The Coffeehouse

I've wanted to take the test at PoliticalCompass.org for a while now. My sister did it a while for one of her politcal science courses and I don't remember where she ended up on the compass exactly, probably somewhere in the middle. Since political ideologies aren't black or white, right or left, there's a wide spectrum of political, social, and economic ideologies that one can subscribe too. It's not just conservative vs. liberal vs. socialist. You can have a "liberal" economic ideology while subscribing to conservative social ideologies. The PoliticalCompass tests aims to locate you in this economic/social spectrum. This is the compass:

And examples of where certain historical figures are on the compass...

As we can see here, Margaret Thatcher was on her way to becoming a fascist leader... I don't really like that they have "Anarchism" and "Fascism" there because it seems to polarize the compass, but I guess they have to show the extremes.

The test had questions that relate to your views on economics, social justice, religion, the role of the state, etc. I had a lot of difficulties answering some questions, mainly because I felt that the issues they addressed weren't black and white. The answer options vary from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree", but even that couldn't help me make up my mind. For example:

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Where does resistance tie into here? Some parties may be justified, others may not. I was mainly thinking about the events of this past summer when trying to answer this and how although both parties acted militarily, I do believe that one side was justified, and the other wasn't.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.

I didn't like this questions because it assumes that there are higher standards of medical care that are not available to all of society (and a reality in today's world). It was difficult to answer because, ideally, everyone should have access to the highest medical care available, and me being egalitarian, I don't think you should have to pay for this higher medical care. But how do I include this belief in my answer?

Some other questions I found to be interesting:

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.

No one can feel naturally homosexual.


This is where I ended up on the compass...

...which is not too bad considering I have the same political views as Nelson Mandela :D

I'm gonna turn this into a tag! I tag Omar, Abed.Hamdan, Digital Niqabi, Ohoud, Mona, Izzi, and WLFG (you can always put it in the comments as well!) :) It should be interesting to see where everybody else ended up on the compass...

I went to a student experience panel about a month ago at a university here in Toronto. It was part of an Xppression Against Oppression week the university's student union was holding and there were several students and faculty members on the panel who spoke about their summer experiences volunteering or working overseas and in "Third World" countries. Not many students attended since it was held during the midterm period, and those who did appeared to be genuinely interested in the topics and wanted to know how they would be able to obtain internships, work, or volunteer positions abroad. One panelist had gone to a west African country, I forgot which, and described his experience volunteering at an orphanage. He told quite a story, "no electricity!", "everybody speaks English!", "poverty!", "bathrooms are holes in the ground!", "sleep on the floor!", "corruption, violence!". I've never been to this west African country, but he's probably telling the truth, and people need to be told of what goes on beyond their safe university campus (unless you're at UCLA or York, then UNsafe campuses).

I go to a lot of political events, many of which have a socialist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist theme, even borderline Marxist. There is a lot of talk about the power of the labour force, grassroots efforts, and armed resistance. I support armed resistance. Under the right circumstances, armed resistance is the means by which many who have been oppressed and occupied have been able to regain their freedom. And, let's face it, it makes no sense to be civilly disobedient when you've been shot at with M16s and F16s for the past 60 years. We sing a lot resistance songs at these events.

So clearly, I don't have a problem with the overall messages and purposes of the above. What I find though is a lot of the time, the messages get romanticized and lose their essence. It becomes glamourized, "help the less fortunate, yeah!", you get caught up in the "foreigness" and "otherness" of the experience.

In the case of the student speaking of his totally "African" experience, it was tough, but cool and exciting to have to light up candles at night to be able to see. It was nice to go back to a proper porcelain toilet, 'cause people back there had to go in the BUSH. Yes, it's different, it's harsh, but it is what it is. We don't need to turn it into a freak show. Give it the proper respect and attention for what it IS, not for how it compares with what it ISN'T.

In the case of the politcal events, the meaning of resistance often becomes skewed, "you gotta fight the MAN". You get caught up in the "ra-ra!" songs and the rhetoric, and the feeling of being "revolutionaries" and fighting for the oppressed. Why are you a socialist? Why do you support armed resistance? People become more attached to the hype and the romanticized image of becoming a freedom fighter or a "lefty", rather than the actual struggle and actions. I'm probably guilty of it as well, but we all need a reminder to ground ourselves and reflect back to the real reasons behind our actions and political support.

If it's an important message that needs to be spread, you won't need to add glamour or spice it up to give it attention. Just let it be...

I wasn't adequately warned before watching this, but I will warn you. The following video is not for the weak-hearted, it is quite disturbing...

Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Tazer Gun

Saturday, October 28th is the national Troops Out of Afghanistan protest day.

If you're in Toronto:

March and Rally
Troops out of Afghanistan
Saturday October 28th
1 pm
US Consulate (360 University ave)

For other cities in Canada: http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/Oct28Events.htm

My parents are going away for the weekend, and my brother is going on a business trip.

Parents: You're staying at home all weekend, and you're especially not going to the rally because we fear for your safety.

Me: I went to Palestine and faced IDF soldiers with rifles the size of my leg every single day....safety?