Alternatives to Joe Fresh

We all knew it, right? After over 800 died in Bangladesh while sewing our cheap shirts, we were all struck with guilt… but seriously. We must have known. Inside. There was no way a pair of 20$ pants could be so affordable and have the workers paid a living wage. But you know what? Your 60$ pants are made in sweatshops too. Your 120$ pairs are as well. This isn’t a cheap fashion problem; this is a fashion problem, because even fancy designers outsource their production overseas. Yep, even tried and true all American brands like LL Bean & Ralph Lauren are getting their stuff made by environments that they have little control over. Don’t feel guilty. Feel angry.

As a huge fan of dresses myself, I have despised the Nike swoosh since I was 7 years old when my mother first told me about sweatshops. Did she terrify me? Yes. But she shaped me, and I’m grateful for it. Although I’ve tried to avoid what I called the “worst offenders” my whole life, this past year had me deciding to do a complete, ahem, makeover with how I look at stuff in general, especially clothing, which resulted in a New Years resolution to only buy from less cruel sources. Maybe you've seen the Story of Stuff, but you can always use a refresher. You see, our clothes (& other products!) are poorly made by underpaid people in horrific environments, AND it’s also really horrible for the planet. There is literally no bright side, except for the fact that there are ways to avoid this sick paradigm completely.

Buy second hand clothing.

I haven’t just got wind of this cool new fad called vintage, guys. I know I’m not the first girl with bangs to profess her love of all things second hand. Everyone from hipsters to Chatelaine is telling you the best way to save money is to get a little something-something second hand. So unique, they croon, putting some 80s polyester blouse on a waif in sweatshop made skinny jeans.

I am going to propose something that you may not have heard before: Buying second hand to save the planet, not to save money.

Don’t get me wrong; you can without question find lots of things on a very limited budget, but I think sometimes people get it in their mind that they can’t find the right second hand dress for 5$ so they go spend 50$ on a mall dress and confirmation bias their way into ignoring the resources that exist.

Then there’s the emotional insistence that second hand clothing is for the poors which I find so laughable that I will share this secret with you: the people who are small minded enough to judge others for shopping at second hand places are the very same who will use their billions of dollars to take a spaceship to Mars after the Earth climate changes itself to death or be to dumb to realize they’re drowning until their nose is under water. Pay them no mind.

Do not always look to second hand to find what is cheap; look and see what is good. It will guaranteed be more affordable than the brand new equivalent, even if it’s not the pittance that you were hoping for. When building the basic frame of what I would need in a “entering the workforce” wardrobe (pssst: mostly pencil skirts & wrap dresses), I looked through thrift stores and found a few suitable things for wonderful prices, but the bulk of it came through consignment shopping. Would I call them cheap? Never. Did I pay less money for my Diane von Furstenburg (insert heart palpitations here) than I would have for a new mall dress? Yes! And the item didn’t get made of thirsty cotton, packaged with oily plastic, and shipped in Styrofoam to come to a store to have me be the end user.

I still haven’t got this all figured out; obviously tights and socks are a bit of a challenge, but it is easier to step into the “second hand only” mindset when you embrace the full spectrum of what it can be.

Alternatives:

-"Recycling" Maybe it’s because I’m 4’9 (and ¾) or maybe I’m just foolishly excited about things, but there’s nothing better than getting a bag of complete changed clothes back from my seamstress. Although many of the projects are simple “lop 4 inches off the bottom”, I’ve had sleeves changed, necklines dropped, dresses turned into skirts, and even an old beautiful but moth ridden muumuu stretched out over canvas to salvage it for my wall. Tailoring can seem like a hassle, but having your clothes actually fit is an amazing luxury, and I spent many of my broke pre-internship student days fishing quasi-acceptable but super cheap blazers and dress shirts for a few bucks and had them transformed into something good looking. If you keep an eye on the fabric of what you’re buying (no matter how pretty, you will regret polyester shirts) and you are careful to purchase things that you will actually wear, there isn’t much a seamstress, or costume studies student (!), can’t do to it.

-Locally owned stores are more likely to stock local (really?) & Canadian made products which have the added ecological benefit of not having to travel as far to get on your body. Plus, and this is very anecdotal, I feel as though local garment makers have a much better understanding of how a body works than whoever does the designs at ForeverH&Crombie. Why you gotta nip in at the THIGHS, tunic?!

-I am a former Gap employee, and although the brand has been absolutely slammed for using sweatshops in the past, the pressure caused them to be much more careful about the factories that they used. Hmm. See? They’re not perfect, but this is the place I feel most comfortable getting tights, flats, etc because I know they have super stringent processes. Old Navy and Banana Republic both fall under this umbrella.

-A word about American Apparel: Screw American Apparel, but that’s just me.

-Here’s why you should be checking for things that were made in Cambodia! I had no idea about this until I made it my mission to listen to every This American Life episode ever. Here’s the segment explaining why Cambodia is a solid choice, and why we can’t let that change.

-Other cheap stores: This is probably the most controversial point, but I’m a realist. If you do nothing else on this list, just please don’t buy Joe Fresh until they ensure that this will never, ever happen again. Twice annual independent evaluation of their factories. Programs that help their employees advance. These are things that have been done and can be done. If we don’t pressure them to change right now, they never will. So while the spotlight is on, at least buy your flats likely put together by nine year olds for pennies somewhere else so that Joe Fresh can get the message and make a difference.

Finally, consume less stuff. This doesn’t seem like a fun suggestion but I swear that it is. When you make the decision to consume less, you end up buying nicer things. For the longest time, I considered a very affordable set of glass wine glasses because we only had two, and wine glasses just seemed like something I should own because I am a fancy wine drinking adult. But I didn’t, because at the end of the day I didn’t love them, even if they were only a few bucks. I borrowed from neighbours. I asked my friends to bring glasses if they brought wine. I drank red out of mugs (hey, we were students!) So last week, when I purchased a beautiful set of 1960s crystal glasses while antiquing, it felt wonderful. They fit so much better in my cupboards because I don’t have a whole cheap, not nearly as beautiful set already.

I really don’t think there is such thing as “ethical consumption”, which isn’t something we like to hear, but maybe we need to hear it. It is only less harmful. One of my favourite thrift stores is owned by a big corporation. Another, that I won’t go to anymore, supports a group that doesn’t support basic human rights for the gay community. When pickings are slim at my favourite consignment shops, I can lament this ridiculous process, but I know that I have almost everything I need. The decision to stuff my closet may not be as fun at the time, but it means my house is tidier and more chic, which matters more anyways. I don’t have the attitude that I can change the world with what I buy, but I do think that being more conscious of my small decisions everyday can make me a happier, more complete person which wears a lot better than any dress.

Responding to Rehtaeh

Image.

There are plenty people eloquent people who have made you cry with their coverage of Rehtaeh Parsons’ death, and there are enough people who have sought to make this event partisan (not politicized, for rape is almost seldom not political in the most basic sense of the word, but partisan.)

I can’t cover it better than they have before, but I have a succinct suggestion to ad.

The best thing we can do as a society to prevent this is to care.

With the outpouring of grief and shock about what cruelly happened to Rehtaeh, it can be quick to jump and say that we care. I am not suggesting that we don’t, but that this pent up energy saved 'til post tragedy needs to be put to better use. A society that cares is a society that reads.

What happens if reports come back and the police obeyed every letter of the law? This is not a rhetorical question. What happens? I come from a background that tells me that we try to change the laws, but the consequences of the laws generally lead to things I don’t find particularly effective. As we don’t have a true “life” penalty in Canada, how do we adequately handle perpetrators? Is the point of prison to punish or to rehabilitate?

What will happen to the perpetrators isn't an enjoyable question, or an easy one, but unfortunately, they are the ones still here and they are some of the ones we have to teach.

Your gut reaction is wrong.

Gut reactions are what have got us in this place in using all of our energy to morn the dead instead of saving some to protect the present.

Caring can be quantified when there is action attached. Informing yourself and forming opinions around existing legal infrastructure instead of events is the most foolproof way we can make our surroundings safer before it is too late for another wonderful person. Informing yourself creates a culture that extends to those you surround yourself with and makes these sorts of conversations with youth more natural, because these conversations have to involve youth. Informing yourself leads to political pressure with a goal instead of anger, and although both are perfectly valid feelings, only one will truly lead to empowering the next victim and their circle (because there will be a next) to have the resources they need to do something differently. Informing yourself makes using words like "patriarchy", a term noticeably absent from most mainstream coverage, less scary because you know what it means, and why it plays a role, and why ignoring it hasn't worked. 

It’s easy to feel helpless in situations like these, but the most accessible way to become empowered is to non partisanly advocate for strong political processes that create a system with justice instead of scrambling to catch up after.

If we rely on our gut reaction for these things, it will only leave our guts turned when the system is not as logical and effective as we would like.

Let’s quantify our caring.

Hearing it for the boys

I’ve been a feminist my whole life and I’ve taken a huge amount of crap for it for just as long. They’re standard stories you’ve already heard. I used play wingwoman but just can’t (aka refuse) to keep my mouth shut when someone’s being creepy around someone who’s had a little too much to drink. Apparently raising money for reconstructive surgeries for women who were forced into genital mutilation doesn’t quite have the same ring as “grade nine band trip.” I was also very aware of what sexual assault meant at a young age (thanks Ma!) and had no qualms about telling a guy when his actions fit that description.

Bitch was the most common response, but the implication that I was ugly and unlovable was a good way to make it extra personal.

Suggesting treating humans as humans is tough, y’all.

I had the immense pleasure of speaking at the IWF Federation’s breakfast last week followed by a panel at the Girl’s Conference at my school. These are the two most recent events of a month filled with women oriented social media training, public forums about getting more women involved in politics where I’ve had the ability to talk about amazing women who are changing our world and how young women can learn from them and how older women can share their message. The girls that I am meeting are smart and inspired and tough and strong. In spite of some truly terrifying moments on the news, I feel like things are going okay.

Last week I also got called a (shield your eyes, kids) cunt for telling my friend that she could define herself however she wanted.

Last week some guy prefaced my announcement that I was guest lecturing at a women’s studies class for one of my favourite professors with the statement, “Yea, I don’t really learn anything in that.”

But last week my straight, cisgender, proudly Christian friend told him, “Then you’re not paying hard enough attention” and other guys backed him up.

No one should be celebrated for doing the bare minimum of not ignoring their privilege but no good deed should be ignored either. Sure, I go to a school with a history rooted deeply in female empowerment but more and more I hear, from a variety of backgrounds, men acknowledging that what happened in Steubenville was ridiculous, men telling other men not to cat call women and in one particularly touching moment a 13 or so year old calling his friend an idiot for calling someone a bitch.

It’s not that voices are more valuable than others in the feminism, but it’s worth acknowledging that when there seems to have been a gap and it is slowly filling that they are very, very welcome to come.

Guys, I’m not going to patronize you: you don’t deserve a slow clap for having the decency to treat other humans like, you know, humans but let’s high five because we’re all creating something awesome. It takes a huge leap of faith to stand up for goodness in any situation.

To some of the young male feminists who have identified themselves lately:
-This means you, the guys who participated in my lecture and never made “here to pick up chicks” jokes.
-This means you, first year university student who used the term “privilege” and “patriarchy” naturally without debate.
-This means you, every one ever who have said “Actually, I probably don’t understand that feeling and that really sucks” about something.
-This means you, guys who donate to parts of political parties that aim at attracting female nominations and candidates and don't expect it to happen naturally.
-This means every guy who has taken the time to have a serious conversation or give plenty of thought to how they can better promote an understanding of the definition of consent in light of Steubenville, or just walking home from the bar: you especially. Because there are many of you lately, and you are open about thinking these thoughts, and I am proud of you because anyone turning against a pack mentality always feels a little awkward.

To all of you: I appreciate you. There is work to be done. I’m happy we’re doing it together.


“Men who want to be feminists do not need to be given a space in feminism. They need to take the space they have in society & make it feminist.”


—Kelley Temple, National Union of Students UK Women’s Office

Dresser organization that gets oddly introspective at the end

Q: So tell me again why you're sitting here and asking questions to yourself?

A: Well, arbitrary voice inside my head, after bragging about my ability to pack clothes into very small spaces my friends started to ask questions about my new "system" that is not really that new and I've seen in many other places. I decided a Q & A blogpost would be the best way to direct them to the information while actually answering all the questions I've received.

Q: You brag about your dresser organization? 

A: Kind of.

Q: And you still have friends?

A: It's complicated I guess.

Q: You won't after writing out your actual thought processes, that's for sure.

A: That's not a question.

Q: You were never really good at multiple choices...

A: SO recently Luke & I decided to free up some space in our room by using one dresser and one small side of average closet. I had previously had a lovely wardrobe that served its purpose but there were not enough drawers and the thought of having both a dresser and a closet taking up space really annoyed me. After a surprisingly fruitful virtual jaunt on to Kijiji we were able to get it out and then get locked out of our house on the coldest day of the year.

Q: Why didn't you bring the keys?

A: I thought Luke had them!

Q: Stop blaming Luke for your mistake!

A: I'm not I just...! ...Anyways, the wardrobe sold faster & for more money than we expected. After looking at some lovely pieces, I pined for my old dresser still in my old bedroom at my parents' house. It was very flexible of them to give it to me; the highboy was part of a set that had been handcrafted in the 1960s with lots of adorable details like French swear words pencilled lightly inside and a slightly off centre branding. Reunited, Luke & I started to divvy up the drawers.

Q: How much space do you really have?

A: Neither a small cool studio apartment in a major city nor one of those overreacting House Hunters on HGTV who wants a walk in AND a master bath PLEASE!, our closet has theoretically been used as a well small reading room in the past. It is deep but narrow and slightly too small for two people. The dresser is not as tall as me, with five deep enough drawers. As constant stuff purgers (it's what I'll be doing later today during this blizzard) neither of us has all that much clothing (seriously!) but...

Q: No, no you have a crapload of clothing. I've seen you. Wait, I am you. You're always wearing different stuff.

A: I worked at Elsie's for a few years and still do the odd Saturday shift. That store has got me through every job interview I've ever been to and every formal occasion I could ever need. Between that & Value Village, there isn't much I buy elsewhere other than really special pieces. I really hate buying new clothes because they haven't been washed before; you can't see how they wear. The best clothes are the ones that are clearly worn but still look amazing; those are the ones you'll have until they really can't.

Q: You're bitter that the fancy new work dresses you got new are pilling already, aren't you?

A: What a waste of money.

Q: Continue.

A: With these resources, I frequently get rid of items a few months after I get them because they were 4$ so who cares? Between lifestyle changes, weight loss, and boredom, a lot of people are actually surprised by how few clothes I own.

Q: So that's a long way to say you don't have that many.

A: I don't, but I do have formal dresses with emotional attachments, some of my grandmother's old pieces that I won't part with, Luke has a suit he seldom wears.. we're human I guess.

Q: Enough talking. What do you do?

A: This.

Q: That?

A: Yep.

Q: What.. is that?

A: It's everything rolled.

Q: Why would you roll it instead of folding it?

A: It doesn't crease! It's ingenious; it takes up an eighth of the space.

Q: So you roll your clothes and lean them against each other?

A: I do for shirts, skirts, dresses, and cardigans. I fold pants and hang anything that's really structured.

Q: Isn't it hard to maintain?

A: If you have a hard time putting your clothes back where they belong, this won't change that. But I find rolling easier than folding.

Q: What about weird items?

A: My swimsuit and leggings are rolled up behind my jeans for when I need them. My underwear & socks are bunches & put into plastic drawer dividers so I can easily find a pair?

Q: I'm having a hard time visualizing that, mind uploading a picture?

A: There are creepy people on the internet.

Q: Aren't you kind of OCD?

A: I think I just spilt hot chocolate on my white sofa and I don't care.

Q: But you put your socks in drawer dividers...

A: It's really helpful! When you see everything it's much easier to pick what you actually want that day! When I open my drawer I see all my clothes instead of just the first one or two folded on top!

Q: Hmm you're almost done but I'm your brain so I'm going to just hum a weird mash up of all the songs you've heard in grocery stores and only know a few words from for the next five minutes.

A: Please dont'.

Q: THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU CALL ME MAYBE.

A: STOP.

Q: DUN DUN DUN SOLSBURY HILL DUN DUN DUN TWIST AND TEENAGE DREAM.

A: This is so embarrassing! I can't bring you out anywhere!

Q: I know right? Remember that time at trivia you forgot the capital of Kosovo? Hahaha and you study flashcards and everything!

A: JUST STOP OKAY.

Q: This is why you don't show people the real me.

A: I'm not listening to you.

Q: Want some more hot chocolate? oh my god what if they made nutella hot chocolate? Do they? Can we watch Parks and Rec all day? Did you see those gifs yet? Do you think you're a trope because all you think about is Nutella and Parks and Rec? Okay think about something serious to impress people... No not something from NPR you pathetic shell of a person! You're only worsening your stereotype.

A: This is why I'm not good at multiple choices or any social situation ever.

Q: Let's go stir nutella, rice crispies, and marshmallows together and microwave them.

A: I'm off that stuff remember?

Q: God no, not your stupid avocado/ spinach salad again.

A: I won't back down.

Q: I WON'T BACK DOWWWWN BAAYYYBAAAAA

A: Okay, for everyone still reading, this system is awesome, your clothes don't get bent, you can see them all conveniently and you can fit a surprising amount in 3 average sized drawers and about 24 inches of hang bar.

Q: No one is still reading this. You've scared them all away like you do all your friends. 

A: Let's go stir nutella, rice crispies, and marshmallows together and microwave them.

The same old different

Living with Luke for almost 3 years, it's always struck me as a but funny that we spend all the monumental moments of our year together except Christmas. Although I take the long, long cross province bus trip to his folks' warm & inviting space on Boxing Day, we still both wonder at what point we're going to figure out what to do about the most epic holiday. Neither of us plans on missing our own traditions any time soon, but it's disappointing to miss each other. That's where real life cards come in.

Varying from notes written on foggy mirrors to etched shortbread cookies, real life cards are little surprises to make us grin. I realized I forgot to leave a few for Luke before I left when I admired our sunglasses laying next to each other on our bench. Just as much as everyone says he & I are so much alike, we're also constantly being told how different we are. He may prefer Colin Cowherd to Ira Glass, but we both passionately geek out over podcasts (He once called me the Skeets to his Tas Melas?) Food he thinks could use a bit more kick make me burst into tears, but we always end up at the same favourite restaurants over and over, even if he needs to make sure there's scriracha sauce ahead of time.

I decided to share some real life cards that ended up being, well, regular e-cards because it's nice to appreciate a sense of togetherness over the holidays. No matter how confused I may be over his insistence in wearing the same favourite pair of jeans until they ABSOLUTELY MUST be washed, it's always important to have a visual reminder that I treat my beat up tote bags the same way.

Ur Rong: Why being a grammar snob is still being a snob

As someone who has only recently crossed the threshold into the more charming aspects of nerd-dom, I should be holding onto the preservation of grammar with everything I’ve got. For roughly 7 years, my ability to write essays that stylistically mirrored the novels I engrossed myself in was my only recognized talent. Even though it didn’t gain me any sort of popularity, it was still mine. Lover of priggish memes snarking the difference between “your” and “you’re” and passionately defending the use of the Oxford comma (sniff), somehow at some point I mistook grammar for some sort of virtue, and unfortunately I really don’t think I’m alone.

Do not misquote or misunderstand me; grammar is required. Proper grammar communicates an ever-important professionalism and elevates conversations. Grammar is what holds the mess of a language that we have together. All of my sentences may come out as loving rigatoni, a story about the time I stepped on a freshly painted bathtub, platypuses, complaining about an injury I got despite not doing anything to merit an injury, * and political snark, but all of these things are held together with the duct tape of grammar. Long story short, I’m random but I’m right. Well, in the modern context.

The beauty of language is how much of it has changed over time. English is one of the most democratic languages on the planet; who else puts ‘d’oh’ and ‘overshare’ in their dictionary? Some argue this move, but failing to recognize a word never actually stops its use but creates cultural divisions that are difficult to overcome. We do not have an academie anglais, and to that I say thank-trucking-god.

Over the past few months, I have taught Internet literary, media literacy, and well, regular literacy to various kinds of people, and learned just as much in return. I’m being purposely vague here; I don’t want anyone to one-day feel as if I’ve identified them here, and honestly, it doesn’t really matter, but I will plug in the volunteer tutoring program at any public library in HRM. We are kidding ourselves if we think that kids are being given a fair shot at literacy. Children come from a variety of backgrounds, and it is completely unrealistic to pretend that there’s any kind of even playing ground, especially when there is so much difference intreatment in the formative years. There’s no easy answer, well, beyond maybe talking to toddlers (no, seriously, see my last link, act 1) but if we could stop treating those who make grammatical errors as some sort of societal petulance that would be great.

It’s not like someone’s brain goes to waste just because they get confused when writing a sentence. There are so many values and opinions that are not expressed because there is such a demand to do it right that it makes it impossible to do. It’s an easy joke to tear apart the syntax of a mouthy YouTuber, and as much as I believe that evil lurks in the comment section of that website, be honest with yourself that it’s the fact that someone said “this sux!!!!!” and not that sucks isn’t spelt with an x. I don’t care about 90% of the people on YouTube, and I really don’t want to see “this sux!!!” on any type of formal essay, but when I see passionate assignments about Rosa Parks being turned back with only red circles around adverbs or even valid contributions rejected because they’re WRITTEN LIKE THIS WHICH LOTS OF ADULTS (IN PARTICULAR) I KNOW DO FOR SOME REASON? I realize that we’ve lost the point.

Just as Shakespeare would probably want to harpoon me right now, I will not speak how the teenagers of the future that I will love will speak, and as it kills so many today, it will kill me. Still, I will argue that thought isn’t dying. English is changing.

I’m going to warn you that I hate myself for defending Nicki Minaj right now too, thank you very much.

This is something people sometimes like to share a variation of on Internet sites of viewing:

Well, is this any better?


This is not a modern phenomenon. I give you this.

For the record, I don’t think any of these ideas are really worth sharing, but these ones are. Who knew?

It’s more important to express something than to edit something. In expression, we can have the conversation for improvement. This isn’t a defense of mediocrity; it’s the acceptance that literacy issues exist and frequently there are gender and cultural issues associated with it. So you can ignore what people say because of how they say it, or you can potentially solve the problem by communicating with them, and be an actual decent human being in the process.

I’ve made up my mind to get that maybe “ballin’” isn’t APA appropriate, but it can apply to political situations, and maybe the most important part of “No ones listening to me” isn’t the apostrophe.  

I’ve renounced my membership, grammar snobs. 

Now, have fun counting the mistakes in this.

*: see!!!!

65 people told me why they didn't vote

Exactly one month ago today, the Halifax Regional municipality elections opened my eyes. Introducing me to both some of my new favourite neighbours but some intense negativity I can safely say that Halifax is everything I ever thought it was only more extreme than I imagined. Passionate, excited, bubbling, angry, bored, and so over it all at once, it seemed like everyone was actually going to be voting this time.

At around 11 pm on October 20th, this was confirmed to be true.

The next day, this was denied.

So why didn't they vote? They, you know, those people we all pretend not to be. Silent or stupid? Everyone is eager to paint them as one or the other. Using some methods that would make my survey class teacher (no, seriously) roll over in her not-grave-because-she's-definitely-still-alive I decided that all I was interested in was the answers. Not the statistics, not the tidy boxes for people to fit into, not the deep demographics: I just wanted to know why people didn't vote.

65 individuals, most of which were over the age of 40, replied to various questions that hoped to prod some sort of explanation out of them, while I had some fantastic personal conversations that some individuals let me record that I have added in here.  

(For the record, the best survey answer was: "I actually voted... Just wanted to tell you that YOU ARE ADORABLE!!! Marry me? I'll buy you a ring-pop!"  ... YES.)

I don't think these answers will change any outcomes in the future. With varied opinions, one common voice did not emerge. I didn't want something that pretended to be professional. I invited other municipalities to partake, as not all of them saw the same apathetic trend as Halifax. There were very few boxes to tick off. There were no required questions. Some information is incorrect. I've put a *. I did not edit typing, because it didn't seem right. The basic "statistics" I gathered are not included because they're irrelevant at such a small sample size. I omitted some clearly humorous answers. There are no judgements.

This is just people sharing why they didn't vote.

& what they wanted to say about it

As always, feel free to comment with any questions or concerns.

-Couldn't find location of polling stations on google.

-One candidate, in by acclamation

-Our regstration informatuion never came nor wa a way to fix the issue presented. This whole thing felt like a highschool prom queen election in terms of quality.

-Didn't realize online closed on Thursday

-no point they screw you over either way

-do not believe goverment interested in solving real problems

-Resident of QC, working here temporarily

-Proxy vote documents not delivered as promised

-I DID try to vote online, but it wasn't counted, and at the point i found out there had been a story announcing Savage had already won (this was friday?) So I didn't bother to go in.

-ID was stolen from vehicle and didn't receive papers from HRM

-when then premier russell mac lellan was in he took my right to vote away.* 55 % on ns said no to sunday shopping and deep pockets bought him off to give in and bring sunday shopping here

-Left it till the last minute and then I got busy and forgot.

-No progressive councillors available in district

-I am moving out of the city and felt I shouldn't vote for a candidate that will not be representing me.

-Re the choice for Mayor, it was clear Savage was going to win by a large volume. The guy is smart. If he had figured there was any chance he could possibly lose, or the that the race would be close, he wouldn't have entered it to begin with. It would have destroyed his political career forever. He had the support of the Liberal party, as well as the NDP. I had no problem with him winning, and I abstained from voting. Re Councillor. My choices were between Sue Uteck and Waye Mason. I think council definitely needed a change, but Sue Uteck wasn't a bad councillor. A lot of younger people like Waye Mason, and I initially thought he would be a good choice a year or so ago before he was even running for council based on what I'd read from him on the internet. But I couldn't vote for him. He wrote of a plan to change Lower Water St. to pedestrian only during the summer. Interesting idea, but where would the traffic go? It's kind of a major route out of the city, not only for people who live downtown like myself, but also for the container terminals. So, I wrote thinking, "Hey, it's Waye. This guys smart. He must have a plan for traffic as well?" Here is the exact exchange I dug up for your survey. Waye wrote: ...maybe close Lower Water from the Brewery to Terminal Road during the summer... I wrote: Whoa whoa whoa. Where would all the cars go? Not to mention the trucks. Not that I like when there are a dozen transport trucks in front of me on Lower Water. But where would all of this traffic go? Waye wrote: Who cares? So, that was his entire response. No plan, Waye apparently just doesn't care. So, if he doesn't care enough to answer my question related to a plan of his. I don't care enough to vote for him.

-Would have been nice to "vote" anyway, but understand not practical and that write ins aren't eligible.

-HRM is broken. Poor policy, and seldom followed either. Too many exceptions are made causing problems later.

-Scratching a ballot doesn't mean anything like it should, therefore I did not take the time to go vote simply because I would have scratched. The scratched ballots should be counted just like votes for each candidate. Each scratched ballot represents someone who is trying to voice displeasure, and has a reason behind it. I also believe the system is failing its constituents by providing one combined (and large) conservative party, meanwhile the liberal vote is split between two liberal parties.

-Elections in Nova Scotia are bland and rarely provide clearly defined alternatives

-Didn't vote in CBRM election because I don't live there now, but feel I haven't lived here long enough to be engaged.

-This city needs to be more organized. This election felt like a joke.

-if i voted i would vote for the cat since he is the only thing that makes sense in this country

-It turned out how in figured it would

-I didn't actually know that voting was taking place when it did. I only realized it was voting day after the polls had closed and a friend posted about it on facebook. I feel like I got the information in my mailbox way earlier than was necessary, I think I threw it out ages ago.

-Had I received the proper document to vote, I certainly would have!

-Between my two district candidates (Dalrymple and Streach), I honestly felt I did not know of any differences in their platforms. As for mayor, it was obvious that Mike Savage had been chosen as the next mayor the day he announced his candidacy...the election was simply a formality.

-Honestly, I just feel completely apathetic about the entire process. I honestly don't feel that any candidate is going to do a noticeably better job than any other. Feel very "meh" about the entire thing. I want a candidate that excites me, that makes me believe that they are going to make this city a better place.

-I will never vote again . It is not worth my time

-I felt as if I was not educated enough for this election that I had been for previous elections. No candidate showed any interest in getting my vote, no phone calls were made or emails sent, not even a flyer in the mail.

-Voting is just *one* part of the political process

-It's the first election I didn't vote in.

-I tried I vote online but the download to vote was a file for a pc and wouldn't work on my Mac. After that I had to run around with work. It was a let down.

Playing the Gamechangers

It’s a bit of an awkward confession, but I might as well admit that for me, real life is scary sometimes. I made the decision to actually attend an in person debate last night, partly because it helped organize it, but also partly because sometimes it's nice to confirm that politicians sweat under pressure, a level of detail not yet available with internet streaming. I came back with a few thoughts on the candidates, but many more realizations about more important things.

We need to stop arguing as to whether social media has a place in events. 

As I am a total awkward feministy cliché of a girl, I’m going to reference Tina Fey as if she is a modern philosopher because she is a modern philosopher so here we go:

“Some people say [Photoshop] is a feminist issue.  I agree, because the best Photoshop job I ever got was for a feminist magazine called Bust in 2004. I looked at the two paltry lights they had set up and turned to the editors.  ’We’re all feminists here, but you’re gonna use Photoshop, right?’ ‘Oh, yeah,’ they replied instantly.  Feminists do the best Photoshop because they leave the meat on your bones.  They don’t change your size or your skin color.  They leave in your disgusting knuckles, but they may take out some armpit stubble.  Not because they’re denying its existence, but because they understand that it’s okay to make a photo look as if you were caught on your best day in the best light.” (Bossypants by Tina Fey, 2011)*

This paragraph is relevant because it sets the precedent for the entire argument: change does not go away. We can take all the firm stances we want, but if we don’t use something it will not stop someone else from doing it. This isn’t going to lead into some way to excuse punching a puppy or a tinfoil hat diatribe, in fact, quite the opposite. Only once we accept something as a reality can be properly use it. Tina Fey says this of Photoshop, and I wish more people would adopt this tone for social media.

I heard a lot of criticism about the decision to stream tweets during the debate, and interestingly enough when I asked about this opinion the solution proposed was to not have screens because they were distracting people from the issues. To be clear, a medium that allowed a minimum of a hundred people who weren’t in the room to participate and ask questions was deemed a distraction. On top of that, there were those who passively saw the online postings because it was one of the most talked about thing in Canada on the same night some guy with curly hair said something about some party? whatever as well as the 145 individuals who watched the streamed debate in their homes. But it’s a distraction.

Now, this is not to say the balance of new media and old methods has been fine tuned yet, but the absolute worst way to discover this is to ignore what is happening. Furthermore, it is scary to admit that a new way of doing things has an intrinsic value beyond entertainment, but social media definitely gives a voice to those who, well, actually may not have a voice. For a self-professed crowd hater like myself, being able to confirm quotes onscreen was invaluable when my ears sometimes deceive me. As accessible as buildings are, to pretend that having a ramp is actually the solution to someone with physical disabilities is an insult to the extra effort involved in preparing for every day life. Finally, for those with certain invisible disabilities, which I feel the need to define here after some responses to the questions last night, social media provides unprecedented involvement in the community. As everyone adores a good slippery slope argument, I am writing this now to set the groundwork why e-voting is the best idea I never want to take part in, but that’s two or three more pages into the future. In the meantime, I’ll just encourage you not to do it too far ahead of time because as Wag the Dog taught us, the last few days before an election are really, really important.

Many dismiss a new way of doing something new as lazy because it’s a convenient way to deal with the lives of people that you are suddenly thrust into who might redefine what an ability is to you. You shouldn’t do that. Because it is a terrible idea. Saying such a thing would be a dumb thing to say. (Open Mayor participants, that juicy steak was for you!!!)

I’m not advocating forcing anyone to get a here’s 82 pictures of my newborn profile, and I honestly probably don’t want to read half your tweets about being srared of wut obmama will do?!!!!, but instead just suggesting that if we’re going to be discussing youth engagement in politics, we shouldn’t be fighting trends with all our might. If an administrator had just said “Hey guys, rap music is probably going to be a thing” back in the 1990s, I might not have had to suffer through “hardcore” “slam dunk yo junk yo!” public service campaigns all through junior high. The easiest way to not only establish some sort of control in the form of best practices is to freaking admit that it actually exists. This may involve some mistakes along the way, but so does life, and you’re reading this now, so something decent is happening, right? Now tweet about it.

Maybe.

-Here’s another look about social media & engagement, and I don’t think the two conflict.

-Google Analytics tells me a few of you are maybe involved in campaigns, and I would strongly suggest you read about how mayors need toengage youth while I still have your attention.

-If you made it to the end of this piece with the question of “but weren’t you supposed to tell me a scandalous dumb thing about each of the candidates?” then sorry, but I played a bit of a word trick on you. Psych! I have said enough angry things about candidates LINK for now, and there are still many days and a few debates left before the election, but thanks for stopping by!