Drop beats, not n-bombs

> Karaoke is not an excuse to use oppressive or offensive language

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

hether you love it or choose to
love it in secret, karaoke is one
of the purest, most enjoyable ways
to spend a night out with friends.
Everything’s going great. The
pitchers are flowing, you've got your
song requests in, there’s a decent-sized
crowd at the bar—when, suddenly, you
notice the lyrics on the television screen,
and one of those words is coming up. It
might be the n-word, or the f-word, or it
might be some other problematic term.
Your gaze jumps from the television
screen, to the singer onstage, back to
the screen, and back to the singer.
The word comes and goes,
without the singer missing a beat,
and half of the bar is left cringing

about what just happened.

It’s not enough to derail an
evening or start a riot. I’ve been in
countless bars where the same thing’s
happened (okay, you got me: I like
karaoke), and overall, nothing major
comes from whatever bomb was
dropped, but that’s not the point.

There’s a reason why the n-word
and other similar-but-different language
is inappropriate for some people to
use themselves. Terms like the n-word
have an extensive history of how they
were used in a derogatory sense, and
when black artists use the word, it’s
not because they're drunk and reading
lines off a television screen. There’s
meaning and purpose, which are both
lacking at a weekly karaoke night.

One of the reasons people justify
using offensive terms is through context.
“It’s just karaoke and these are the lyrics,

so it’s okay if I say [whatever word].
That’s what the song says.” Some of the
finest karaoke bangers are from the ‘gos
and early 2000s, and I can appreciate
that. However, also remember that

it was an entirely different political
climate back then, and people were
woefully unaware of how problematic
some words were. Times have changed,
public opinions have changed, and so
should your approach to these lyrics.

This isn’t to say that all songs
featuring certain words are forbidden
from ever being karaoke favourites.
You simply need to exercise an
awareness and choose what to do
whenever that word appears.

For example, when a triage of
friends and I were making plans to
sing “Monster” by Kanye West, Jay-Z,
and Nicki Minaj, we immediately ran
into the n-word several times in the

lyrics. One friend suggested replacing
the n-word with fellas, which has
the same number of syllables and is
simple enough to insert. My roommate
also uses the word “neighbour,”
though she admits to sometimes
worrying the n-sound is too similar
and that she might one day slip up.

You can also just skip a beat and
say nothing, like what some censored
versions do. There’s no wrong alternative
here. No one’s going to come up to you
after the song and say, “Excuse me, that’s
not how the lyrics go. You did it wrong,”
so just go with whatever works for you.

Karaoke is a sloppy, rowdy, and
delightful experience, and it should
be fun for everyone. Help foster that
inclusivity by omitting offensive
language from your karaoke vocabulary.

Surprisingly, the NDP are having a good year

> BC politics aren't just moving, they're moving in the (mostly) right direction

Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

ritish Columbian politicians aren't

known for being fast. Or efficient.
Or even a little bit honest. When news
comes out that a political party is doing
alright, most of us assume it means
that the province has successfully not
collapsed into the Pacific, and the
film industry in Abbotsford has had
a slight uptick. To hear that a party is
causing real widespread change ina
short amount of time in accordance
with their campaign promises is like
the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup: It
has (allegedly) happened decades ago,
but is now the punchline of tired jokes.

Male doctors need to learn more |
about women's health issues

Yet I would argue that the NDP
have managed that exact thing—not
winning the Stanley Cup, but fulfilling
campaign promises and making real
steps to a better BC... for the most part.

During their campaign, the NDP
talked a big talk about campaign
finance reform, a direct reaction to
accusations of corruption against the
Liberal Party. Like all other BC political
parties who promised actual action
on this, I didn’t believe it would ever
actually happen—but last year, they
really did introduce a ban on corporate
and union donations. It was a colossal
and comprehensive bill, and it could do
some serious good after the stuff that
went on with Christy Clark’s government
in its final years. They also successfully

> Saying ‘shake it off’ isn’t good enough

Katie Czenczek
Staff Writer

 

*Note that this article focuses
on those who fit the gender
binary. To all those non-binary
peeps out there, my heart goes
out to you. I can only imagine the
bullshit you deal with every time
you go to the doctor’s office.

here is a disparity between whose
pain is taken seriously and whose
isn't when asking “what’s up, doc?”
Numerous articles have been published
on this topic in the Atlantic, Los Angeles
Times, Vice, and other news outlets.
I’ve heard horror stories of women
going undiagnosed for 15 years, or even
misdiagnosed. Now, I’ve experienced this
treatment—or lack thereof—firsthand.
For a week I have been experiencing
sharp pains in the lower left side of

my abdomen. The pain was bearable
enough to get through the first four days,
though I was constantly aware of it.
However, on day four, I noticed
that my abdomen began to swell quite
severely, and a little lump appeared just
above my left hip bone. The pain got to
the point where even sitting caused me
to wince, and I began to feel lightheaded.
Even taking two Tylenols didn’t work,
so after a call to the nurse’s hotline and
some gentle coaxing from my boyfriend
to convince me to go to the ER, I decided
that I should probably get it checked out.
I went through the hoops in waiting
room purgatory for four hours—my
blood pressure was checked, blood
tested, and a urine sample taken—only
to meet with the doctor for two minutes.
He decided without assessing the lump
that all I needed “Was to take a Tylenol.”
It was humiliating, and I have yet to find
out what is making me feel like a robot
hand is gripping the inside of my left

ended bridge tolls as promised, a
thing that had been bantered around
provincially for years and years.

This is on top of the other major
campaign promise, a careful and
deliberate movement to a $15 minimum
wage. For me, this is the more impressive
one. The route they chose to take in
consulting experts, watching trends,
and making precise changes one at a
time to increase the minimum wage is a
route that might not be finished by next
election. They're planning on spending
years to increase to $15 and it may not
be a bragging point when they roll out
their list of accomplishments. This is big
of them, because I think it’s absolutely
the right way to change something as
major as the minimum wage: Carefully

 

abdomen.

I'd like to pretend this was a
one-time issue, but there have been
other times I’ve been sent off without
treatment, even being told to wait
until the female doctor came in for any
issues that affect reproductive organs.

According to the Canadian Medical
Association’s (CMA) website, in 2017
there were 48,898 male and 34,238
female doctors in Canada. Although
this gap may not seem that bad, it affects
the level of care that women receive if
male doctors fail to treat their ailments.

Take my family doctor's office for
example: There are three male doctors
and one female doctor. If all three male
doctors refuse to treat a women’s health
issue related to their vulva, ovaries,
and uterus, then all the patients will
be stuck waiting to see the only female
doctor in the clinic. Does anyone
else see the math problem here?

When the only doctors who

and with well-informed changes.
Outside of their basic campaign
promises, the NDP have also gotten the
new Pattullo Bridge replacement plan
underway. This is something that needed
to happen two or three governments
ago, as it’s way past due for safety and
traffic reasons, and the NDP were the
ones well-organized enough to get it
going. That absolutely deserves kudos.
While I’m not a fan of a lot of
BC NDP decisions, specifically their
relative silence on the Northern Gateway
Pipeline and lack of action of the opioid
crisis, it’s hard to argue that they haven't
had a damn successful first year—which
is a breath of fresh air in this province.

 

know about the female anatomy are
gynecologists, there is a glaring issue
with our health system. Why is it
that men in medical professions get
uncomfortable when a woman talks
about issues affecting anything “down
there”? It’s unprofessional and a waste of
time for female patients. Not only that,
but the longer a woman goes without
treatment for something serious, the
higher the chance of a costlier treatment
will be needed. Instead of undermining
the pain a woman is going through
because they cannot relate to it, they
should take what a woman says seriously.

Hopefully this error will be fixed in
time. CMA’s website stated that there
are more female doctors under 35 years
old than males. If men cannot grasp the
medical issues a woman faces, I’d hope
that female doctors will be able to.

In the meantime, however,
I'm still sitting here, in pain.