(That's a sarcastic title, hope it came off that way)
There's a killer on the streets of the nation's capital. Way back in December, Ottawa police chief Vern White did prostituted women a real solid and tipped them off to what they already knew. There is an escalating pattern of violence against prostituted women in Ottawa. The number of not surprisingly unsolved murders of prostituted women in the last few years has risen sharply. Don't believe me? Let me put some humanity on this issue for you, then.
Kelly Morrisseau was found dead in a parking lot near Gatineau Park in 2006. The body of Jennifer Stewart was discovered at a Vanier parking lot on 120 Alice Street in August, 2010. And most recently, Leeann Lawson was found in September this year in a Lower Town parking lot.
See? Real people, with real names and real faces that had real stories and real lives. Now they're gone. So, it's nice to hear that the police stepped in and asked that prostituted women report their "bad dates" (OPP's words, not mine) and make use of all the resources this great land makes available to them.
Fast forward to today. Nobody's been apprehended for any of the murders. The streets are still increasingly unsafe for prostituted women. The police are still making it seem like there's only one bad dude out there killing these women. As if to say "Oh shit, don't worry ladies, once we get this clown, everything'll be hunky-dory and back to normal!"
But, none of that REALLY helps these women on the streets. They're out there because for all the talk of increased police patrols, the option to report "bad dates" and occasional access to support workers, there are no fucking exit programs. These women are being killed because they're on the streets, both literally and figuratively. The legalization of prostitution would not save these women. Getting them indoors, into legally run brothels, even with panic buttons and the like would not save their lives. I've said it before: No one has ever been beaten or raped or murdered by a street.
These poor, frightened, vulnerable women don't want to be out there. This isn't a fucking lifestyle choice anyone ever wants to make and I'm so fucking sick of that argument. I haven't exactly done a study, but I'll bet the fucking farm that 110% of young girls don't dream about becoming a stripper or a prostitute when they grow up. Childhood sexual abuse, abduction, poverty, addictions, SOCIETY... they make the choice for these women. And men, with their constant demand ensure that choice will always be there. Men and patriarchal society make it so damn easy for women to have no choice but to turn to this lifestyle of abuse (when they're not forcing women into it themselves), just like they make it so fucking hard for anyone to ever leave. It's a trap, and dudes know it, even if they won't admit it.
Making it seem like only one "bad" john is out there is so fucking ridiculous. Quick tip: if you're a john, and that means if you've purchased a woman, ever, on the street, at a massage parlor, in a strip club, via the internet, on DVD, in a magazine, what the fuck ever; you are a bad fucking person. You are capable of despicable, heinous violence because you've already taught yourself how to turn a human being into a meaningless commodity. Johns are killers. The act of purchasing a woman hurts her, harms her, kills her, over and over again in a way that no man can fully understand. Anyone who engages in the degrading and purchasing of human lives is a dangerous individual.
Getting one rough dude off the streets won't save prostituted women. Legalizing prostitution won't save prostituted women. Criminalizing the johns would certainly help, but it's only the first step. The demand has to cease. Or something else has got to change, drastically. While I don't think female separatism is a bad idea, I don't think dudes would be very down with it, and would probably try their damnedest to wreck any happy lady-only communes that sprung up. But, something's got to give. Women are in constant danger, and none more so than prostituted women. People need to start thinking about how to save the lives of these many human beings, not about getting their goddamn rocks off.
Showing posts with label Sad Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sad Stuff. Show all posts
Monday, 13 February 2012
Thursday, 24 November 2011
The Male Definition of 'Honor' Seems Lacking...
Honor killings. You've probably heard of them. If not, to summarize, honor killing is a practice in which men defend their "personal honor" and the honor of their family name by killing their female relations if and when they step outta line. Although the numbers fluctuate depending on your source, anywhere between 5,000 to 20,000 women and girls are killed (honorably) every year. To drive the point home, here's the currently accepted definition of honor killing, from the group Human Rights Watch:
1) While it is agreed that minimum 5,000 women and girls are killed in the name of honor per year, the number of males killed for honor is nowhere near that, hovering somewhere around 200-250 per year.
2) There is virtually no evidence to show that a heterosexual male has ever been killed in the name of honor, even though they could be killed by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship.
So, as you can see, honor killings happen to women and girls, and sometimes homosexual men, but mostly women and girls. Which brings us to this. Four females are dead. An honor killing is suspected. There is a virtual fucking mountain of evidence, forensic and otherwise, to implicate the father, Mohammad Shafia and his other child, his male child, Hamid Mohammad Shafia in their deaths. His (Mohammad senior's) current wife, Tooba Mohammad Yehya is also implicated in the crimes, but if the beatings and threats that Shafias' first wife and daughters faced paint any picture, it would seem that Yehya would have had little choice whether to be involved or not.
The girls were routinely beaten and threatened. They lived in constant fear of their father and brother. Youth protection had been called on more than one occasion. The eldest daughter, Zainab Shafia, had run away and both of the other two girls had repeatedly told authorities they were afraid and wanted to leave the family home. And then, they all wind up dead, with their mother in the car, just days after someone had used the family computer to Google things like "where to commit a murder" and "bodies of water".
The trial is already underway. The plaintiffs have all plead "not guilty". Mohammad Shafia wants to know if this happened because his daughters were "drugged or choked" even though the autopsies performed twelve hours after the drownings have detected no drugs or signs of choking. I believe he thinks he can get away with this. I believe he does not care that his daughters and first wife are dead. I believe that he did not think that they were human enough to live and now thinks that he should not be punished, but oh, these pesky backwards Canadian laws! His crocodile tears and false act of postmortem concern don't fucking fool me for a second. I smell a rat. And I'd smell one even without the skyscraper's worth of evidence pointing the finger straight at daddy dearest.
The scariest thing is, honor killings seem to be on the rise in Canada. This seems to be common knowledge but, and here's the real kicker, no one really seems to be doing anything about it. Just like the neighborhood that just knows that Mr. Johnson down the street simply couldn't be a pedophile (!), everyone seems to think that they'd know if there were honor killings going on in their neighborhood, and since there obviously aren't, well it's not their problem, is it? Ask most white Canadians and they'll tell you "well, that's, like, an Arab thing, right? So, like, I don't really, like, think about it or whatever." But, no. Because even if it is an "Arab thing" or an "East Indian thing" or a "Whatever other group thing", if dudes keep getting away with it, other men will start to notice. And when they do, what's to stop it from becoming a "Mormon thing" or a "Jewish thing" or even a "Catholic thing"? And if that happens, well, then it just becomes a "normal thing" and women and girls are even more fucked in the Western World than they already are now.
There should be no leniency on those found guilty of committing honor killings. If your precious fucking "honor" is really more important than a real human life to you, then you should be locked up forever, having no contact with the outside world, especially those you consider yourself superior to. The concept of dudely honor is fucked anyways, in that dudes have honor, and the women in their lives reinforce that honor by being pure. But, according to the tenets of dudely honor, ladies have no honor, they're just things with which you prove your honor to other dudes. And if another dude gets your lady-honor-marker-thing dirty, well you get rid of that dirty lady-thing, right? I mean, forget about the dude that brutalized your female relative, she's damaged goods, man! How's that going to make you look to the brothers down at the lodge? Oh, and P.S.: fuck you, dude.
The bottom line is, that if only men can have honor, ladies can never be safe. And since dudes are never going to let women be honored or honorable in the same way as men are, the whole concept of familial honor has to go. Now. Today, preferably. Because if not, this won't be the last time women and girls are dredged up out of the Kingston river in the name of "honor".
Honor killings are acts of vengeance, usually death, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.This is a practice that is alive and thriving today, all over the world. It happens "there", in the uncivilized nations that lack our "compassion, understanding and humanity" and it happens here, in our own neighborhoods. While men technically can be the victim of an honor killing, I'd like to point out that:
1) While it is agreed that minimum 5,000 women and girls are killed in the name of honor per year, the number of males killed for honor is nowhere near that, hovering somewhere around 200-250 per year.
2) There is virtually no evidence to show that a heterosexual male has ever been killed in the name of honor, even though they could be killed by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship.
So, as you can see, honor killings happen to women and girls, and sometimes homosexual men, but mostly women and girls. Which brings us to this. Four females are dead. An honor killing is suspected. There is a virtual fucking mountain of evidence, forensic and otherwise, to implicate the father, Mohammad Shafia and his other child, his male child, Hamid Mohammad Shafia in their deaths. His (Mohammad senior's) current wife, Tooba Mohammad Yehya is also implicated in the crimes, but if the beatings and threats that Shafias' first wife and daughters faced paint any picture, it would seem that Yehya would have had little choice whether to be involved or not.
The girls were routinely beaten and threatened. They lived in constant fear of their father and brother. Youth protection had been called on more than one occasion. The eldest daughter, Zainab Shafia, had run away and both of the other two girls had repeatedly told authorities they were afraid and wanted to leave the family home. And then, they all wind up dead, with their mother in the car, just days after someone had used the family computer to Google things like "where to commit a murder" and "bodies of water".
The trial is already underway. The plaintiffs have all plead "not guilty". Mohammad Shafia wants to know if this happened because his daughters were "drugged or choked" even though the autopsies performed twelve hours after the drownings have detected no drugs or signs of choking. I believe he thinks he can get away with this. I believe he does not care that his daughters and first wife are dead. I believe that he did not think that they were human enough to live and now thinks that he should not be punished, but oh, these pesky backwards Canadian laws! His crocodile tears and false act of postmortem concern don't fucking fool me for a second. I smell a rat. And I'd smell one even without the skyscraper's worth of evidence pointing the finger straight at daddy dearest.
The scariest thing is, honor killings seem to be on the rise in Canada. This seems to be common knowledge but, and here's the real kicker, no one really seems to be doing anything about it. Just like the neighborhood that just knows that Mr. Johnson down the street simply couldn't be a pedophile (!), everyone seems to think that they'd know if there were honor killings going on in their neighborhood, and since there obviously aren't, well it's not their problem, is it? Ask most white Canadians and they'll tell you "well, that's, like, an Arab thing, right? So, like, I don't really, like, think about it or whatever." But, no. Because even if it is an "Arab thing" or an "East Indian thing" or a "Whatever other group thing", if dudes keep getting away with it, other men will start to notice. And when they do, what's to stop it from becoming a "Mormon thing" or a "Jewish thing" or even a "Catholic thing"? And if that happens, well, then it just becomes a "normal thing" and women and girls are even more fucked in the Western World than they already are now.
There should be no leniency on those found guilty of committing honor killings. If your precious fucking "honor" is really more important than a real human life to you, then you should be locked up forever, having no contact with the outside world, especially those you consider yourself superior to. The concept of dudely honor is fucked anyways, in that dudes have honor, and the women in their lives reinforce that honor by being pure. But, according to the tenets of dudely honor, ladies have no honor, they're just things with which you prove your honor to other dudes. And if another dude gets your lady-honor-marker-thing dirty, well you get rid of that dirty lady-thing, right? I mean, forget about the dude that brutalized your female relative, she's damaged goods, man! How's that going to make you look to the brothers down at the lodge? Oh, and P.S.: fuck you, dude.
The bottom line is, that if only men can have honor, ladies can never be safe. And since dudes are never going to let women be honored or honorable in the same way as men are, the whole concept of familial honor has to go. Now. Today, preferably. Because if not, this won't be the last time women and girls are dredged up out of the Kingston river in the name of "honor".
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Whoa Whoa Whoa!!! What The Fuck?
Okay, I've been slacking. I admit it. But life's been busy, and sometimes there's just too much stuff to write about. I mean, there's the whole retro-sexism television movement, the fact that someone out there is planning to make a movie out of the Colonel Williams case, horridly sexist advertising that's only getting worse, Tim Hudak's exploding toilet of a campaign (and personality), and the list goes on. I found myself.... temporarily overwhelmed. I'm sure some of you can relate. But once in a while something comes along that snaps you starkly back to clarity, with a white-hot supernova of rage boiling and twisting in that space below your ribcage and above your stomach. What could that thing be?
Apparently, the abortion debate has been reopened.
The one promise Harper seemed like he was going to keep that didn't totally fuck women over would be keeping the abortion debate closed. Now, I realize that there wasn't all that much to debate about for the politicians anyways, seeing as he sneakily defunded the Canadian arm of Planned Parenthood, making safe, legal abortions much more difficult to access in this country, but come ON. What the fucking fuck? Oh, wait, let me clarify something before we go on. Canada still funds Planned Parenthood, but only in countries where abortion is illegal. Wait for it, let it sink in. I know, if that isn't the most fucked of all fucked up shit, I don't know what is.
Ironically enough, this decision made about abortion by Supreme Overlord Herr Harper is causing a rift in the Conservative cabinet, which is what reopened the debate. The voice of the extra-anti-abortion movement within the Conservative ranks is MP Brad Trost, a real, honest to goodness, piece of shit. In 2009 Mr. Trosts' activities included, but were not limited to: criticizing his own governments' funding of Toronto Pride Week and the launching of the petition to defund IPPF. During the 2011 federal election campaign, Trost made news when he spoke at a Saskatchewan Pro-life Association convention and noted to the audience that the government had not renewed funding to Planned Parenthood over the previous year and urged continued support for their defunding.
So, to recap, within the Conservative caucus is an ultra-anti-abortion group that will even go over their leaders' head to keep choice out of the hands of women, going so far as to disregard Harpers' direct orders that the Canadian abortion debate remain closed. Trost and his pro-life buddies are miffed that Harper is shooting any money towards IPPF , even in countries where they're not providing abortions (y'know... kinda like this one) which is why they've taken it upon themselves to reopen the debate. Quoth Trost:
Respectfully, of course. Because the Conservatives have a long and gloried history when it comes to dealing respectfully with womens' issues. With the debate reopen in todays' climate of ultra-misogyny and backlash towards feminism and female progress, things don't bode well for women and their reproductive rights. I sincerely hope Harper puts Trost in his place and keeps the abortion issue closed. That's if Harper isn't behind this whole thing to begin with. But, at the end of the day, with Planned Parenthood in Canada still defunded and a pro-life leaning government, what good would it do? We need the Conservatives out of office. Immediately. Or things will just keep getting worse by the day.
Planned Parenthood is being defunded all over the United States, as well. There is a worldwide war on abortion being waged. The war on abortion IS the war on women. What people don't seem to realize is that the war on women is the war on humanity and ultimately, humankind. Now, I am of the opinion that most people are shitty, but I still like to believe that humanity has some potential. But when I look around and see all that's going on in the world, in this country, in my backyard, my beliefs are shaken to their already crumbling foundations. When a fully cognizant. living, breathing woman is deprived of her rights so that they can be given to the embryo she (willingly or not) carries, I know something is wrong. A shocking statement to some: Women are human beings, equal to and ofttimes surpassing men, not mere walking incubators. To deny safe, legal and affordable abortion to women is to deny this statements' validity. The war on women and abortion must not be allowed to take another foothold. Now is the time to organize, mobilize and protest. These rights were hard fought for and hard won. We can't let them be taken without a fight.
Apparently, the abortion debate has been reopened.
The one promise Harper seemed like he was going to keep that didn't totally fuck women over would be keeping the abortion debate closed. Now, I realize that there wasn't all that much to debate about for the politicians anyways, seeing as he sneakily defunded the Canadian arm of Planned Parenthood, making safe, legal abortions much more difficult to access in this country, but come ON. What the fucking fuck? Oh, wait, let me clarify something before we go on. Canada still funds Planned Parenthood, but only in countries where abortion is illegal. Wait for it, let it sink in. I know, if that isn't the most fucked of all fucked up shit, I don't know what is.
Ironically enough, this decision made about abortion by Supreme Overlord Herr Harper is causing a rift in the Conservative cabinet, which is what reopened the debate. The voice of the extra-anti-abortion movement within the Conservative ranks is MP Brad Trost, a real, honest to goodness, piece of shit. In 2009 Mr. Trosts' activities included, but were not limited to: criticizing his own governments' funding of Toronto Pride Week and the launching of the petition to defund IPPF. During the 2011 federal election campaign, Trost made news when he spoke at a Saskatchewan Pro-life Association convention and noted to the audience that the government had not renewed funding to Planned Parenthood over the previous year and urged continued support for their defunding.
So, to recap, within the Conservative caucus is an ultra-anti-abortion group that will even go over their leaders' head to keep choice out of the hands of women, going so far as to disregard Harpers' direct orders that the Canadian abortion debate remain closed. Trost and his pro-life buddies are miffed that Harper is shooting any money towards IPPF , even in countries where they're not providing abortions (y'know... kinda like this one) which is why they've taken it upon themselves to reopen the debate. Quoth Trost:
"So in reinvigorating the debate as they have by funding IPPF, you'll see more politicians like myself will be discussing the matter. In a respectful way, but it will be discussed."
Respectfully, of course. Because the Conservatives have a long and gloried history when it comes to dealing respectfully with womens' issues. With the debate reopen in todays' climate of ultra-misogyny and backlash towards feminism and female progress, things don't bode well for women and their reproductive rights. I sincerely hope Harper puts Trost in his place and keeps the abortion issue closed. That's if Harper isn't behind this whole thing to begin with. But, at the end of the day, with Planned Parenthood in Canada still defunded and a pro-life leaning government, what good would it do? We need the Conservatives out of office. Immediately. Or things will just keep getting worse by the day.
Planned Parenthood is being defunded all over the United States, as well. There is a worldwide war on abortion being waged. The war on abortion IS the war on women. What people don't seem to realize is that the war on women is the war on humanity and ultimately, humankind. Now, I am of the opinion that most people are shitty, but I still like to believe that humanity has some potential. But when I look around and see all that's going on in the world, in this country, in my backyard, my beliefs are shaken to their already crumbling foundations. When a fully cognizant. living, breathing woman is deprived of her rights so that they can be given to the embryo she (willingly or not) carries, I know something is wrong. A shocking statement to some: Women are human beings, equal to and ofttimes surpassing men, not mere walking incubators. To deny safe, legal and affordable abortion to women is to deny this statements' validity. The war on women and abortion must not be allowed to take another foothold. Now is the time to organize, mobilize and protest. These rights were hard fought for and hard won. We can't let them be taken without a fight.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Rest In Peace, Jack Layton.
I was going to write about something else today. I can't remember what it was now. And I suppose that, for the moment, it doesn't really matter anyways. At 4:45 am today, New Democrat Party Leader Jack Layton passed away, losing his battle with an undisclosed type of cancer at age 61. It is said he went peacefully, at home, surrounded by his family. I wish them strength in this challenging time.
Jack Layton was a beacon of hope for many of us Canadians who want, who need better from our government. For those of us that believe in human rights for all humans, be they male or female, hetero or homosexual, white or black or Asian or native or Latin or European or whatever other denomination, Jack and his party seemed to be leading the charge for a better tomorrow. I didn't agree with everything they did or stood for, but by and large, they are the party of the people. And it is Jack Layton's dying wish that they remain so.
It is important for left-leaning Canadians to remember at this time that although Jack Layton may have been the face of the NDP, he was not the NDP itself. The NDP is a party, an ideology, that will carry on with the determination of its' deputy leader, its' caucus, its' party members and those of us who will ally and realign ourselves with making this country better for all in the future. Now is the time for increased political activity, increased awareness, increased empathy towards our fellow citizens. And now is the time to stand up for what we believe in, always with the resolute dignity and determination that Jack Layton made his trademark. Jack Layton believed in this country. As a white male, that is easier for him than for many others. However, he was not many others. Layton took seriously the plights of the people that go ignored by our ruling party. Layton cared about missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Layton cared about the elderly. Layton cared about minorities and oppressed groups within Canadian society. As should we all.
Before his death, Jack Layton wrote a letter to all Canadians, which I intend to re-post here, in its' entirety. Hopefully, this breaks no laws. The original can be found here.
August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario
Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election. 2
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
Rest in peace, Jack Layton. Thank you for trying. Thank you for doing your best.
Jack Layton was a beacon of hope for many of us Canadians who want, who need better from our government. For those of us that believe in human rights for all humans, be they male or female, hetero or homosexual, white or black or Asian or native or Latin or European or whatever other denomination, Jack and his party seemed to be leading the charge for a better tomorrow. I didn't agree with everything they did or stood for, but by and large, they are the party of the people. And it is Jack Layton's dying wish that they remain so.
It is important for left-leaning Canadians to remember at this time that although Jack Layton may have been the face of the NDP, he was not the NDP itself. The NDP is a party, an ideology, that will carry on with the determination of its' deputy leader, its' caucus, its' party members and those of us who will ally and realign ourselves with making this country better for all in the future. Now is the time for increased political activity, increased awareness, increased empathy towards our fellow citizens. And now is the time to stand up for what we believe in, always with the resolute dignity and determination that Jack Layton made his trademark. Jack Layton believed in this country. As a white male, that is easier for him than for many others. However, he was not many others. Layton took seriously the plights of the people that go ignored by our ruling party. Layton cared about missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Layton cared about the elderly. Layton cared about minorities and oppressed groups within Canadian society. As should we all.
Before his death, Jack Layton wrote a letter to all Canadians, which I intend to re-post here, in its' entirety. Hopefully, this breaks no laws. The original can be found here.
August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario
Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election. 2
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
Rest in peace, Jack Layton. Thank you for trying. Thank you for doing your best.
Monday, 8 August 2011
This Could Have Been Prevented
This is just truly chilling. One of the most frightening stories I've read in some time. On February 12th, 2011, Valerie Wolski, a caregiver with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Camrose, Alberta, was found strangled to death in the home of Terrence Wade Saddleback, the man she was assisting with day-to-day activities. She was alone with him when the attack happened. According to professionals, Saddleback has severe mental impairments. He can barely converse beyond 'hello' and 'goodbye', is illiterate, only knows simple verbal commands, can do no math, and does not know what month or year it is. What is also known about him, something that Valerie Wolski should have been told, is that Saddleback has a long history of violent outbursts and sexual attacks on women and children. Graham Jones, Saddlebacks' court-appointed guardian tried to (halfheartedly) warn the Canadian Mental Health Association of the risk of assigning a woman to care for Saddleback, after a 2009 attack on another female caregiver in a group home in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Five RCMP officers and a male caregiver were needed to subdue Saddleback, who was subsequently tranquilized and hospitalized. Although under heavy sedation, due to the risk he presented, Saddleback was assigned an RCMP officer to watch him. The officer was armed with a taser at all times.
After staying hospitalized for a year, the Canadian Mental Health Association decided to release Saddleback into one of their homes, providing him with round the clock care. During his year of hospitalization, Saddleback had grabbed staff by the hair and shook them, grabbed a male patient by the back of the neck, became sexually excited and masturbated in the presence of children, even went so far as to take hold of a child in the patient lounge area and kiss him on the back of the neck. These details came to light in a report that was recently released by judge William Andreassen, written by psychiatrist Christopher Green. These details were known. So too, was known that guardian Graham Jones, upon learning of the Canadian Mental Health Associations' decision to release Saddleback, told officials that:
So, why was Wolski assigned to Saddleback? Why was she allowed to be alone with him? Why did it come to this? The psychiatric report, which can be found here, is unsettling, chilling. Everyone knew that Saddleback was unstable, that he preferred to attack women, that he was sexually attracted to children, and yet no precautions were taken to ensure Wolskis' safety. She was sent into a dangerous and ultimately fatal situation without all the knowledge that might have saved her life.
Is Saddleback truly unfit to stand trial? I don't know. He killed a woman, and if what I can glean from his ramblings is correct, he tried to sexually assault her, she told him no and tried to stop him, he became violent and pulled her hair, pushed her, hit her and ultimately strangled her to death. There needs to be some kind of punishment. However, there are others in this case that are fit to stand trial. Whoever assigned Wolski to Saddleback, whoever let her believe that she could be alone with him, whoever withheld all the pertinent details from her is guilty of her death as well. And that person, or those people should be on trial as well. Why wasn't she briefed, forewarned, protected? Is this a case of men or the patriarchy willingly not seeing the danger that other men pose to women? I believe that at some level that comes into play. What will be done about this? Where is the justice for Wolski? Someone has to be held accountable for her death. I'm looking at the Canadian Mental Health Association just as much as I'm looking at Saddleback. This brave caregiver should not die in vain. We need better screening and full transparency when assigning caregivers to mentally unstable individuals. A female caregiver simply should have never been sent into this situation alone, if at all. I am in no way implying that women should not be caregivers for mentally unstable patients, but if said patient has a history of violence toward female caregivers, and the caregiver is not notified of this, then I believe an offense has taken place. Had Wolski known everything up front, perhaps she could have refused the placement. Perhaps she could have brought another caregiver with her, so as not to be alone with Saddleback. Perhaps she would not be dead today.
After staying hospitalized for a year, the Canadian Mental Health Association decided to release Saddleback into one of their homes, providing him with round the clock care. During his year of hospitalization, Saddleback had grabbed staff by the hair and shook them, grabbed a male patient by the back of the neck, became sexually excited and masturbated in the presence of children, even went so far as to take hold of a child in the patient lounge area and kiss him on the back of the neck. These details came to light in a report that was recently released by judge William Andreassen, written by psychiatrist Christopher Green. These details were known. So too, was known that guardian Graham Jones, upon learning of the Canadian Mental Health Associations' decision to release Saddleback, told officials that:
"Terrence is capable of getting out of control, [that] sort of thing. Are you aware of that? And it was just snuffed off … I said something like I hope it's not females that are looking after Terrence. He relates better to men and he respects them more."
So, why was Wolski assigned to Saddleback? Why was she allowed to be alone with him? Why did it come to this? The psychiatric report, which can be found here, is unsettling, chilling. Everyone knew that Saddleback was unstable, that he preferred to attack women, that he was sexually attracted to children, and yet no precautions were taken to ensure Wolskis' safety. She was sent into a dangerous and ultimately fatal situation without all the knowledge that might have saved her life.
Is Saddleback truly unfit to stand trial? I don't know. He killed a woman, and if what I can glean from his ramblings is correct, he tried to sexually assault her, she told him no and tried to stop him, he became violent and pulled her hair, pushed her, hit her and ultimately strangled her to death. There needs to be some kind of punishment. However, there are others in this case that are fit to stand trial. Whoever assigned Wolski to Saddleback, whoever let her believe that she could be alone with him, whoever withheld all the pertinent details from her is guilty of her death as well. And that person, or those people should be on trial as well. Why wasn't she briefed, forewarned, protected? Is this a case of men or the patriarchy willingly not seeing the danger that other men pose to women? I believe that at some level that comes into play. What will be done about this? Where is the justice for Wolski? Someone has to be held accountable for her death. I'm looking at the Canadian Mental Health Association just as much as I'm looking at Saddleback. This brave caregiver should not die in vain. We need better screening and full transparency when assigning caregivers to mentally unstable individuals. A female caregiver simply should have never been sent into this situation alone, if at all. I am in no way implying that women should not be caregivers for mentally unstable patients, but if said patient has a history of violence toward female caregivers, and the caregiver is not notified of this, then I believe an offense has taken place. Had Wolski known everything up front, perhaps she could have refused the placement. Perhaps she could have brought another caregiver with her, so as not to be alone with Saddleback. Perhaps she would not be dead today.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Childhood Is A Death Sentence
TW for rape, pedophilia, abortion discussion, women as chattel, etc.
A morose title, to be sure.
But then there's this. And then there's this. And it's getting to be that every day on the news there's a child-pornography bust, a ring dismantled, hundreds of thousands of images of torture, the silent screams of children from around the globe on the screens and hard drives of pedophiles. Criminals only because the abused aren't old enough to be properly abused yet, or they're not of the sex that is to be abused in the patriarchy. I'm not complaining about the cops busting these rings. These people deserve to be punished. But nobody seems to be learning anything. And nobody seems to notice that there are more and more pedophiles, that johns purchase children younger and younger, that entertainment media teaches girls five and younger how to be sassy or flirty. Those who do notice, those who see the connections are told to pipe down, that these things can't possibly be the same, that giving a nine year old a playboy bunny backpack isn't creating demand for underage girls.
But, it is.
Children aren't safe. Especially female children. If they're not being systematically killed at birth to make room for male babies, girls are thrust into a world that hates them, that is designed for all intents and purposes to exploit and dispose of them. Male children often fare no better. This is common knowledge. There is no such thing anymore as the idyllic period of life known as 'childhood'. Innocence, if such a thing there is, is taken from children at ages ever decreasing. If, however, you are a white woman in the western world, you have probably at one time or another been told in so many or not so many words that it is your duty to bear some dudes' children. Your duty to a god, to a country, to a race, to a belief, to nature even. Is it a duty to yourself? They'll try to make you believe that, too. And they'll take away your right to choose. Your right to choose if you want to have a baby, if you want to keep a baby, what you do with that baby, what you do with yourself just in case you might ever have a baby or another baby. But, do the babies matter?
In the long run, no. It's the idea of the babies that matter. Those that picket the clinics, that threaten and kill the abortion doctors, do they adopt the babies from women that can't care for them? When they make it so that women are forced to bear these children, do they visit these women, help them out, shoulder their share of the responsibility to a life that they had a hand, however small, in bringing to term? In short do the right-wing religious pro-lifers care for or about the children they "save"?
Of course not. They care about the idea of children. And they care that the status quo of patriarchy and womens' subjugation via pregnancy be maintained. That children are being born into a world that wants nothing more than to abuse and exploit them, born to parents who either can't or won't care properly for them, born onto a planet that is already dangerously overcrowded, well, these are all moot points. A baby was saved, and from heaven, Jesus smiles.
So, what's the solution? Should we all stop having children? Well, would that really be such a bad idea? I mean, I know kids are a blessing, or a mitzvah or whatever, but the world is well overpopulated, and until we get shit under control, well maybe we shouldn't bring anymore kids into it. "Oh, but you probably just hate children anyways, you rotten feminist." Good one. No, actually, I don't mind kids, not that I want them. It's the world I don't much care for. There's a lot of bad things out there. I write about them, all the time. The bottom line is that children aren't safe in todays' world. But, children grow up and then what happens? Well, if they're male, then they usually take their place in the patriarchy. And if they're female, well, the abuse continues, but even less people care now. Because after a certain magic number, women are apparently worthy of no sympathy at all. Women can be abused and raped, killed and maimed, but no one will intervene. Governments and police will look away from the systematic worldwide slaughter of women, pointing to countries outside their own, quick to admonish other nations' treatment of women while drawing attention away from the injustices the women of their own homelands silently face. And, if a woman survives? If a woman keeps herself safe from the most horrible fates that could befall her? Well then, maybe she'll get married and have a baby. And the cycle continues.
The media paints this as the goal for women. Find Mr. Right amongst all the Mr. Wrongs and you'll have your fairy-tale wedding! The white dress, the house, the picket fence, the two-point-five children! Hollywood and T.V. Land say forget that life of hardship you faced! You've got your man now, everything'll be better! So why not have a few kids to round out the joy? Besides, Mr. Right needs an heir, or at least a daughter to abuse or ignore. Entertainment media does us all a great disservice by painting the nuclear family as the ultimate form of existence. True that for some women, the nuclear family may be marginally safer than other lifestyles, it still is inherently tied to the patriarchy and can never truly be a safe haven for women and children, as it exists to give the man something of his own to govern over.
The days of happy, carefree childhoods are distant memories, if indeed they ever truly existed. This world is hurtling towards its' own destruction, and the human race is in the drivers' seat. Unless we, as a human race can undo hundreds of thousands of years of patriarchal law and conditioning, we're all as good as doomed. And, it'll be, as the saying goes: "Women and children first."
A morose title, to be sure.
But then there's this. And then there's this. And it's getting to be that every day on the news there's a child-pornography bust, a ring dismantled, hundreds of thousands of images of torture, the silent screams of children from around the globe on the screens and hard drives of pedophiles. Criminals only because the abused aren't old enough to be properly abused yet, or they're not of the sex that is to be abused in the patriarchy. I'm not complaining about the cops busting these rings. These people deserve to be punished. But nobody seems to be learning anything. And nobody seems to notice that there are more and more pedophiles, that johns purchase children younger and younger, that entertainment media teaches girls five and younger how to be sassy or flirty. Those who do notice, those who see the connections are told to pipe down, that these things can't possibly be the same, that giving a nine year old a playboy bunny backpack isn't creating demand for underage girls.
But, it is.
Children aren't safe. Especially female children. If they're not being systematically killed at birth to make room for male babies, girls are thrust into a world that hates them, that is designed for all intents and purposes to exploit and dispose of them. Male children often fare no better. This is common knowledge. There is no such thing anymore as the idyllic period of life known as 'childhood'. Innocence, if such a thing there is, is taken from children at ages ever decreasing. If, however, you are a white woman in the western world, you have probably at one time or another been told in so many or not so many words that it is your duty to bear some dudes' children. Your duty to a god, to a country, to a race, to a belief, to nature even. Is it a duty to yourself? They'll try to make you believe that, too. And they'll take away your right to choose. Your right to choose if you want to have a baby, if you want to keep a baby, what you do with that baby, what you do with yourself just in case you might ever have a baby or another baby. But, do the babies matter?
In the long run, no. It's the idea of the babies that matter. Those that picket the clinics, that threaten and kill the abortion doctors, do they adopt the babies from women that can't care for them? When they make it so that women are forced to bear these children, do they visit these women, help them out, shoulder their share of the responsibility to a life that they had a hand, however small, in bringing to term? In short do the right-wing religious pro-lifers care for or about the children they "save"?
Of course not. They care about the idea of children. And they care that the status quo of patriarchy and womens' subjugation via pregnancy be maintained. That children are being born into a world that wants nothing more than to abuse and exploit them, born to parents who either can't or won't care properly for them, born onto a planet that is already dangerously overcrowded, well, these are all moot points. A baby was saved, and from heaven, Jesus smiles.
So, what's the solution? Should we all stop having children? Well, would that really be such a bad idea? I mean, I know kids are a blessing, or a mitzvah or whatever, but the world is well overpopulated, and until we get shit under control, well maybe we shouldn't bring anymore kids into it. "Oh, but you probably just hate children anyways, you rotten feminist." Good one. No, actually, I don't mind kids, not that I want them. It's the world I don't much care for. There's a lot of bad things out there. I write about them, all the time. The bottom line is that children aren't safe in todays' world. But, children grow up and then what happens? Well, if they're male, then they usually take their place in the patriarchy. And if they're female, well, the abuse continues, but even less people care now. Because after a certain magic number, women are apparently worthy of no sympathy at all. Women can be abused and raped, killed and maimed, but no one will intervene. Governments and police will look away from the systematic worldwide slaughter of women, pointing to countries outside their own, quick to admonish other nations' treatment of women while drawing attention away from the injustices the women of their own homelands silently face. And, if a woman survives? If a woman keeps herself safe from the most horrible fates that could befall her? Well then, maybe she'll get married and have a baby. And the cycle continues.
The media paints this as the goal for women. Find Mr. Right amongst all the Mr. Wrongs and you'll have your fairy-tale wedding! The white dress, the house, the picket fence, the two-point-five children! Hollywood and T.V. Land say forget that life of hardship you faced! You've got your man now, everything'll be better! So why not have a few kids to round out the joy? Besides, Mr. Right needs an heir, or at least a daughter to abuse or ignore. Entertainment media does us all a great disservice by painting the nuclear family as the ultimate form of existence. True that for some women, the nuclear family may be marginally safer than other lifestyles, it still is inherently tied to the patriarchy and can never truly be a safe haven for women and children, as it exists to give the man something of his own to govern over.
The days of happy, carefree childhoods are distant memories, if indeed they ever truly existed. This world is hurtling towards its' own destruction, and the human race is in the drivers' seat. Unless we, as a human race can undo hundreds of thousands of years of patriarchal law and conditioning, we're all as good as doomed. And, it'll be, as the saying goes: "Women and children first."
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Oh Work, Yr So Crzy!!!1!
Work makes you crazy. Or something. That's what a recent study of the Canadian workforce tells us. Around 44% of Canadian workers face or have faced mental health issues which have impacted their work, their work environments and their livelihood. The study seems not to differentiate between stress and mental issues caused by the workplace and those that were preexisting before said employment. And that's what I want to talk about.
How many people have worked in an environment where they felt completely safe? Safe to be themselves? Safe to dress as they pleased, speak their mind on issues no matter their opinion or personal politics? Safe regardless of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion or any other factor that may differentiate them from the ruling class? If you're a white, heterosexual male, you probably answered yes. Actually, you probably answered something like: "Yo dawg, work sucks, but nobody gets on my ass about shit like that, nawmean? They just fuck with me when I'm late 'cuz I was at the club real late last night and I'm all hungover and shit. Fuckin' slave drivers."
For women, people of other races and religions and LGBTQI folks, the workplace is much scarier. At best, you're treated like a curiosity, especially if you're the only one of your particular group around. You'll probably be tokenized, asked questions about your group as if you're the spokesperson, be pandered to and talked down to. Your co-workers might try to "relate" to you. All of this is unwelcome and makes one feel like an outsider, an other. But, it can get much, much worse as I'm sure most of you can attest to.
Because even though discrimination in the workplace is technically illegal in Canada, well, not everybody gives two shits about that fact. And that's putting it mildly. Workplaces are rife with slurs, catcalls, derogatory names and jokes, unwanted physical contact, threats and violence. White, heterosexual males don't have to fear this stuff. They're usually the ones that're behind it, protecting their precious "freedom of speech" and being "caped crusaders in the war against the PC bullshit ruining this country" and whatever. Meanwhile workers of any marginalized group feel the inequality, knowing that their coworkers resent and hate them, chalking up the presence of minorities in the workforce to "quotas" and "affirmative action". And people aren't making the connection between oppressive environments like this and mental health issues? Really?
There's a bigger picture getting revealed here. Mental health issues in the workplace can be tied directly to rising rates of self-harm and the increase of hate crimes in Canada. There is a war going on here at home. And it goes on in homes and at workplaces and in public places and in private places. The war is against the oppressed groups, the people who already have it hard enough. Women, homosexuals, transgender folks, aboriginals, Afro-Canadians, Muslims, Jews, Indians and Hindus, and all other groups that aren't of the three pillars of the ruling class: White. Heterosexual. Males. These are your bosses, your supervisors, your rule-makes and rule-breakers. These are the people that hold your employment and livelihood in their hands nine times out of ten. These are the people that want you to laugh at their jokes, accept their workplace pornography and let their bigotry run amok. And if you oppose them? Well, look at the job market these days. They hold the power. But they need workers. Can we, as a workforce band together and demand better for everyone? Can we hold our brothers and sisters of all races, religions and identities high and demand the equality that would create not just safe workplaces, but safe communities, neighborhoods, towns and cities? Is this power in our hands? Not without organization and camaraderie within the ranks, no. But, if we can foster understanding with one another as members of the non-ruling class, and if those of us that fit the bill of the ruling class refuse to perpetuate the oppressive behavior, if we can stand up for the oppressed too, really stand up for them with no fucking ulterior motives, then maybe, just maybe change can come about. It's a longshot, but doing nothing will accomplish nothing. As long as we live in this society, we need to work. Our jobs shouldn't be the cause of so much misery and pain.
I stand behind any worker of an oppressed group who's ever taken a stand against a racist, sexist or otherwise bigoted employer. I stand behind any worker who actively tries to make a workplace more inclusive and friendly for all workers. I stand behind employers who implement and believe in their fairness and workplace protection polices, who actually protect their workers for the right reasons. I stand behind you, and wish there were more like you. It is you that should be the norm, and your example that should be followed. Thank you to all the brave employers and employees out there, working hard not just at their jobs, but at making their workplaces better. You are all truly heroes in this society. Thank you, really and from the bottom of my heart.
How many people have worked in an environment where they felt completely safe? Safe to be themselves? Safe to dress as they pleased, speak their mind on issues no matter their opinion or personal politics? Safe regardless of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion or any other factor that may differentiate them from the ruling class? If you're a white, heterosexual male, you probably answered yes. Actually, you probably answered something like: "Yo dawg, work sucks, but nobody gets on my ass about shit like that, nawmean? They just fuck with me when I'm late 'cuz I was at the club real late last night and I'm all hungover and shit. Fuckin' slave drivers."
For women, people of other races and religions and LGBTQI folks, the workplace is much scarier. At best, you're treated like a curiosity, especially if you're the only one of your particular group around. You'll probably be tokenized, asked questions about your group as if you're the spokesperson, be pandered to and talked down to. Your co-workers might try to "relate" to you. All of this is unwelcome and makes one feel like an outsider, an other. But, it can get much, much worse as I'm sure most of you can attest to.
Because even though discrimination in the workplace is technically illegal in Canada, well, not everybody gives two shits about that fact. And that's putting it mildly. Workplaces are rife with slurs, catcalls, derogatory names and jokes, unwanted physical contact, threats and violence. White, heterosexual males don't have to fear this stuff. They're usually the ones that're behind it, protecting their precious "freedom of speech" and being "caped crusaders in the war against the PC bullshit ruining this country" and whatever. Meanwhile workers of any marginalized group feel the inequality, knowing that their coworkers resent and hate them, chalking up the presence of minorities in the workforce to "quotas" and "affirmative action". And people aren't making the connection between oppressive environments like this and mental health issues? Really?
There's a bigger picture getting revealed here. Mental health issues in the workplace can be tied directly to rising rates of self-harm and the increase of hate crimes in Canada. There is a war going on here at home. And it goes on in homes and at workplaces and in public places and in private places. The war is against the oppressed groups, the people who already have it hard enough. Women, homosexuals, transgender folks, aboriginals, Afro-Canadians, Muslims, Jews, Indians and Hindus, and all other groups that aren't of the three pillars of the ruling class: White. Heterosexual. Males. These are your bosses, your supervisors, your rule-makes and rule-breakers. These are the people that hold your employment and livelihood in their hands nine times out of ten. These are the people that want you to laugh at their jokes, accept their workplace pornography and let their bigotry run amok. And if you oppose them? Well, look at the job market these days. They hold the power. But they need workers. Can we, as a workforce band together and demand better for everyone? Can we hold our brothers and sisters of all races, religions and identities high and demand the equality that would create not just safe workplaces, but safe communities, neighborhoods, towns and cities? Is this power in our hands? Not without organization and camaraderie within the ranks, no. But, if we can foster understanding with one another as members of the non-ruling class, and if those of us that fit the bill of the ruling class refuse to perpetuate the oppressive behavior, if we can stand up for the oppressed too, really stand up for them with no fucking ulterior motives, then maybe, just maybe change can come about. It's a longshot, but doing nothing will accomplish nothing. As long as we live in this society, we need to work. Our jobs shouldn't be the cause of so much misery and pain.
I stand behind any worker of an oppressed group who's ever taken a stand against a racist, sexist or otherwise bigoted employer. I stand behind any worker who actively tries to make a workplace more inclusive and friendly for all workers. I stand behind employers who implement and believe in their fairness and workplace protection polices, who actually protect their workers for the right reasons. I stand behind you, and wish there were more like you. It is you that should be the norm, and your example that should be followed. Thank you to all the brave employers and employees out there, working hard not just at their jobs, but at making their workplaces better. You are all truly heroes in this society. Thank you, really and from the bottom of my heart.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
A Second Flush On Yesterdays' Shitty News
The debate over Ontario's prostitution laws began yesterday, and it's all I've really been able to think about. This province, this country is about to go to shit. If these new laws are passed, everything is over. Ontario, and quite possibly the whole of Canada will become the globes' newest sex-tourism hotspot. The new Las Vegas, the new Amsterdam. Women here will not be safe despite what the advocates for legalized prostitution will tell you. Women are not safe now, and their safety will be further compromised. Men will not treat prostitutes any better and as a result of these laws, men will treat women who are not prostitutes worse. Men will leave their families. Men will bankrupt themselves. Crime will skyrocket. Drug use and drug trafficking, human slavery and human trafficking will skyrocket. STD rates will skyrocket. Child abuse and kidnapping will skyrocket as attitudes become more perverse and a demand for the bodies of new women and new children fast becomes impossible to keep up with. There is nothing "liberal" about regulating human slavery. There is nothing "progressive" about keeping women and children firmly entrenched in their sex-class roles. There will come no good from decriminalizing prostitution unless the johns and pimps are cracked down upon. The men who buy and sell women need to be held responsible for the suffering they impose. Most women (99.9%, to be fucking SURE) do not choose to be prostitutes. More often this choice is made for them by the men in their life, through mind and soul crushing sexual abuse, rape, incest, forced poverty, forced drug addiction. This is not a victimless crime, as one dominatrix seems to want us all to believe.
Please Ontario government, don't do this. I'm begging you. Don't do this to the women of this province, of this country. Do the damn research. Stopping these new prostitution laws might be the only thing a Conservative majority ever does that I'll agree with. Harper, you can't be for this, not with your religious right backing. Do the right thing, even if you don't agree with why you're doing it. Save these women, don't doom them to continue this lifestyle of slavery.
Please.
Don't kill these women.
Please Ontario government, don't do this. I'm begging you. Don't do this to the women of this province, of this country. Do the damn research. Stopping these new prostitution laws might be the only thing a Conservative majority ever does that I'll agree with. Harper, you can't be for this, not with your religious right backing. Do the right thing, even if you don't agree with why you're doing it. Save these women, don't doom them to continue this lifestyle of slavery.
Please.
Don't kill these women.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
You Had Me Fooled, Anthony
Well, it's official. United States Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner has admitted to sending lewd photos and text messages to any number of young women. Women who are too young for him. College age women. While he's married. His wife is an aide for Hillary "Kick-Ass" Clinton, by the way.
I'm saddened by the admission, but not terribly surprised. It's just that I had expected better of congressman Weiner. He had always struck me as an ally, a staunch defender of the rights of women, LGBT people and other minorities. He seemed to be something of a pro-feminist congressman, a rarity to be sure. I had in the past hoped that someone the like of him would emerge in our own government. His witty, brash and unapologetic style of debate, coupled with a seemingly unending belief in human fucking rights made him a favorite of mine, one of the few U.S. congresspeople I knew on sight, by name. He was a defender of abortion, of womens' right to choose. He rallied against obscene 'art' placed on view in public places. Every cause he took up seemed to resonate within me as a cause that I was behind here, in my own hometown.
But, this revelation has cast doubt on all of it. How can Weiner be an ally after this? He has painted himself an adulterer, perhaps a closet porn addict as these things never happen in a vacuum. He's also painted himself a hypocrite, which may be the most damaging thing of all, as it takes weight away from all the arguments over important issues he's ever waged. How can one claim to be a champion of womens' rights if one doesn't even respect ones' wife? Or the boundaries pertaining to those young women he was communicating with that should not have been crossed? How can anything he said be trusted now?
Anthony Weiner now appears to me at least to be if any kind of feminist, a fun-fem. Had this story not broken, we may have well seen him marching in a Slutwalk in his town. I don't know if he was ever a feminist, if he ever really believed in what he was fighting for or if the platform he took and the issues he chose to stand for were just footholds he used to facilitate these illicit and perverse relationships with young women. Yeah, I'm saying it. Maybe he was just one of those dudes who says he's a feminist and gives a shit about womens' issues to get laid. Maybe. I don't know. But I DO know that he's let a lot of people down. I do know that a lot of people looked to him for hope and change, and now they've received more of the same disappointment that they get from others.
I feel sorry for his wife. I feel sorry for the young women he was corresponding with, as their privacy will be taken from them by the United States media in their pursuit of the story. I feel sorry for all those who championed and put their trust in Anthony Weiner for a better tomorrow.
Well, there's still Hillary, right?
I'm saddened by the admission, but not terribly surprised. It's just that I had expected better of congressman Weiner. He had always struck me as an ally, a staunch defender of the rights of women, LGBT people and other minorities. He seemed to be something of a pro-feminist congressman, a rarity to be sure. I had in the past hoped that someone the like of him would emerge in our own government. His witty, brash and unapologetic style of debate, coupled with a seemingly unending belief in human fucking rights made him a favorite of mine, one of the few U.S. congresspeople I knew on sight, by name. He was a defender of abortion, of womens' right to choose. He rallied against obscene 'art' placed on view in public places. Every cause he took up seemed to resonate within me as a cause that I was behind here, in my own hometown.
But, this revelation has cast doubt on all of it. How can Weiner be an ally after this? He has painted himself an adulterer, perhaps a closet porn addict as these things never happen in a vacuum. He's also painted himself a hypocrite, which may be the most damaging thing of all, as it takes weight away from all the arguments over important issues he's ever waged. How can one claim to be a champion of womens' rights if one doesn't even respect ones' wife? Or the boundaries pertaining to those young women he was communicating with that should not have been crossed? How can anything he said be trusted now?
Anthony Weiner now appears to me at least to be if any kind of feminist, a fun-fem. Had this story not broken, we may have well seen him marching in a Slutwalk in his town. I don't know if he was ever a feminist, if he ever really believed in what he was fighting for or if the platform he took and the issues he chose to stand for were just footholds he used to facilitate these illicit and perverse relationships with young women. Yeah, I'm saying it. Maybe he was just one of those dudes who says he's a feminist and gives a shit about womens' issues to get laid. Maybe. I don't know. But I DO know that he's let a lot of people down. I do know that a lot of people looked to him for hope and change, and now they've received more of the same disappointment that they get from others.
I feel sorry for his wife. I feel sorry for the young women he was corresponding with, as their privacy will be taken from them by the United States media in their pursuit of the story. I feel sorry for all those who championed and put their trust in Anthony Weiner for a better tomorrow.
Well, there's still Hillary, right?
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Canada's #1! Canada's #1! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude!
Alright, let's get down to it. While reading my morning news on the CBC I came across one of those "it's so fucking great to live here!" pieces that the news so often runs, designed to promote nationalism and ignorance simultaneously. Before I start the rant, why do I fucking read news off the CBC so often? It only pisses me off, then sends me scurrying across the web to other news sites to find objective views (often with more information) on the same stories. Why do I never learn? I guess I'd have less to write about? I don't know. Fuck it.
Anyways, there's tons of reasons why Canada is a kick ass place to live, and if you can't see that, well I guess you're as dumb as a couch! And for all you couch-dumb cretins out there, someone's compiled a survey to help you out! Not that Canada's actual place on the survey is mentioned, nor where one can view the whole survey, but who cares, right? I mean, nearly four out of five Canadians are satisfied with their lives! Nearly four out of five! What the fuck does that mean? And why haven't I met any of these people? They must live in the nice houses on the other side of town. What an abstract way to define something so very complex. It's hard for me to imagine the average Canadian woman (whomever that is) saying she's "satisfied" with her life. What with being a member of an oppressed class, oftentimes within an already oppressed class, while the resources available to her AS an oppressed class are being slowly (or not so slowly) taken away.
The "average" Canadian households' income is $27,015 as of 2008! That's in US dollars, too! Whoopee! But, what nobody mentions is that as of 2010, the average Canadian household debt is $96,000. And that's in Canadian dollars. Which lately are at parity or worth more than the ol' greenback.
Nearly 72% of Canadians aged 15-64 have a paid job (rather than an unpaid one? I know lots of Canadians that have both, but that's just until housewifery and motherhood becomes paid work, any day now...). But, I know that this is skewing the truth too. Lots of those jobs are paying wages that put Canadian citizens, most often women below the poverty line. Do you know what it takes to be an office clerk/receptionist these days? I do. It takes all of the skills to be an office clerk/receptionist such as data entry, phone etiquette, etc, as well as the skills of an accountant, as well as usually a babysitter for your dudely, oblivious boss, as well as oftentimes being tri-fucking-lingual, and having super-double-secret clearance, all for minimum wage! Whoop-dee-doo! And that is for fields in which women predominate, due to the fact that men devalue them, simply because they allow women to work in them. Therefore, these jobs are undervalued in terms of pay and respect and given to women who already makes less money than men, even though wage disparity is apparently illegal. What the fuck.
And it goes on. Blah blah blah we work 40 hours less per year. That's a whole week. 87% of Canadians have a high school or equivalency diploma, which gets you nothing out in the real world. Life expectancy is 80.7 years, one whole fucking YEAR above average! The level of PM10, which can damage... your lungs.... is... what? Our air is better? By a little? Huh?
This is bullshit, and you know it. Perhaps it has something to do with our lax laws on bribery? It's hard for me to read that list and think somebody's not on the take. And with Stephen Harper off to spread more lies about how good things are at home, it's up to us here in the middle of this shit not to be fooled by what the government puts out there to placate us. Remember, to all those that say "It could be worse, you could be in Libya/Syria/Congo/Detroit.", we could also be in Iceland or Sweden or elsewhere, where things are better. The fact that certain things are worse elsewhere should not stop us from trying to improve things here. Passivity doesn't foster change.
Also, in other news, it's now your own responsibility to find your missing children. I'm not saying the website in and of itself is a bad thing, but if you're going to acknowledge that the resources the police have are limited, shouldn't fixing that be a priority? Or am I off base here? No, I didn't think so. I just hate that when a child goes missing, more often than not, it seems that the family of said child has to be more active in the search then the police do to have any kind of justice, closure or hope of finding their child ever again. The system is broken. My heart goes out to any family that has ever lost a child, only to be told that "there's nothing more the police can do at this point."
Final note of the post: I've started reading Letters From A War Zone, by Andrea Dworkin. I don't know why it's taken me so long. She was a brilliant writer, and a brilliant human being. I'm sad that I am only now able to read her words and see her brilliance post-mortum. I am sadder now than ever at the fact she is no longer with us. I feel the world has lost a great ally in her. But I am glad her writing and legacy live on, and I am glad to be one of those that hopes to be worthy to carry on her words, and tell people of them. Thank you, Andrea Dworkin, for all that you did.
Anyways, there's tons of reasons why Canada is a kick ass place to live, and if you can't see that, well I guess you're as dumb as a couch! And for all you couch-dumb cretins out there, someone's compiled a survey to help you out! Not that Canada's actual place on the survey is mentioned, nor where one can view the whole survey, but who cares, right? I mean, nearly four out of five Canadians are satisfied with their lives! Nearly four out of five! What the fuck does that mean? And why haven't I met any of these people? They must live in the nice houses on the other side of town. What an abstract way to define something so very complex. It's hard for me to imagine the average Canadian woman (whomever that is) saying she's "satisfied" with her life. What with being a member of an oppressed class, oftentimes within an already oppressed class, while the resources available to her AS an oppressed class are being slowly (or not so slowly) taken away.
The "average" Canadian households' income is $27,015 as of 2008! That's in US dollars, too! Whoopee! But, what nobody mentions is that as of 2010, the average Canadian household debt is $96,000. And that's in Canadian dollars. Which lately are at parity or worth more than the ol' greenback.
Nearly 72% of Canadians aged 15-64 have a paid job (rather than an unpaid one? I know lots of Canadians that have both, but that's just until housewifery and motherhood becomes paid work, any day now...). But, I know that this is skewing the truth too. Lots of those jobs are paying wages that put Canadian citizens, most often women below the poverty line. Do you know what it takes to be an office clerk/receptionist these days? I do. It takes all of the skills to be an office clerk/receptionist such as data entry, phone etiquette, etc, as well as the skills of an accountant, as well as usually a babysitter for your dudely, oblivious boss, as well as oftentimes being tri-fucking-lingual, and having super-double-secret clearance, all for minimum wage! Whoop-dee-doo! And that is for fields in which women predominate, due to the fact that men devalue them, simply because they allow women to work in them. Therefore, these jobs are undervalued in terms of pay and respect and given to women who already makes less money than men, even though wage disparity is apparently illegal. What the fuck.
And it goes on. Blah blah blah we work 40 hours less per year. That's a whole week. 87% of Canadians have a high school or equivalency diploma, which gets you nothing out in the real world. Life expectancy is 80.7 years, one whole fucking YEAR above average! The level of PM10, which can damage... your lungs.... is... what? Our air is better? By a little? Huh?
This is bullshit, and you know it. Perhaps it has something to do with our lax laws on bribery? It's hard for me to read that list and think somebody's not on the take. And with Stephen Harper off to spread more lies about how good things are at home, it's up to us here in the middle of this shit not to be fooled by what the government puts out there to placate us. Remember, to all those that say "It could be worse, you could be in Libya/Syria/Congo/Detroit.", we could also be in Iceland or Sweden or elsewhere, where things are better. The fact that certain things are worse elsewhere should not stop us from trying to improve things here. Passivity doesn't foster change.
Also, in other news, it's now your own responsibility to find your missing children. I'm not saying the website in and of itself is a bad thing, but if you're going to acknowledge that the resources the police have are limited, shouldn't fixing that be a priority? Or am I off base here? No, I didn't think so. I just hate that when a child goes missing, more often than not, it seems that the family of said child has to be more active in the search then the police do to have any kind of justice, closure or hope of finding their child ever again. The system is broken. My heart goes out to any family that has ever lost a child, only to be told that "there's nothing more the police can do at this point."
Final note of the post: I've started reading Letters From A War Zone, by Andrea Dworkin. I don't know why it's taken me so long. She was a brilliant writer, and a brilliant human being. I'm sad that I am only now able to read her words and see her brilliance post-mortum. I am sadder now than ever at the fact she is no longer with us. I feel the world has lost a great ally in her. But I am glad her writing and legacy live on, and I am glad to be one of those that hopes to be worthy to carry on her words, and tell people of them. Thank you, Andrea Dworkin, for all that you did.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
The Day The World Turned Less Day-Glo
I just found out that Poly Styrene, lead singer of the amazing but short lived band X-Ray Spex has passed away. Now, I've only been listening to the band for a little over a year, but they've fast become one of my favorites since I was introduced to them. Poly Styrene's vocals and lyrics were without a doubt amazing albeit unpolished, and she was just a super rad rock star. I bet she was a cool person. I'm saddened by this news, especially since I also just found out she was working on a solo record. Super sad. I weep for music a little more every day.
R.I.P. Poly Styrene (1957-2011)
R.I.P. Poly Styrene (1957-2011)
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