Jasmine Kaur is a Sikh Canadian author, poet and public educator who is fascinated by words and the power they have to shape our world. Kaur wrote a short poem, Scream in 2016, which was intended to express how she felt as a Sikh woman within a dominant white culture. Since the photo may be hard for some to read, this is the quote: "scream so that one day a hundred years from now another sister will not have to dry her tears wondering where in history she lost her voice". Do you think this is a powerful poem?

An edited version of Kaur's poem went viral as a protest against Brett Kavanaugh's 2018 confirmation to the Supreme Court in the wake of sexual assault allegations by Christine Ford. Scream, was replaced with the word Vote, and the poem re-purposed as a rallying call for to women to vote. It is not known who edited the poem. This poem was posted, without acknowledging where it came from, and anything about her story. Kaur said, in a post, "To edit my ideas without permission for your own interests is peak white entitlement. It says that my voice doesn't matter unless it suits your specific needs. It says that you don't know anything about me and that you don't need to... that my voice doesn't actually matter in a poem about my voice." Do you agree with her?

We see it all the time. Songs, quotes, words taken and used for a political cause, without permission and without acknowledging the source. The family of Tom Petty denounced Trump's use of the song "I Won't Back Down" at political rallies in 2020. The family sent the campaign a cease and desist letter, stating that the song was written for the "underdog" and "common man", and that Trump did not represent either. Do you remember this incident?

Toronto band Martha and the Muffins just recently, during the Canadian election, called out Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for using "Echo Beach" at his campaign rallies without their authorization. Do you feel that politicians or causes should definitely ask for permission before using songs or even quotes in their campaigns?

Political candidates can use songs at rallies without the artist's direct permission because of blanket licenses. These licenses are issued by performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI and grant broad permissions for the public performance of songs from their catalogs. When a campaign or event venue obtains such a license, they are legally allowed to play any song covered by the license, including at political events. Of course, this may be legal, but artists often do not want their music associated with a cause they vehemently oppose. You would think that politicians would prefer using songs from artists that support their cause. In Trump's case, this may be slim pickings, but which of these songs do you think he could adopt as his own?