Stop being smug about Canada’s apparent lack of awfulness > We're not saints, we’re susceptible Cazzy Lewchuk Opinions Editor Being smug about our superiority and tolerance is part of the Canadian national identity. We pride ourselves on not being like our American neighbours. We're more tolerant, diverse, and open-minded. We've got a hip, socially- liberal Prime Minister! We'd certainly never elect a megalomaniac racist pussy-grabbing moron, and damned if we aren't better people for it. It is true that some of the ugliest social problems in the US are significantly better in Canada. LGBTQ+ individuals are protected by law and generally better accepted. Refugees and immigrants are usually greeted warmly, instead of finding swastikas painted on their garages. Our culture is naturally more diverse than our neighbours, and we encourage a “mosaic” blend of society, instead of the “melting pot” variety. But despicable behaviour exists across Canadian society, even if it isn’t obvious. Prejudice and bigotry exist in every country, and in every area. Literally any LGBTQ+ person can speak to their experiences of discrimination. You may not interact with racists, but they’re still out there. Systematic racism is very real, and is continuously enabled by the government and power structures of society. Perhaps the most prevalent example is Canada’s treatment of Aboriginal peoples in the past and today, including the denial of basic human rights, like access to clean water. Distrust of foreign cultures and people still exists in our collective mindset. Read the comments on CBC articles or letters published in any city newspaper. Ona less specific level, the mindsets that contribute to America’s less-desirable elements are still common in Canadian society. Conservative MP Kellie Leitch, who plans to run as leader of the party, wrote an article praising Trump's victory and “anti-elite” message. Ruthless billionaire Kevin O'Leary has also considered a run for the leadership. When we say “it can’t happen here,” we are ignoring the factors that are happening all around us. Generalized and normalized hatred is a human trait. There are cultural differences, but societies in Canada, the US, and around the world have much more in common than we'd like to admit. Canadians need to get off their high horse and admit that our problems still need to be solved. When we get too smug about how perfect we are, we're erasing the very real struggles of millions of Canadian minorities. Our federal and provincial governments may be more liberal compared to the US. Our minimum wage is higher, our taxes are more balanced, and our economy is less reckless in its free-market allowances. Nevertheless, we continue to have serious economic inequality issues. Twenty-one per cent of children in the US live under the poverty line. In BC, it’s 19.8 per cent, and 18.5 per cent nationally. We have subsidized healthcare, but we still have children suffering from malnourishment and hunger because our society has left them behind. It’s not just children: 14.5 per cent of Americans live in poverty, compared to about 10 per cent of Canadians. This figure gets significantly higher with marginalized groups, such as women and POC. Canadians definitely do better than the US in many areas, and we should be proud. But we still have a lot of catching up to do, and we're not a perfect country. We don't even come close to the standards of some countries with regards to taking care of our citizens, and we need to stop pretending otherwise. «) How culture has affected us (¥ It's ok to like popular music (¥ Stop going on witch hunts when you re- ceived bad service And more! EXTRA! EXTRA! The Other Press is having their Annual General Meeting. We will be voting in a new Board of Directors, and going over the last year of the OP. Come for the meeting, stay for the FREE pizza! Who: The Other Press and You! What: Our Annual General Meeting When: Monday, December 5th at 6 pm Where: New Westminster Campus, Room $1650 Why: The review the past year, make any changes to our constitution, and vote in our new Board ofg Directors! Also, Pizza! If you have any questions, please email editor@theotherpress.ca The changing times of video game systems > Evolving platforms and family-friendly gameplay Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist I is the holiday season, and one of the gifts that many people may receive will be a video game system. Most video game systems are cheaper now, with the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 being reduced to $299. Many people are likely going to get either the Xbox One or the PS4, instead of the Wii U, as video game systems today are not the same as the video game systems in the 1990s. With the passing of Satoru Iwata and the Wii U not selling as well as the Wii, Nintendo is not as great as during its heyday. When you think of Nintendo, you may say “Nintendo is no good now.” Many of the games that Nintendo releases nowadays are not as great as their signature games. Also, the games that they release are usually family games, so everyone can play them. Most of the games that are released by other systems appeal to the people that are around my age. Most of them are either rated Teen or Mature, and they are violent. There are not a lot of family games that are easy to play compared to most of the games released today. It’s tricky, as not everyone can play some of the more difficult games. During the E3 Expo this year, I was excited when they announced FIFA 17, Forza Horizon 3, Just Dance 2017, and Steep. I was not as excited when they announced Battlefield 1, £ 5 u xo uo uv ~ c u Q 5 c oT 0 Gears of War 4, the next Resident Evil game and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Back when the Wii was more popular, some games had equipment that made the game very interesting to play, like Wii Fit, which has the innovative Wii Balance Board that is very innovative and allowed you to do exercises and check your statistics. In the past decade, there were a lot of fun games like Wii Sports, Wii Play, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Music, Wii Party, Animal Crossing, Pokémon Channel and Kinect Disneyland Adventures that included interactive additions. A lot of things have changed in this generation with interactivity. The next version of the Xbox One does not include the Kinect system, which has a camera. In the most recent entry in the Just Dance series, you now have to use a cellphone instead of a camera to play the game. A lot of people are playing mobile games on mobile devices including Pokémon Go to catch Pokémon and soon, Super Mario Bros will be coming to Apple devices. Virtual Reality is also causing games to be more realistic, such as PlayStation VRand HTC Vive. That means that in games like Final Fantasy XV, you can do a virtual reality experience that immerses you into the world of the game. Nintendo might make a big comeback with their next system, the Nintendo Switch, which is a system that allows you to not only play games on your TV, but also on the go. It has very interesting sounds and it could change the way that we play video games.