- The above video of some beagles who have lived in wire cages as test dogs for their entire lives. They have never been outside, felt the sun or the grass beneath their feet. The fact that something like this exists in our world is so fucking disturbing. Are there not laws that mandate how animals must be treated? It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch these dogs take their first steps on grass! One dog actually falters because he doesn’t know how to walk outside of a cage. I know that I am going to research every product I use and make another choice if it is tested on animals. I urge you all to do the same.
- Still on the animal front, I posted this blog from SAINTS yesterday on Twitter and Facebook. Carol highlights animals who ended up at SAINTS in spite of being a loved and desired pet. Minnie Pearl is a dog who ended up at SAINTS because her family had a divorce and when she could no longer be used as a pawn in the battle she was dumped. Here’s the thing people – if you go out and get that cute puppy, kitten or other animal you must make a commitment to that animal for the rest of its life. If you don’t think you can do this then get a virtual pet. Live animals require care and sacrifice. If you are thinking about adding a companion animal to your family please find one at a shelter or rescue.
- Now we will move on to people. It is unfathomable that in 2011, in a fully developed country like Canada we have the Red Cross going into the Aboriginal village of Attawapiskat to provide direct relief! Then, in typical paternal fashion, the Federal government is appointing a third-party administrator. Seriously folks our paternalistic attitudes towards First Nations is the reason things are so bad. First Nations must be given the resources they need embrace their culture and thrive. In order to this though they require appropriate housing and a predictable source of income. There are so many examples of First Nations succeeding when they are given control of the economic levers. Paternalism will never succeed and gives us things like Residential Schools.
- Oh and I failed miserably at NaBloPoMo this year!
Dispatches from the Swamp – the ‘I am f*cking depressed’ edition
Just Keep Your Head in the Sand
The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) has done an investigation into how the RCMP treats people in northern BC. Apparently, there have been many issues and tensions growing between the RCMP and the population. Of course, anyone who pays attention to politics in BC could have predicted what they would find when they did a consultation. Reports of First Nations people and the homeless being subjected to illegal arrest, racial profiling and illegal search and seizure were some of the major concerns. The BCCLA published the complaints anonymously understandably to protect peoples’ privacy.
The RCMP was not invited to the party for whatever reason. I am sure we can speculate. Perhaps it was felt that if they were there they might have retaliated. If people were not guaranteed anonymity maybe they may not have come forward. Now, the RCMP say they are not going to investigate these abuses of power.
Clearly the RCMP has no intention of taking action on members who behave badly. You would think given all of the issues with the RCMP of late they would be more than willing to work with the BCCLA to make some positive change. Obviously the RCMP is very comfortable policing small town BC.
Maybe it is time to get rid of the RCMP as an answer to local policing for small communities. Obviously, small towns like Terrace are not going to be able to create their own forces. However, with some provincial leadership, there is no reason why a provincial police force cannot be created. This will take leadership, serious leadership. Perhaps the next step for the BCCLA is to talk to the various leadership candidates in both the BC Liberal Party and the BC NDP to see any leadership can be found. The citizens of BC deserve more fair policing.
I am fuming…
I have not found a link for this story I heard on the CBC News yet. Hopefully it will be posted tomorrow. Anyway it was about a Native man who stole 3 bottles of mouthwash when he was drunk. He was, of course, convicted. His lawyer thought that the judge in the case would take into account his background. He was marginalized and disenfranchised and had been an alcoholic since he was sixteen. He had been convicted seventy times for petty crimes over the years. His lawyer argued that he receive a 3-month sentence. The judge sentenced him to a year. A year for the theft of items that did not amount to $20. An appeal court upheld the conviction saying that the trial judge had not erred and that, in fact, she had served the public interest. Great, it is so important to protect us all from mouthwash thieves.
I think the public interest could be better served with a much different plan. What about treatment? Clearly this man needs some help. He needs rehab and a program not a cell and guards. How about some education? He never finished high school because he was kicked out in grade 6. What about some higher education? Maybe some cultural expression could help him connect with his roots. We all know that without culture people do not have roots and stability.
Instead, he will spend a year in jail which will only confirm for him that the world is an unfair place where he does not fit in. We will house him, pay the salaries of the guards who protect us from this dangerous mouthwash thief. Paying for treatment and an education for him would be much less expensive and, in fact, might even prove to be an investment in the future. With treatment, an education and hope this man may be able to become a productive member of society. But sadly we are far more interested in punishing people. I am ashamed to be Canadian today.
Privilege (heterosexual and others)
I am writing this blog entry in response to all the comments I received on facebook when I updated my status to indicate that I was annoyed by heterosexual privilege. Frankly, the comments surprised me but I guess I should not have been. Inherently, when one is in receipt of a societal privilege they may not be aware of it. This appears to be the case. Rather than going into a long drawn out explanation of heterosexual privilege I will refer you to an excellent blog entry written by Teh Portly Dyke. She does an excellent job explaining this and its impact on homosexuals. She also issues a challenge in her entry I encourage you to try it to gain a better understanding of how insidious heterosexual privilege is in our society.
Privilege is everywhere in our society and depending on your class, race, economic status or gender expression you may or may not enjoy privilege. Being Caucasian in our society affords you a great deal of privilege. Our society is geared to make life easier for people who are white. All of our institutions are inherently racist and difficult for people of colour to navigate and receive fair treatment. If you don’t believe me ask a person of colour what their experience is at a bank or worse trying to get welfare or other government services. When I worked in a downtown eastside welfare office in Vancouver there was a great deal of racism dished out to people of colour and particularly aboriginal people.
Class is another area of privilege. I certainly noticed that as a homeowner I am treated very differently by service people than I was when i was a renter. The white woman in Kerrisdale is treated much differently than an Aboriginal woman from the downtown eastside. Many of our judgements about class are rooted in the Protestant work ethic and Protestantism in general. One of the foremost Protestant thinkers, John Calvin, believed that it was predetermined who was going to heaven and who was not. Those people who were successful in life were assumed to be going to heaven and therefore treated differently from those who were impoverished. It was also believed that if those who were not successful ‘just tried a little harder’ they too could be successful. The old adage of ‘pulling up their boot straps’ applied. We may not consciously think this way but these ideas inform our culture and the way we view the world and the people in it.
Gender expression is another area of privilege. Those who fit into society’s binary gender roles of male and female enjoy privilege. There is no question which bathroom to use and you are treated with respect. Those who are gender queer, gender ambiguous or trans have murky waters to navigate. A male to female transsexual for example may be harassed for using the woman’s bathroom. Gender expression seems to invoke violent responses from some people. Many trans people are routinely targeted for abuse by people in our society who are uncomfortable with their gender expression.
It is interesting to talk to people who are different from you and to learn how privilege or the lack thereof impacts their lives. As a white woman I know that I enjoy a fair amount of privilege in our society. I have privileges of class, race and gender. However, somethings work against me. As a fat lesbian woman I have been the target of discrimination and hate although not that often. The group with the most privilege in our society are straight, white men. It is interesting to determine what privilege you enjoy and why you have it. Deconstructing privilege helps us to understand how our society works and how we can work to be allies to those who do not enjoy the same privileges that we do. It takes a great deal of work to look inside and see what is really there – the racist and classist thoughts and to try and understand how they impact our interactions with other people. It is a life-long process and one that is very difficult. Realizing our own racist, classist and gender biases can be uncomfortable. Talking about them and challenging others racist, classist and gender biases is even more difficult. If, as an individual, you are committed to an egalitarian society it starts with you.
They got it right this time
Disgraced, former judge David Ramsay has been denied parole. Apparently he has cancer and is not expected to live out his sentence. I guess he thought he was entitled to mercy. The parole board noted that he has resisted treatment and shown no remorse for his actions.
As a sitting judge, Ramsay, used his position of authority to abuse young First Nations women. Three of his victims had appeared before him in court. Apparently he liked to make his victims scream. Well I hope David Ramsay screams alot as he dies of cancer in prison. May he receive all the mercy he has shown his victims.
