What will you do to further reconciliation?

This photo features what the Canadian Oath of Citizenship SHOULD say if the government passes a bill to update it to meet one of the points in the Truth and Reconciliation's 94 calls to action

Here's a link to my opinion piece that came out today on the CBC-Manitoba website:

'What will you do to further reconciliation?' Canadians need to act on MMIWG inquiry's calls for justice

I wrote this piece in response to being asked this "What will you do' question. In responding, I was reflecting on how all the inquiries seem to request  many similar things from the people and government of Canada... And few or none of the-totally valid-points are being dealt with properly or promptly in response.

(In other--less important-- household news, it's Shavuot, my kids have had way too much ice cream this weekend, and they also did very well at their first piano recital.  There's a lot going on, all at once-as usual- at my house.)

Celebrating who we are

Happy first day of Hanukah!  We're having a blast. I hope you are, too--eating lots of doughnuts and latkes? So far, we've done arts and crafts, (note--see sticker mosaics by squinting...) made robot dreidls and heard fun Hanukah music with banjo accompaniment. (yes, really)
It's been great!

Also, this piece ran in the Winnipeg Free Press today:
Recreation facilities often unfit for people with disabilities:
 Everyone pays for recreation facilities, so we should all be able to use them. That includes people with disabilities.

These topics seem to go together, in my mind...it's about that phrase "we all have a right." 
...Just as we all should have a right to celebrate religious freedom, all of us, even those with special needs, should have a right to access recreation, like swimming and skating.

This blog is now 13 years old!

  Click here to check out a bunch of other random fun blog stories about Hanukah.

Kids Speak Truth to Power

Here's my latest opinion piece for the CBC Manitoba website:

Bravery of children speaking out against gun violence needs to be supported, celebrated

Fierce

I think you'd have to be fierce like a lion to be a fundraiser in the Jewish community.  (Note homemade lion Purim costume for emphasis...he wore an orange -handknit-sweater and a pair of pants with a big handmade tail, too...!)

I read this article about harassment of women who work as fundraisers in the Jewish community, published by the JTA, and it really bothered me.  I followed it up by writing this opinion piece, which was published by the Jewish Independent this week:
A need for ethical guidelines
(My working title was something along the lines of: Ritual Sacrifice?  Or sacrificing fundraisers?)

On the broader topic, I've written little so far that specifically addresses the #MeToo movement.  That isn't because I have nothing to say.  I have so much to say that I don't know where to start.  The problem is so pervasive.  The worst part is that I haven't encountered a single woman who doesn't have something to say about this, based on her lived experience.

For me, it seemed so clear when I had a brief conversation at the dining room table with my mom and she said something like "Oh, what's coming out now is only the tip of the iceberg."  We talked about how we'd handled it previously, often with laughter. For a long time, all you could do is talk about the harassment or awful unwanted attention/physical assaults with your female friends and family and---laugh.  It was embarrassing and awful and...there was little one could do to fix things. Bringing up these issues in public only resulted in shame. It potentially also drew more abuse--as if we, as victims, caused this unwanted male attention, touch or assault. (If I'd only worn something else, sat in a public area, taken a different train...the list goes on.) This movement is a first step in a long process.

As a writer, I feel obligated to amplify unjust things as I can.  I am not fierce or as brave as some of these professionals who spoke out in a way that threatened their livelihood...but I owe it to them to step up and help.

poke in the eye?

My letter to the editor appeared today here in the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper.
For those who haven't heard about this case, recently a judge decided that a Manitoba rape victim's clothing implied "consent" and decided not to assign the rapist ANY jail time. Here's the latest on the case.

Unfortunately, one of the newspaper columnists had some convoluted reasoning when it came to this case. Her conclusions involved thinking that knitters were safe from sexual assault. I wish it were so...but alas, that is just not the case.

On a lighter note, I have more to post this week--the professor took some lovely photos of Festival du Voyageur. He went with some friends last weekend. --I stayed home as the windchills were -40 this year. However, I look forward to sharing the photos with you!