West Wing Maps & Social Equality DLGR

Note the name of this group:  The Organization of Geographers for Social Equality.  Social equality is when all people are equal and are perceived as equal.  What do you think maps could have to do with social equality?

What is the speaker saying the use of the Mercator projection has done, in your own words?

"Latin America is nearly double the size of Europe"

Why would Europeans who are taking over Latin America, stealing Latin America's resources, and killing, enslaving, or assimilating Latin America's peoples want to use a map that shows Europe to be bigger than Latin America? 

How does the map's size distortions help justify European actions?

"In our society, we unconsciously relate size with importance, or even power"

How does this quote argue against the widespread use of the Mercator projection in schools, particularly if we are concerned with social equality?

Why, if you want to work towards ending social inequality and racist perceptions, would it be useful to use more maps with north at the bottom of the map?