No more.

Two Women Assaulted at Ontario School

I'm not a polticial guy. By and large my idea of the Big Issues tend to revolve around whether who would win in a fight between Superman and Captain Marvel. But the above has shaken me out of my complacency and I'd be remiss if I didn't at least talk about how this news made me feel. Much of this will doubtless sound monumentally naive and simple, but I want to get this out of my system so in the future I can just point to it for my opinion on the subject.

I'm a Canadian, and a proud one at that. I love my country and truly think we've got the best of all possible worlds in this great land. I've always had this image of Canada as having its problems to be sure, but still being a land of decent people where we embraced the diverse and built upon that selfsame diversity for a better tomorrow. Nations, spiritual beliefs, gender, sexuality. . .none of that mattered in the Canada of my idealized vision. Needless to say reading of the above assault, hearing of a similar attack in British Columbia has done a lot to--if not shatter--than at least to smudge that rose-colored view a great deal.

I'm not gay. I say that not as a defense mechanism, merely as a statement of truth. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in a world where I have to face intolerance for being who I am and wanting to be with the people I care deeply for. With the passing of Proposition 8 in the United States, the simple act of recognizing a same-sex couple legally as a loving pair joined in matrimony has been rejected. And most of all, I can't concieve of a world where something as simple as picking your kid up from school could become the basis of a savage, unreasoning attack for no other reason than one of these women may have spoken to the child of this creature that poses as a human being.

Why? Seriously, why is this such a big deal? What is it that's so wrong about people being with people that they love? It makes no sense. They're not trying to force their beliefs on anyone, they're not trying to make you gay. No. All they were doing was living their lives, and for that unforgivable sin of daring to dream of a world where they might actually have a chance at life, libery, and the pursuit of happiness some cowardly, insecure fucktard took it upon himself to act as what he doubtless percieved to be the righteous fist of the majority. How dare anyone think that they could spend an afternoon picking up their kids with the woman they love, maybe heading to Dairy Queen to treat them for good grades on a quiz? Where do they get off just living their lives like they're--y'know--normal human beings? Don't they know they're different? Don't they know that's the way it is? Well I'll sure show them right?

And the worst thing, the absolute worst thing that just makes my molars grind is that this thing, sitting there waiting to be arrested acted blase about the whole thing, impatient to be getting home. Never mind that he'd left these women broken and bleeding. Never mind that he'd traumatized their kids, his kids, and the kids of this school. He had to get home in time to watch the latest tractor pull or run the risk of missing So You Think You Can Dance. To top it all, the police released this walking pustulence. He gets to go home after the mild inconvenience of being detained for a few hours while these women are in the hospital.

It boggles the mind, but more than that it shames me and shakes me out of my complacency all at once. The Gay and Lesbian community are a part of everyday living now. They deserve no less than the same fair shake that we all recieve in turn. They also deserve the same defense that anyone who is attacked and made the victim should be granted, and the offender should be charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We need to send a message that this kind of behavior is the antiquated relic of a previous century and will no longer be tolerated. Who we choose to love should have no bearing on who we are in society. It's just that simple. No more.


Stac