Today, students drowned out a small anti-transgender demonstration that took place mere steps from UBC’s Pride installation outside the Nest.
Two individuals not affiliated with UBC came to campus this afternoon with materials denying the existence of transgender people, while stressing conservative Christian values.
“I’m protesting censorship on university campuses and human rights commissions, and the imposition of transgender ideology and the inability to be able to freely speak out on this topic, as evidenced by some of the responses,” said Bill Whatcott, a demonstrator and well-known anti-LGBT activist.
This is not the first time Whatcott has hosted an anti-LGBT demonstration on university campuses, having appeared at the University of Calgary and theUniversity of Regina in 2016.
Around a dozen UBC students responded by chanting “trans rights are human rights” and “trans bodies are safe here.” Some carried large Pride flags to block the demonstration from view.
> The college I attended was small and very LGBT friendly. One day someone came to visit and used the word “gay” as a pejorative, as was common in the early 2000s. A current student looked at the visitor and flatly said, “we don’t do that here.” The guest started getting defensive and explaining that they weren’t homophobic and didn’t mean anything by it. The student replied, “I’m sure that’s true, but all you need to know is we don’t do that here.” The interaction ended at that point, and everyone moved on to different topics. “We don’t do that here” was a polite but firm way to educate the newcomer about our culture. […]
> It turns out talking about diversity, inclusion, and even just basic civil behavior can be controversial in technical spaces. I don’t think it should be, but I don’t get to make the rules. When I’m able I’d much rather spend the time to educate someone about diversity and inclusion issues and see if I can change how they see the world a bit. But I don’t always have the time and energy to do that. And sometimes, even if I did have the time, the person involved doesn’t want to be educated.
> This is when I pull out “we don’t do that here.” It is a conversation ender. If you are the newcomer and someone who has been around a long time says “we don’t do that here”, it is hard to argue. This sentence doesn’t push my morality on anyone. If they want to do whatever it is elsewhere, I’m not telling them not to. I’m just cluing them into the local culture and values. If I deliver this sentence well it carries no more emotional weight than saying, “in Japan, people drive on the left.” “We don’t do that here” should be a statement of fact and nothing more. It clearly and concisely sets a boundary, and also makes it easy to disengage with any possible rebuttals.
> Me: “You are standing in that person’s personal space. We don’t do that here.”
> Them: “But I was trying to be nice.”
> Me: “Awesome, but we don’t stand so close to people here.”
> Them: Tells an off-color joke.
> Me: “We don’t do that here.”
> Them: “But I was trying to be funny.”
> Me (shrugging): “That isn’t relevant. We don’t do that here.”
I really really do want to endorse this. Making a person’s behavior about capital-M Morality is a great way to get people to dig in their feet and escalate situations. By going “Hey, that behavior doesn’t fit in this context.” it removes a ton of the resentment and toxicity on both sides of the interaction.
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Honor those killed in anti-trans acts of violence; mourn the lights in our community that have gone out; say their names and tell their stories; and vow to fight for those still with us.
On Saturday, November 17th, the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) party voted to pass a resolution that would deny recognizing gender identity theory, during a three-day convention in Toronto.
PC Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Tanya Granic Allen proposed the resolution, which reads, “Be it resolved that an Ontario PC Party recognizes “gender identity theory” for what it is, namely, a highly controversial, unscientific “liberal ideology”; and, as such, that an Ontario PC Government will remove the teaching and promotion of “gender identity theory” from Ontario schools and its curriculum.”
The motion follows the PC’s decision to rescind the updated 2015 sexual education curriculum introduced under the former Liberal government, and reinstate the curriculum from 1998, which excludes topics such as gender identity and online safety.
Since the passing of this vote, numerous members of the transgender community have spoken out to condemn the PC’s decision, advocating for policies that protect the rights and safety of trans and gender diverse peoples.
NDP Leader, Jagmeet Singh responds to Ontario PC delegates that voted for a motion calling for Gender Identity to be erased in the government and in Schools.
He also calls out Conservative Party of Canada Leader, Andrew Scheer who was at this Ontario PC convention, asking him if he agrees with motion that was put forward:
People in Ontario, especially young people, should feel safe being who they are – @OntarioPCParty advanced a motion that seeks to erase diverse gender identities. This is an attack on LGBT & gender non-binary people. @AndrewScheer, you were there today. Do you agree with this?
Delegates at their convention just passed a resolution which says Gender Identity is not real and “an Ontario PC government will remove the teaching and promotion of “Gender Identity Theory” from schools and its curriculum”
UPDATE: Now they’re backpeddling a bit saying they will only debate it at their next convention.
Hey, Ontarians? Now would be a fantastic time to descend on your Conservative MPPs offices in an angry horde. Call them. Email them. Make appointments in person, if you can–make them look you in the eye and explain how they’re gonna sleep at night while enabling the deaths and discrimination of queer youth.
Teens, this means you, too. These are your lives and futures on the line, and you have every right to speak to your representatives, to organize protests and school walkouts, to decide that you deserve better than this. Because you absolutely fucking do.
Why I never mock or even bring attention to mispronunciation in a conversation, and will snap down anyone who tries to
Besides poverty, for many peoplevEnglish is a second (or third+) language and has weird rules too.
Most of the time, even when words are mispronounced, they’re still understandable if you make an effort. Just be patient and don’t look down on people who mispronounce!
Also social anxiety and/or autism (among other things) will do that to you – anything where you grew up reading much more than you spoke (and getting shut down for mispronunciation when you do speak up does a whole lot to *keep* you quiet, turns out)
This is part of why the concept of “proper English” and “speaking properly” in general is classist, along with ableist and racist.
This is part of why when tone policing people or applying respectability politics about the way they speak, is as well, and is also why implying someone is less educated and/or less important because of how they speak, is too.
Vahan Kololian is chairman of the The Mosaic Institute.
Most Canadians are shocked to hear that Canada has the fourth highest level of gun violence amongst OECD nations. A revealing comparison is with Japan, which has an absolute ban on firearms. Japan reports an average of 0.005 firearm homicides per 100,000 people per year. Canada, by the same measure, averages 0.48, nearly 100 times that of Japan. The United States, at 3.65, is at almost 730 times the Japanese statistic.
The carnage of shootings in Toronto, Fredericton, Quebec City and Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville are painful examples of gun violence’s tragic effects. In the wake of these incidents, the common reaction is “thoughts and prayers.” Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. Our objective must be to eradicate gun violence by addressing its primary cause: the ease of access to guns. We must criminalize possession of all firearms in Canada.
This is a justifiably pragmatic policy recommendation, not an overreaction. There are some clear exceptions: licensed hunters, gun clubs, sports shooters and law enforcement. Barring these, there is absolutely no justifiable reason for an individual to be carrying a firearm.
Hey Toronto, there is an anti-fascist protest being planned tomorrow afternoon (November 10th, 2018) against PEGIDA, an islamophobic and xenophobic group. They expect other far right groups will also be joining them
Information:
Once again PEGIDA (the “Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes”) is planning to hold an anti-Muslim, anti-refugee rally in Mel Lastman Square. Once again, we expect various far-right groups to take part, including the Proud Boys, the Northern Guard, the Three Percenter militia, and others. And once again, we intended to shut it down.
TAF will be there to stand against racism and fascism. Please come out and support Muslims, refugees, immigrants, and all others under threat by these organizations.
VOTE LIKE YOUR FUTURE DEPENDED ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES!
❤ ALL OF THIS ❤
Get out and vote regardless of whether it seems like its a “Sure thing” or seems “Hopeless”…there’s no such thing as a sure thing and there is always ALWAYS a chance that your vote can make a difference no matter how hopeless it might seem…
Just to be clear: I dislike the Democrats. I don’t feel that they reflect my values, and I find them mostly ineffectual.
BUT
The Republican party is a complete dumpster fire right now. I’m voting to keep white supremacists, transphobes, social Darwinists, and fascists out of places of power. I’m voting like lives depend on it, because they literally do.
I don’t like the Democrats, but you can be damned sure I’m voting for them this week, every chance I get. You should too.
Queer Fiction Writer 