Room 611: Monday, May 27. 2024

Today's schedule is ABCD

A Block Criminology - So, vigilantism. We looked at the gothic nature of Batman last week but underlying Batman is an acceptance/tolerance/respect/popularity/approval of vigilante justice. Some of the most popular culture characters in fiction are individuals who take the law into their own hands (Death Wish, The Equalizer, Gran Torino, Django Unchained, The Taxi Driver, Taken, Mr. Robot, The Punisher, and literally the Korean show called Vigilante). However, in the real world this issue is much more complex. Sometimes vigilantes go too far in their desire for revenge and in some tragic cases, innocent people are harmed.

In 1979, Curtis Sliwa created the non-profit Guardian Angels to fight crime in New York. The main goal was to patrol the subways and keep the people safe. None of the members carry a gun. However, they all learn martial arts, CPR, conflict resolution, and first aid through an extensive training program. The Angels soon expanded beyond patrolling the subways into education programs as well. The Guardian Angels usually wear a bright red jacket with a beret. The group spread worldwide with chapters in Canada, The United Kingdom, Mexico, and Japan, however as of 2024, there is no record of active chapters in Canada. So, find one example of real life vigilantism and answer the following:

Describe the event, what happened?
Were the vigilantes held responsible for their actions?
Do you think the vigilantes were justified in their actions? Explain and justify your opinion.

Then add the following:

When, if ever, is it appropriate to become a vigilante?
Why would law enforcement officials want to discourage vigilantes?
Vigilante characters, like Batman, are incredibly popular in our culture. Why do you think vigilantes appeal to so many people?

Some examples you may choose from:

1. Bernhard Goetz

2. Leo Frank

3. Gary Sellers & Robert Bell

4. Santos Ramos

5. Thomas Thurmond & John Holmes

6. Michael Mullen (not the military commander)

7. Prell Gilton & Lupe Mercado

8. Mack Charles Parker

9. Ken McElroy

10. Andre Bamberski

11. George Zimmerman

B Block Legal Studies - Today, to start in the Library/Learning Commons, we'll look at "excusable conduct" defenses of Self-defense, Necessity, Duress, Ignorance of the law, Mistake of fact, Entrapment, Double jeopardy, and Provocation.

Defences from the Criminal Law Notebook

You have the rest of the block to work on your criminal law memos. You should be finishing up your first memo and on towards your second by tomorrow.

C Block Human Geography - Don't forget, you have a test tomorrow on Into to Culture, Language and Religion. Today you'll get your Ethnicity and States package and we'll look at the key question "Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?" With this we'll examine this question both in a Canadian and an American context (as the text is American we will supplement it and add Canada to the conversation). The meaning of ethnicity is often confused with the definition of race and nationality. Ethnicity is identity with a group of people who share cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth.

More than 450 ethnic or cultural origins were reported in the 2021 Canada Census. The top origins reported by Canada's population, alone or with other origins, were "Canadian" (5.7 million people), "English" (5.3 million), "Irish" (4.4 million), "Scottish" (4.4 million) and "French" (4.0 million). In 2021, three other European origins were reported, alone or with other origins, by at least 1 million people, namely, "German" (3.0 million), "Italian" (1.5 million), and "Ukrainian" (1.3 million). And two other European origins were reported by close to 1 million people, namely, "Dutch" and "Polish". In total, 52.5% of the population reported European origins. “Chinese" (1.7 million people), "Indian (from India)" (1.3 million) and "Filipino" (0.9 million) were also among the ethnic or cultural origins reported most often.

Who self-identified ethnic groups are, and where they are distributed across Canada, is what we'll look at today. FYI for the City of Courtenay (from Townfolio)

Vancouver Sun: Almost 7 in 10 Metro residents will be non-white in two decades
Ethnic and cultural origins of Canadians: Portrait of a rich heritage
CBC News 21.9% of Canadians are immigrants, the highest share in 85 years
CTV News Latest census numbers showcase Canada's ever-evolving ethnic diversity

Census 2021: Canada’s Cultural Diversity Continues to Increase

Open Text BC Introduction to Sociology text "Race and Ethnicity" chapter

D Block Physical Geography - Today we work on reading a weather map. You can practice by using the following web pages:

Penn State Introductory Meteorology The Station Model

Wisconsin station model exercise
WW2010 University of Illinois weather page
Weather Report.com

We'll start by using the WeatherCycler to understand the three dimensional aspects of a low pressure system. Your activity after this is to read through the section on weather station models, complete the model plots in the weather package and then be the weather forecaster for Pittsburg Pennsylvania. Look in your weekly package to see the synoptic chart (also below) and then figure out the probable weather for the next two days.