babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.
End violence against women: December 6
November 17, 2010 - 10:56pm
V
From the CAW website:
You could start by laying off the one party that fights half-assedly for them. Better than the zero-effort otherwise.
Virtue is fleeting.
By the way, anyone who hasn't seen this incredible film should do so (I don't recall whether we discussed it on babble when it first came out last year):
POLYTECHNIQUE: Montreal Massacre Drama Sweeps Genie Awards
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation mark December 6 - National Day of Remembrance
From the Canadian Labour Congress:
December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. On this day we remember and mourn the loss of 14 women, murdered at Montréal's École Polytechnique, murdered because they were women.
Take action now by downloading the Make Women's Lives Count poster and brochure and share your stories of action and remembrance on Facebook or Twitter (using the hashtag #6dec).
I haven't wanted to see this. For babblers who have, is this appropriate for teenage girls to see? Or too nasty?
My opinion: It's not appropriate. Not because it's too "nasty" - it's too empty. There's no explanation or analysis or situating it in a larger societal context.
Now I read that first para and have no idea if it's true. The event itself (which happened way too close to our home) still echoes too maddeningly. I'm not qualified to judge the film.
So why did I recommend it?
If there are women here who have seen it, I'd like to hear their comments and prefer that they answer your question.
Today is the day.
Typical. Do we have a bigger problem with anti-Quebec sentiments than with anti-feminist sentiments?
A memorial is planned this year in the Carpenter's Hall, 459 Croft St., Port Hope, Monday at 6 p.m.
In memoriam:
Halifax
Victoria
Parliament Hill
Winnipeg
Moose Jaw
Sudbury
Beausejour
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
The only "gender based violence in Canada" that occurs these days normally relates to honor killings. I presume that this is targeted towards the mal-adjusted new citizens?
Iwant, based on your recent posts, you get a week off.
Tory MPs not invited to Montreal massacre memorial
Caissa's comment from a previous thread:
Moi, je me souviens.
Je me souviens aussi.
Women Won't Forget
A heads-up regarding the event posted above at philosopher's walk at UofT: the Jewish Defence League is attempting to hijack it and turn it into a rally against honour killings.
La Fédération des femmes du Québec is holding a gathering and commemoration of the Polytechnique Massacre on the 6th of December, this Saturday:
http://www.ffq.qc.ca/2014/11/6-decembre-rassemblement-et-commemoration-25/
The group Odaya will greet attendees with drums and song. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Odaya/22131337257
People attending will march up Mont-Royal from la Place du 6 décembre, near métro Côte-des-Neiges (and Université de Montréal). People unable to do the march can take the 11 bus to the summit.
Marie-Claude Lortie blogs about covering the terrifying event as a young reporter: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/polytechnique-shooting-shattered-...
I was in Montreal 25 years ago when this happened. To think that we still have to fight the active dismissal of the attack as random, "crazy" and undecipherable is an outrage:
After question period, MacKay said the massacre would never be understood “because of the insanity and the level of violence.”
Sylvie Haviernick, whose sister Maud was one of the Polytechnique killings victims, speaks to Mike Finnerty of CBC Montréal about the tragedy, the years after, and the commemoration to take place later today at the National Assembly:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Quebec/Daybreak+Montreal/ID/2...
Mersh, I was two buildings away, writing a graduate history exam at Université de Montréal. The utter concentration of students during exam week is part of the explanation of how the killer could get in there, armed. After I returned home from my exam, people were phoning me from many countries to "make sure I was alive". Of course I knew nothing about the events, as the Social Sciences building is on the other side of the main building from Polytechnique, and I usually took a different métro station home. It took a while for the enormity of the massacre to sink in.
But McKay is an arsehole; time and again he has proven that.
Québec solidaire pays homage to the victims, at their Congrès national in Trois-Rivières:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/mauricie/2014/11/30/001-quebec-solida...
It was my first year as an undergrad and I was studying with a friend when one of her roommates came in and told us. I really didn't get it at first, and then a friend of mine died, and then, well, it started to sink in.
And here's a challenge from Michael Laxer right here on Rabble:
Men need to stand up for feminism
Why do we deal so exclusively with the more extreme cases of violence against women while ignoring its subtler manifestations. I am a recovering sex addict myself, and though I have never struck a woman nor attacked one verbally, I would still say that I had engaged in a form of violence against women. Within a year after my divorce, past trauma, depression and a few other psychological factors and other circumstances combined with bad judgement let me to seek prostitutes. Over the years it developed into an addiction. Though it might not be thought of as violence in the usual sense, it is still an exploitation of women and coercion even if it is mutually consentual. Mutual consent does not mean there can be no coercion. Even if only carrots and no sticks are presented, it is still coercion and a form of violence. Additionally it puts women at risk of STD's. One problem though is that sex addicts might not always be aware of the resources available to them and sometimes fantasies themselves become ever more extreme or even violent over time as the old ones become boring. They might not necessarily be acted on, but thought is the first step to action. Even if they have read of sex or other therapy they might have false conceptions about it thinking it's just talking with no understanding of its potential benefit to actions
I have created a thread on the regulation of the advertizing of sexual services. Though it is more of a brainstorm at present, I would be curious as to your ideas on this as a practical step to curb these subtler forms of violence too before they increase in intensity.
Struggling
Another point I can make is avoiding politically charged terminology in the therapeutic field. I remember as I started seeking therapists online as my thoughts started becoming more violent, I had come across one describing herself as applying 'feminist' principles to her therapy. I believe in the equality of men and women, and we should not assume that a sex addict's actions are congruent with his beliefs. I knew I was doing wrong from the beginning and it disgusted me. However, sense 'feminism' can have so many meanings to different people, that ad scared me away from her. I knew I was doing wrong and so did not need to be judged but helped.
Of course all if what I am saying here deals with subtler forms of violence. But how many murderous rages trace their roots back to subtler manifestations?
Another point I can make is avoiding politically charged terminology in the therapeutic field. I remember as I started seeking therapists online as my thoughts started becoming more violent, I had come across one describing herself as applying 'feminist' principles to her therapy. I believe in the equality of men and women, and we should not assume that a sex addict's actions are congruent with his beliefs. I knew I was doing wrong from the beginning and it disgusted me. However, sense 'feminism' can have so many meanings to different people, that ad scared me away from her. I knew I was doing wrong and so did not need to be judged but helped.
Of course all if what I am saying here deals with subtler forms of violence. But how many murderous rages trace their roots back to subtler manifestations?
Get the fuck out of this thread.
Women Won't Forget: Vigil in Toronto
December 6th Fund: Donate if you can