Canada is sometimes viewed as the US’s politer relative. So, with everything that has been happening in the last while over at our neighbour’s, I realized the reason I couldn’t write about anything was because this was always coming to the surface in my mind, consciously or subconsciously.
I tend to shy away from any political views or any views that will stir up an angry discussion from those who may not agree. I tend to keep this blog exactly what I intended it to be, and what its tagline suggests, “family-friendly”. But during this time in history, I feel it would be ignorant of me to not write anything about what is going on just over the border. And quite frankly it’s a fine line, that border, and as you may have read, many sentiments are passing our way as well.
Family-Friendly Can Be Hard To See
The reason I am addressing this is because I am a woman. I am a mother. I have three boys that are being raised into this age of sheer lunacy and I am trying to stabilize our home from hate and negativity, when right outside at our neighbour’s, it has busted open the front door and poured out into the streets. It is infiltrating the homes of little ones through the very media I am part of.
What is a mother to do, then? How can a mother explain this to an innocent child that knows no evil like the evil being spilled out into the streets?
I think of my parents, and how they taught me. I think of how they dealt with things like the mailbox bombings and the October Crisis in Montreal, and how they saw the Referendum tear our little province apart because of, of all things, language and culture.
I think of the fear they had in raising us here…in Canada. The peaceful, polite relative of the US. Our Canada was different than the Canada of the west. And I am sure the west could teach me a thing or two of difficulties they faced as well over the years. Now, decades and decades later, the atrocities that occurred to indigenous peoples of our great and peaceful land are at the surface. And thanks to people like Gord Downie, we are learning, we are changing, we are apologizing and we are forgiving. A man from a Canadian rock band, was dying, was teaching us how to live well.
So while the negativities close to our border are vile and sad, like all atrocities before them, including our own, we must move forward and see any and all good that is fighting for a change. And we must change.
Women’s March
Not long ago, I had the privilege of attending a pre-screening of Suffragette. I remember watching and thinking, “this movie needs to be seen by every youth in Canada and the US to show them how far we have come”. Of course, the movie has not been widely spread in schools and communities yet, but hopefully it will. If you have not seen it, it is worth watching. (I recommend it for high school level students and above).
The movie is a retelling of the history associated with the activists of the British WSPU. What women have endured to give us the right to vote has brought us forward. Today, over 100 years later from the Suffragettes, we are here. We are marching still. We are resisting still. We are fighting for our rights still. And we are not only marching for women, we are marching for others not being fairly treated; other humans. We are seeking equality for humanity.
What Mamas Can Do
I didn’t open any form of media the day of the inauguration. I did not watch.
However, the day after, I gladly opened the live stream to show my boys what it means to stand up for what you believe in. I showed them how people were coming together, peacefully, to demand their rights get met. There was no violence, no racist remarks, no hate. And so, I showed them. I let them understand that people can make a change with love.
And love is what they understand more than any hate this world has showed them. In their small lives, hate has surfaced often, as it always has and always will. But love will always win.
As a mama, I will continue to teach and show love.
2 comments
Love what you’ve shared here. I’m baffled by people who keep saying “oh stop all the whining – I just want to see cute cat videos and what you’re eating again”. To that, I say, then unfollow me because right now there is important work to be done and voices need to be raised to speak out about it. I get it. I get it people are weary of it and I absolutely respect their rights to shield themselves from it. But please don’t ask me to stop speaking out. I’m trying to make sense of it and to find ways to help.
Thank you, Cyn. Thank you for reading and for commenting. I agree with you. Sometimes it’s nice to laugh and have fun. But other times, we need to address important issues. I don’t always, but this was itching to be written.