Plus C'est la Même Chose

It's the 80s all over again. We've got a killer virus that people are largely ignoring despite a small group of people continuing to fight for protections and medications. We've got a big conflict with Russia that could affect us in a nuclear sort of way. And now we've got a lone man walking into a university Philosophy of Gender class with intent to do some damage. He stabbed the professor and two students before being caught by police. 

I was writing an essay for class while this happened on Wednesday, and I was sitting in a large auditorium class in my undergrad during the Montréal Massacre. 

Here's one student's account of the events:

It took no time at all before we started hearing the lone wolf rhetoric. And people talk about mental illness and if this attacker is the cause of this type of violence. 

He's just a player or a pawn, depending on his connections and motives.

The cause goes much deeper to leaders who espouse hatred and prejudice and leaders who turn a blind eye to hate-provoking words, and everyone who defends hate and prejudice, especially with legislation. Responsibility belongs in the hands of leaders and police who allow "Hang Trudeau" signs and noose t-shirts and full on Nazi flags and symbols under the guise of freedom of speech. We have hate propaganda laws on the books so we can stop bigoted underbelly before it settles in. Why aren't we doing that?

Ford went down the road of thoughts and prayers coupled with tough on crime claims that conservatives love:

He missed the prevention part that has to acknowledge the predictable outcome of the rise in anti-2SLGBTQIA+ comments and claims allowed to continue effectively dehumanizing an entire segment of our population. A group likely found in a targeted class studying Philosophy of Gender.

A statement from the president of UW blames the attack on "gender ideology," and I'm not sure if he doesn't understand the term, or if he did that intentionally, and which is worse! In the common vernacular, it's the bigots who are opposed to the gender ideology being indoctrinated by schools today, turning the all the kids gay or trans. It's a loaded term that can have the unwitting effect of reinforcing the haters. So, while he obviously meant well, based on the rest of the comment, that was an unfortunate - ignorant - use of the term. 

Plain and simple, the attack was motivated by prejudice against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. 

Check out SPECTRUM WR's statement by contrast and the statement from our local MPs, or this open letter of solidarity from WGSRF, which anyone can sign. 

The MPs thanked campus police as well as the WRPS, but there were some serious missteps there that need to be addressed, like kids given mixed messages about whether they should stay in the building or get out. It all worked out in the end, but it might not have if he had a gun instead of knives. 

I was also in my undergrad when Bernardo and Homolka were capturing teens off the street in broad daylight, torturing and murdering them. I insisted on walking back and forth to campus on my own, as I always had, despite my boyfriend's objections, because if I start restricting my movements and staying indoors and only walking with an escort of some description, then they've won. They've taken my freedom to live without even knowing me. 

If we start to lock our classroom doors because we are living in fear of more monsters like this, or put in any restrictions around gender studies courses, then they win. 

I used to be angry and protest-y, and I was glad to see that energy at the rally that happened yesterday. Now I'm just sad, despairing of our inability to collectively move beyond prejudices. At certain points, it felt like we had turned a corner and were well on our way, but now we're back at the beginning again. Instead of being energized towards action, I'm resigned that this is just the human condition, and we're going to cycle through this over and over. Part of that cycle IS the protest and rallies - we need to keep pushing back on this inane hatred, but I admit I don't have the chutzpa I once did.

The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. (h/t Hegel) 

I was hoping for platform shoes, but instead we got fascism. (h/t my beautiful twitter DMs)

ETA: an excellent letter: