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Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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University yoga class canceled because of ‘oppression, cultural genocide’

By Justin Wm. Moyer November 23

In studios across the nation, as many as 20 million Americans practice yoga every day. Few worry that their downward dogs or warrior poses disrespect other cultures.

But yoga comes from India, once a British colony. And now, at one Canadian university, a yoga class designed to include disabled students has been canceled after concerns the practice was taken from a culture that “experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy,” according to the group that once sponsored it.

In a telephone interview with The Washington Post, Jennifer Scharf, who taught the class for up to 60 people at the University of Ottawa, said she was unhappy about the decision, but accepted it.

“This particular class was intro to beginners’ yoga because I’m very sensitive to this issue,” she said. “I would never want anyone to think I was making some sort of spiritual claim other than the pure joy of being human that belongs to everyone free of religion.”
The trouble began on Sept. 7. That’s when Scharf, who said she had taught a class since 2008 through the school’s Centre for Students with Disabilities — part of the university’s Student Federation — got an e-mail.

“I have unfortunate news,” the e-mail from a student representative of the center read. “Apparently our centre has chosen not to do yoga for programming this year. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns in regards to this and I am welcome to explain. Thank you so much for volunteering to do yoga over the past couple years. It has truly been wonderful and I hope to stay in touch in the future.” (Scharf provided the e-mail exchange to The Post, but removed the name of the representative so the person could not be identified, saying: “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.” A message sent to the representative’s e-mail address was not immediately returned.)

Scharf was sorry to hear of the cancellation — attributed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to the University of Ottawa Student Federation, which describes itself as the "instrument of political action” for the undergraduate population at the university.

“That’s disappointing news for sure, is there someone I can speak to about this?” she wrote. “Do you know why the decision was made? I don’t mind doing it for free so if money is a concern, that’s no problem.”

Money was not a concern, however. Culture was.

“I think that our centre agreed … that while yoga is a really great idea, accessible and great for students, that there are cultural issues of implication involved in the practice,” the response read. “I have heard from a couple students and volunteers that feel uncomfortable with how we are doing yoga while we claim to be inclusive at the same time.”

Explaining that yoga has a fraught history, the representative continued.

“Yoga has been under a lot of controversy lately due to how it is being practiced and what practices from what cultures (which are often sacred spiritual practices) they are being taken from,” the e-mail read. “Many of these cultures are cultures that have experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy, and we need to be mindful of this and how we express ourselves and while practicing yoga.”

The upshot: no more down dog.

“For the moment we would just like to pause the programming also because we are very short on staff and do not have the capacity to do this as programming,” the representative wrote. “But in the future (after we have reflected on which kinds of exercise are more inclusive for our centre).” The e-mail concluded: “It is not something that is easy to explain. It is a sensitive topic for some people that use our Centre and I would just like to respect that for the moment.”

More at link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...sion-cultural-genocide/?tid=pm_national_pop_b

So, they're sensitive to the "cultural genocide" of "Indians" at the University of. . . Ottawa.

Ohhh-KAY.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Things like this happen from time to time.

If our biggest concerns are about things we do wrongly in the course of good intentions, then we are on the right track.
 

Jinentonix

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Things like this happen from time to time.

If our biggest concerns are about things we do wrongly in the course of good intentions, then we are on the right track.
Ok Flossie? Seriously, you can f*ck off right about now.
This is just about the goddam stupidest thing I've seen from the prog-tard brigade. And that's saying a lot. I guess that means the only religion Whitey can follow is Christianity. But wait, Jesus was a Jew so Christianity isn't for Whitey either.


I can't wait til you tell the Natives they have to give up their electricity, indoor plumbing, cars, trucks, atvs, ski-doos, firearms etc, ya know, because those things were never part of their culture so they shouldn't be entitled to any of them, right? Or is this yet another example of the prog-tard patrol's great capacity for double standards?
 

Machjo

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Oct 19, 2004
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Damn. I'd never thought of that. I promise I won't eat nay food other than French Canadian food from now on lest I be insensitive towards the cultures whose foods I eat. I guess learning tai chi is out of the question too now.

Now I'll also have to figure out how to speak only French lest I offend the English and the Chinese when I speak their langages. Google translate perhaps? There's an idea.

I should also stay away for algebra too lest I show disrespect towards the Muslims. And no more abacus lest I offend the Chinese. I won't be buying a kayak anytime soon out of respect for the Inuit and no more pasta lest I offend Italians.

I feel so guilty now.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Oh I'm sorry. I forgot, I'm not a prog-tard so therefore I'm not allowed to be offended by anything. Please accept my sincerest apologies for being offended by your f*cking idiotic ideology.

The ideology of agreeing this was unnecessary?
 

tay

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May 20, 2012
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University yoga class canceled because of ‘oppression, cultural genocide’

By Justin Wm. Moyer November 23

In studios across the nation, as many as 20 million Americans practice yoga every day. Few worry that their downward dogs or warrior poses disrespect other cultures.

But yoga comes from India, once a British colony.

Money was not a concern, however. Culture was.

Explaining that yoga has a fraught history, the representative continued.

“Many of these cultures are cultures that have experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy, and we need to be mindful of this and how we express ourselves and while practicing yoga.”


So, they're sensitive to the "cultural genocide" of "Indians" at the University of. . . Ottawa.

Ohhh-KAY.

Time for someone at the Student Union take a history class, or use the google machine for a quick introduction........


The discipline is between 3,000 and 6,000 years old and originated somewhere on the Indian subcontinent, possibly among religious ascetics. Its meditative practices as well as physical exercises have long been associated with local religious traditions including Buddhism and Jainism, as well as the Hinduism practised by 80% of Indians. Yet this association with faith has led to some criticism of Modi’s campaign from religious minorities. “Many Muslim scholars say that yoga is against the fundamental tenets of Islam – to pray to the sun, for example,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, a Muslim member of parliament. “Why make this a nationalist issue? Just because I do not want to do yoga does not mean I am not a patriot.”

Others, however, point to a recent US court ruling that said yoga was not inevitably linked to faith. A court in California ruled that: “While the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga classes as taught in the [San Diego] district are, as the trial court determined, ‘devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings’,” after two parents claimed yoga in schools promoted Hinduism and inhibited Christianity.

“In ancient India it was part of daily life, both the physical and the mental aspects. Every culture has gifted something to the world, and this is our gift,” Tripathi said.

Suneel Singh, a guru in south Delhi, agreed that yoga did not belong to any one religion: “Is t’ai chi just Chinese? Is soccer just English? Same is with yoga. It is [a] complete package for everybody’s body and the cheap way for keeping you hale and hearty.”

Modi’s plan to change India and the world through yoga angers religious minorities | World news | The Guardian

A San Diego court judge has ruled that the Encinitas Union School District's yoga program can continue because it is not religious in nature, UT San Diego reports.

According to the local ABC affiliate, "The court determined that a reasonable student would not associate yoga with religion because of the way the district set up its program."
 

captain morgan

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Mar 28, 2009
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Things like this happen from time to time.

If our biggest concerns are about things we do wrongly in the course of good intentions, then we are on the right track.

Maybe a round of winter jackets and warm mittens for the perpetually offended might just fix this most heinous circumstance

Oh, I don't know. Maybe because the exquisitely sensitive, caring lefties shut down a program that was helping disabled students so the lefties could show how very sensitive and caring they are whilst standing on the stolen land of murdered Indians?

Extremely well put.

Funny how that works, eh?