Indeed, Faraz was spot-on in his critique. As an immigrant family, my father once told me that I should not assume that someone's verbal accent is indicative of a mental one. We should know better.

CQ  


On 2011-01-03, at 7:09 PM, Malika Sharma wrote:

> Respectfully, I do believe Faraz was referring to the fact that this person's grammatical errors were being used as a reason to "lower one's expectatations".
> Many non-English speakers speak several languages, are incredibly intelligent and well-versed. While is it problematic that this CBC producer was unfamiliar with the SDOH, so is belittling their (possible) language differences.
> 
> sincerely,
> Malika
> 
> Quoting faraz vahid shahidi <[log in to unmask]>:
> 
>> Dear Linda (and SDOH-ers),
>> 
>> It is probable that English is not the first language of this CBC producer.
>> Nevertheless, I'm more than certain that the individual in question is
>> 'literate' and capable of fulfilling the duties required of them as a
>> television producer.
>> 
>> Why does English become the standard against which 'literacy' is measured,
>> and the condition upon which employment is predicated? What drives us to
>> "lower our expectations" the moment we engage with someone for whom English
>> is not the first language. How can we reconcile our position in favor of the
>> social determinants of health perspective, while simultaneously making a
>> mockery of precisely those populations that suffer from the unfair
>> conditions of life highlighted by the SDOH perspective? *Language barriers,
>> racism, and xenophobia are social determinants of health.* So why, on this
>> of all listservs, do an individual's language barriers become the subject of
>> mockery?
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Faraz Vahid Shahidi
>> Undergraduate, Health Studies, University of Toronto
>> 
>> 
>> On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 5:08 PM, Linda Lalonde <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>>> Ah Dennis,
>>> 
>>> You should have had a hint to lower your expectations when she talked about
>>> "You comments ... was forwarded" and then asked you to call to "discuss it".
>>> I remember a time, not so very long ago, when CBC producers were literate
>>> and well-read. Sigh...
>>> 
>>> Linda.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- On *Mon, 1/3/11, Dennis Raphael <[log in to unmask]>* wrote:
>>> 
>>> I just spoke with a very nice CBC producer person below who...
>>> 
>>> 1.  never heard of Health Council of Canada
>>> 2. Never heard that "lifestyle" factors are not the primary determinants of
>>> health..
>>> 3.  And so on..
>>> 
>>> Please help!  :-(
>>> 
>>> Maybe a NICE email to her telling who you are any why we are getting tired
>>> of banging our heads against the wall.
>>> 
>>> dr
>>> 
>>> From:        "Lu Zhou" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To:        <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Date:        01/03/2011 11:59 AM
>>> Subject:        your comment
>>> ------------------------------
>>> 
>>> Hello Dennis,
>>> 
>>> This is Lu Zhou from Metro Morning at CBC.
>>> 
>>> You comments on the CBC Live Right Now initiative was forwarded to me.
>>> 
>>> Could you give me a call to further discuss it ?
>>> 
>>> 416-205-5828
>>> 
>>> thanks
>>> 
>>> Lu
>>> 
>>> *******************************
>>> Lu Zhou
>>> 
>>> Producer, "Metro Morning"
>>> CBC Radio One , FM 99.1
>>> Phone:     416-205-5828*
>>> **http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning* <http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning>
>>> 
>>> 
>>> To leave, manage or join list:
>>> https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sdoh&A=1
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> To leave, manage or join list:  https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sdoh&A=1
>> 
>> 
> 
> To leave, manage or join list: https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sdoh&A=1

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