary Economics Gain From A Philosophical Perspective?

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/18

In the fifth instalment of this Q&A with Conatus News, Dr Alexander Douglas discusses economic philosophy and contemporary economic issues.

Dr Alexander Douglas specialises in the history of philosophy and the philosophy of economics. He is a faculty member at the University of St. Andrews in the School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies. In this series, we discuss the philosophy of economics, its evolution, and how the discipline of economics should move forward in a world with increasing inequality so that it is more attuned to democracy. Previous sessions of our Q&A can be found here, here, and here.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How is philosophising about economics useful in the development of insights into economics itself?

Dr Alexander Douglas: Many economists doubt that it is. They can argue that they get along just fine without reading any philosophy of economics. And I suppose they do, given their goals. Companies and governments keep on hiring them to give advice and make forecasts. Philosophers can criticise their models for being not scientific enough, or ignore what is of real human value. Anyone can criticise their forecasting record based on whatever external standard they deem appropriate. But the economists can always reply: ‘If we’re so wrong, why are we always consulted?’ I think philosophers of economics ought to think about that question. But doing so would mean moving in the direction of social critique and away from contributing to economics as such.

Joan Robinson claims, in Freedom and Necessity, that the task of the social sciences is very different to that of the natural sciences. It is, she says, to provide society with an organ of self-consciousness. I think contemporary economics fails at this task. Economists build models in which the system works a certain way; they plug in values and predict outcomes, and policymakers and others base their decisions on these predictions. What is left out is the amount of social control required to keep the systems working in this theoretically tractable way. Economists rarely discuss this, as far as I know. Nor do they acknowledge the extent to which their models are self-fulfilling prophecies: the systems they describe work the way that they do because decision-makers unconsciously internalise the models that describe them working in that way. A real organ of social self-consciousness would make us aware of all this. If economists don’t provide one, maybe philosophers will have to.

Jacobsen: How will the economics of the future change – as the implicit philosophy and descriptions around it change into the future?

Douglas: I’m not sure what the engine of change would be. While economics is heavily criticised in certain portions of the media, economists are still, as I said, routinely hired to produce the analyses which government agencies and businesses use to determine their strategies. The analyses are based on models, the basic types of which were developed in the 1970s. Economists criticise some of the types and promote others. But, from the outside, I don’t see a huge amount of theoretical innovation; within the economic profession, improvement is just about making the right upgrades to the classic machines.

To me, this theoretical conservatism goes with political conservatism. We theorise how we govern, and vice-versa. Economic modelling is all about predicting and controlling human actions with increasing precision – winning that little bit more margin by tracking us with better algorithms. Politics works to render us algorithmically tractable. The goals work in a positive feedback loop. The more our political institutions can trap our behaviour into predictable patterns, the better the economic models can track us; the better the models track us, the better the institutions can control us. If we refuse to be described in this way, we can refuse to be governed in this way, but we can’t successfully refuse the one and not the other.

Jacobsen: Do you think the era of individual economic philosophy is almost dead, where a pluralistic approach becomes ideal because of the complexity of an international economy such as our own?

Douglas: Pluralism sounds nice. But the problem is that different approaches are non-diversa sed opposita. They are at odds with each other more than they complement each other.

Take the most fundamental question: how the entire economy, in the most general sense, works. One answer appeals to the idea of a ‘dynamic’ general equilibrium. Households maximise their utility over an entire lifetime, looking over the menu of goods that exist now and will be produced in the future. Firms decide which goods to produce by optimising a profit function, which is partly determined by the household utility functions. The government tries to minimise losses from inflation and unemployment, and this policy can, as Michael Woodford demonstrated, be derived from household utility functions. Samuel Bowles called this picture ‘utopian capitalism’. I think most economists see the real economy as an approximation, though perhaps a distant one, to this utopian picture (some might call it dystopian).

Here is an entirely different picture, which I tried to sketch in my book. Institutions determine the prices, production, and allocation of goods, in a way that is almost entirely independent of household utility. Companies get big enough to hold spare capacity and run operations too complicated for their shareholders to understand. They don’t need to worry about profit maximisation. Smaller firms, rather than competing with the market leaders, simply copy their apparently successful strategies. The government, meanwhile, chooses its policy targets by thinking about what will win votes, not what will maximise household utility. And production decisions are primarily determined by central bank policy.

Here is a concrete example of the latter. If you’re a bank in the UK, and you issue a mortgage, you can swap the mortgage with the Bank of England for pure cash (or a reserve balance): mortgages are on the Eligible Collateral List. Their placement there was a political choice. If, on the other hand, you issue a loan to an entrepreneur, you can’t swap the loan for cash (unless you find someone to buy it), and you’re stuck with the loss in case of default. Unsurprisingly, the financial sector is much more interested in lending to house-buyers and aspiring ‘property asset managers’ than to entrepreneurs in other sectors. And so we get a British economy obsessed with trading in property and doing very little else. Households readily internalise this obsession, but I doubt that it came from them originally. I think this is a pretty clear case of the economy being directed from the top, by political decisions that have nothing to do with maximising household utility.

The first picture is of a traditional free-market economy; the second is of a command economy. I suspect we live in a command economy. For all the rhetoric about free enterprise, the defeat of the Soviet Union by the Western powers was the victory of one sort of command economy over another – one controlled through the monetary system rather than through the industrial system. But whether or not you agree with me depends on which approach to economics you take. I don’t think we can avoid this argument by taking some ecumenical approach.

Jacobsen: Does modern economics imply a certain amount of faith in particular axioms? If so, what is the faith? What axioms?

Douglas: Yes, at the broadest level most economic theory (including Marxist theory, I should say), implies faith in the existence of a market system, in which capitalists pursue profit by producing at the lowest possible cost the goods that people want. I’ve never seen much evidence that our system works like that. Certainly its behaviour resembles that model to some degree of approximation, but then it resembles anything to some degree of approximation.

Above I tried to sketch out another model – not a mathematical model, but a verbal one – that I think our system resembles a greater degree of approximation. The production and allocation of goods are decided by the executive decisions of committees whose members got there by a combination of inherited privilege and blind chance.

Economists can reply that a verbal ‘model’ of this sort is unscientific: it is a satirical caricature with no mathematical precision. But then caricatures and models are the same in one way: they flatten reality by emphasising certain features and ignoring many others. Mathematical models can deliver precise predictions, but caricatures can predict outcomes in a different way – more generic, but perhaps more nuanced in a deeper sense. Which is preferable depends on what our ultimate purposes are: what we want our economic theory for. I return to Robinson: if we are after an organ of social self-consciousness, caricature might be preferable to mathematics. But if we want to sustain the status quo at the lowest possible cost, economists are probably getting it about right.

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2022-04-19

Religion, Secularism, and US Law: A Chat with Andrew Seidel, FFRF

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): Conatus News/Uncommon Ground Media Inc.

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/02/17

Andrew Seidel, Director of Strategic Response at FFRF, speaks to Conatus News about religion, secularism, and United States law.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: FFRF is sometimes criticised for taking on small issues. Why sweat the small things? Are ‘small’ issues used as wedges for larger ones?

Andrew Seidel: I’ve given a whole talk on this topic. Several actually–under different titles, but always something along the lines of ‘Sweat the Small Stuff.’ FFRF sometimes gets flack for taking on small issues, as if it doesn’t matter to fight for the smaller things. But if you don’t fight the small things–the small violations–they are always used to justify larger violations.

This is particularly important in our system because we are in the common law system. So when a court decides an issue, it is going to look at what courts have said before; it looks at small violations and then uses them to uphold larger violations. You can walk through court decisions going back in time and see small violations being used to justify the government endorsing one religion over another or to justify other state-church violations.

Examples of these small violations are often what courts call ceremonial deism. The little things that are ubiquitous to public religion: ‘In God We Trust’ on currency. Saying, ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance. Things like that. The Supreme Court saying, ‘God save the United States in this honourable court’ before the sessions. These get trotted out repeatedly to support more significant violations, even governments putting up religious displays or offering a prayer before a legislative session every day.

We are prosecuting a case where a judge has a prayer before his session of court and trotting out these same arguments and saying, ‘We have been doing this for decades and centuries. It is not that different from the United State Supreme Court saying, “God save the United States in this honourable court.” ‘

I think it is less a wedge strategy than that old story of the frog that slowly gets boiled.

Jacobsen: Better to nip problems in the bud, basically.

Seidel: It always reminds me. James Madison wrote a great line. In Virginia, they proposed a three penny tax that would support Christian preachers. James Madison wrote something called the Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments.

It is the greatest defence of state-church separation that exists from that era. It is 15 or 16 points. In it, Madison wrote that it is ‘proper to take alarm at the first experiment honour liberties.’

Then he goes on to say that the men of the colonies–the free men of the British colonies of America–didn’t wait until all of the violations of their rights had entangled themselves in precedent and basically become confirmed over long periods of time, making them so much harder to challenge.

That idea is entirely visible in our Supreme Court jurisprudence. One of the biggest cases to come down was in 2005. It was a really bizarre set of cases. There were two separate 10 Commandments monuments. One was in Texas. There were a couple in Kentucky county courthouses. The Supreme Court decided both of those cases 5-4 on the same day. The Kentucky commandment monuments had to come down. The Texas monument could stay up. The one judge who switched his position was Justice Breyer. He changed his position because he said that in the Kentucky cases it was apparent that the county boards intended to promote religion.

The displays were recent and had been challenged as soon as they went up. In Texas, it had been up for something like 60 years without being challenged. Obviously, according to Breyer, nobody thought the monument was meant to be religious—that is, nobody thought it was a constitutional violation—so it could stay up. As far as legal reasoning goes, it is as deficient as you can get. It is one of the worst and most illogical reasons and decisions that I have ever seen.

And yet, it is one of the decisions that govern religious displays across the United States now. If they have been up for a while, they get to stay. Which brings us back to the Madison quote. If the Ten Commandments display in Texas had been challenged at the time, Breyer would not have been able to make that decision.

Jacobsen: How do the FFRF and similar organisations–though they may not be as robust as to focus on the legality of things–make arguments on propriety?

Seidel: Just because something is legal does not at all make it appropriate; especially when talking about a representative democracy, religion is the most divisive force mankind has ever developed.

I think if you marry religion to power, especially power in a democracy or a representative republic where the power comes from ‘we the people’, you’re going to see huge swathes of the population alienated.

It can be used as a weapon for many politicians, who use it to pander and divide deliberately. The thing that has always struck me is that it is so unnecessary. There is absolutely no reason to ever have religion in the government in any way, shape, or form.

To me, the questions always been, ‘Why?’

I think the answer is often simple: to manipulate. Sometimes, it is done deliberately to divide the population. Other times, it is done to motivate the ‘base’, as they call it; other times, it is because the person is a ‘proud believer.’

There is no argument in there that suggests that it is proper—let alone in keeping with the values of inclusiveness and equality that America supposed to hold dear—to marry religious power and governmental power.

One of the things FFRF is fighting to protect is the Johnson Amendment. This is a rule here in the United States that says that tax-exempt nonprofits can’t get involved in partisan politics. I am going to Capitol Hill to keep it in place next week, but we always talk about how important it is. Not just because it is an important common sense rule, not only to make sure charitable donations go to charitable work and not political campaigns, but also because churches really have the ability to alter elections.

If a preacher says, ‘You’re going to hell if you vote for a particular candidate’, then it is difficult for a true believer in the faith to go against that command. We’re talking about severing the power religion has and the power government has in everyday life.

Jacobsen: Are there any instances in the history of the United States in which governmental or state legal power was abused to benefit the non-believing community alone in a similar way others have done for a particular religious sect–often Christian–in the United States?

Seidel: It is a good question. I cannot think of a genuine example of that happening. Now, there are a lot of people on the Religious Right here who say that fighting for a secular government is the same thing.

They argue that we are fighting for an atheist government.

I think it is important to separate those two things or distinguish between them. The example I use to try to explain this to people is coaches at public schools who are praying for their students. We get a lot of complaints about that actually.

So imagine, before a game, the team gathers together. In a Christian government, the coach says, ‘Okay, we’re going to pray.’

Now, if the government were endorsing atheism, the coach would be saying, ‘Okay kids, church is stupid. Nobody pray. Go home and burn your Bibles.’

We have never had that. With a secular government, the coach would huddle the team up and simply say, ‘Okay kids, go out and play the best football game you can play. Here is the plan.’ Just doing their job and not referencing religion at all. That’s it. That’s what we’re fighting for.

The FFRF does not favour atheism or favour privileging atheism and non-religion above others. We are just fighting for a secular government.

Edward Gibbon, who wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, said, ‘The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful.’

Jacobsen: I’ve always liked that quote.

Seidel: I love that quote. It is a rough draft of my book, but I have always liked that one.

Jacobsen: As a footnote to that, you and I can agree that any non-believer who desires some superior status to the religious would likewise receive condemnation because our aim is equality.

Seidel: Yes, that is often lost on people. The FFRF is not fighting for privilege. We are fighting for equality. I think you said it well.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Andrew.

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Employers with Non-unionized Employees

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Determination — existence of female predominant job group

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Employers with Non-unionized Employees

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Marginal note: Determination — no female predominant job groups

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Employers with Non-unionized Employees

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Marginal note: Determination — no female predominant job groups

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Marginal note: Determining whether each job group is female predominant

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