When Gun Play Enters Politics, In Canada EH?

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN IN CANADA - WHY US?

WE DON'T THINK GUN PLAY WILL ENTER POLITICS

     FOR MOST OF MY LIFE, IN CANADA, I'VE HAD EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE WE ARE A PROFOUNDLY DEMOCRATIC AND SAFE COUNTRY. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED TERRIBLE MOMENTS IN HISTORY, SUCH AS THE FLQ CRISIS OF THE 1970'S. IT'S JUST THAT WHEN WE GET A TEASER BEFORE THE NIGHTLY NEWS, HEARING ABOUT AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, WE AUTOMATICALLY THINK THE EVENT MUST HAVE OCCURRED IN THE UNITED STATES. IT'S HOW NAIVE AND A LITTLE DELUDED WE ARE, THAT WE DROP OUR GUARD ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN ON THIS GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL CONTINENT, WHEN ANGER MANIFESTS WITH DEADLY FORCE.

     THE NEWS ABOUT THE RECENT SHOOTING AFTER THE QUEBEC ELECTION, SURPRISES US TO A STUPOR. YET BASED ON THE EVENTS SOUTH OF THE BORDER, AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, THIS REALLY ISN'T AS EXCEPTIONAL, AS WE FEEL NOW, MULLING OVER THE CANADIAN WAY THAT STOPS THIS NONSENSE IN ITS TRACKS. DEBATE, PROTEST, CARRY A PLACARD, REFUSE TO PAY YOUR TAXES, BUT NEVER, EVER SHOOT SOMEONE BECAUSE YOU'RE PISSED OFF AT A POLITICAL OUTCOME.

     THE CHAP WHO CARRIED A RIFLE AND FIRE-STARTING MATERIALS TO THE PQ VICTORY CELEBRATION, FOLLOWING THE PROVINCIAL ELECTION IN QUEBEC, WEARING A BATHROBE AND A MASK, WAS A PRETTY RECOGNIZABLE FIGURE, IF WE WERE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITH ILL INTENT, AS WE SHOULD BE. ESPECIALLY WITH ALL WE KNOW ABOUT POLITICALLY MOTIVATED VIOLENCE. AND THE POTENTIAL OF UNSTABLE PEOPLE TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS, PREVAILING THEIR BRAND OF JUSTICE, TO MAKE THINGS EVEN. A WEAPON IS DISCHARGED. ONE DEAD, ANOTHER SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE MAN WHO FIRED THE FATALS SHOTS, KNEW HIS WAY AROUND A FIREARM. A LODGE OWNER IN NORTHERN QUEBEC, WE ARE TOLD, HE WASN'T A NEWBY WITH AMMO AND GUN. WHAT TURNED HIM FROM WILDLIFE TO HUMAN LIFE? POLITICS? WHY THERE WASN'T MORE THAN ADEQUATE SECURITY AT THIS EVENT, BEGS THE QUESTION, WHETHER THEY TRULY APPRECIATED THE ESCALATING WORRIES ABOUT THE ISSUE OF QUEBEC SEPARATION?

    IT'S A PRETTY BIG ISSUE, EVEN FOR US IN ONTARIO, SO WE CAN IMAGINE JUST HOW DIRE THE SITUATION IS FOR SOME FIGHTING-MAD RESIDENTS OF QUEBEC. HOW BAD IS IT? IT'S ONE THING FOR PEOPLE TO BE SELLING OFF THEIR PROPERTIES IN THE PROVINCE, AND PLANNING TO MOVE AWAY, BUT A PRETTY SERIOUS TWIST TO GRAB UP SOME FIREPOWER, TO MAKE A SHARPER POINT. AS FOR HIS STATEMENT THAT HIS ACTIONS WILL "WAKE UP THE ENGLISH," MAY WORK THE OPPOSITE, TO INFLAME EMOTIONS, AND INCITE ADDITIONAL VIOLENCE. 

     AND THERE ARE A LOT OF EMOTIONS BEING STIRRED, AS THOSE WHO DON'T WANT ANOTHER REFERENDUM, POTENTIALLY, HAVE TO FACE THE RHETORIC AND CRUEL POLITICAL DEBATE, FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. WAS IT THE CASE THIS ANGRY CONSTITUENT, HAD SIMPLY SNAPPED UNDER THE PRESSURE OF A POLITICAL REALITY? TRYING TO FIGURE HIS MOTIVES OUT, IS FAR MORE COMPLEX, THAN ATTEMPTING TO EXPLAIN HOW A BIG LAD, WITH A RIFLE, HANDGUN AND FLAMMABLE COCKTAIL, WAS ABLE TO GET SO CLOSE TO THE PQ LEADER. IT SEEMS ABSURD TO MANY OF US PEACE-LOVING, LIGHT-HEARTED CANADIANS, THAT ANYONE WOULD TAKE POLITICS THIS SERIOUSLY. LOOK AT THE TURN-OUT FOR THE LAST FEDERAL ELECTION. A HUGE WHACK OF CANADIANS COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS ABOUT THE OUTCOME. THIS SAME MISERABLE TURN-OUT HAPPENS A LOT THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY IN MUNICIPALITIES, WHERE RESIDENTS OFTEN FEEL ONE POLITICIAN IS AS GOOD AS THE OTHER……AND WHAT'S THE POINT OF VOTING? THIS ISN'T MY OPINION, BUT IT IS A TROUBLE ONE THAT IS SPREADING THROUGHOUT OUR COUNTRY.

    TO BECOME SO ENRAGED WITH THE TIDE OF PROVINCIAL POLITICS, THAT A BULLET IS THE "DECIDER," IS DEFINITELY A POWDER-KEG SITUATION WE HAVEN'T KNOWN TOO MUCH IN CANADIAN POLITICS…..BUT FRANKLY, SOMETHING THAT MAY BECOME FAR MORE PREVALENT IN THE FUTURE. WHAT CONCERNS ME, IS THE MISUNDERSTANDING, IN POLITICS, OF HOW MUCH RAGE EXISTS OUT THERE, WITH GOVERNMENT GENERALLY. THE STAFF MIGHT BE PRETTY GOOD AT TROUBLE SHOOTING IN PARLIAMENT, BUT I'M NOT AT ALL SURE THEY REALIZE THE TRUE MEASURE OF DISILLUSIONMENT BY CANADIANS, SOME WHO HAVE BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR YEARS, AND WHO MAY HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES AS A RESULT. AFTER YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING YOU CONSIDERED IMPORTANT IN LIFE, WHAT IS THE DOWN SIDE, IN A DELUDED, ANGRY STATE, OF TAKING A POT SHOT AT A POLITICIAN? DELUSION WORKS THIS WAY. I COME BACK TO THE FACT, THEY HAD VERY LOOSE SECURITY FOR THIS VICTORY GATHERING IN QUEBEC. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? OBVIOUSLY THAT NOTHING WAS GOING TO DAMPEN THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE EVENING. IT'S A FACT OF LIFE AND PUBLIC PROFILE, AND WELLING-UP ANGER WITH A DEMOCRACY MANY SEE AS FAILING.

     I REMEMBER GROWING UP, AND HEARING MY DAD TALK ABOUT THE HORRIBLE DIEFENBAKER DECISION, TO SHUT DOWN THE AVRO ARROW. I STILL HEAR THAT TO THIS DAY. I WAS GLUED TO THE SET DURING THE FLQ CRISIS, AND I WAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNED WHEN A MURDER WAS ASSOCIATED WITH WHAT HAD BEGUN AS A KIDNAPPING…..THAT WHILE NOT BENIGN DIDN'T HAVE TO BECOME A FATAL CIRCUMSTANCE. AND I GREW UP FAST IN THE 60'S, FIRST WITH THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, (AND PEOPLE BUILDING FALL-OUT SHELTERS IN THEIR BACKYARDS) THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY, THEN HIS BROTHER BOBBY, AND MARTIN LUTHER KING. THEY WERE AMERICAN TRAGEDIES. THINGS LIKE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN CANADA. THEN CAME THE FLQ, AND OUR SAFE NATION WAS A LITTLE LESS SO. THIS WEEK WE HAVE LEARNED THAT WE ARE JUST AS VULNERABLE TO THE PLANNED ASSASSINATION OF OUR POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES, AS ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

     THEN WE HAPHAZARDLY FORGET THOSE WHO ARE INTENSELY PASSIONATE ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. UNHAPPY WITH WHAT THEY SEE AS A THREAT TO THEIR CIVIL LIBERTIES. TO HUGE EXCESS SOME TIMES. OBSESSIVELY SO. THEN THERE'S THE MENTAL ILLNESS THAT LURKS LIKE A SHADOW, FRIENDS AND FAMILIES KNOW EXISTS, BUT REFUSE TO CONFRONT. THE DEEP-SEEDED HATRED THAT FUELS TRAGIC EVENTS OF GUN-PLAY. A POLITICAL INTERPRETATION, BY THESE DELUDED INDIVIDUALS, THAT GOVERNMENT IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE. ANGER TURNS TO HATE, AND HATE TO RESIGNATION THAT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

     I AM A PACIFIST. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO. I WOULD RATHER USE WORDS TO MAKE A POINT. I WOULD RATHER USE DEMOCRACY AS IT WAS INTENDED. BUT ONLY THE FOOL, WOULD DENY JUST HOW ANGRY CITIZENS ARE, IN THIS COUNTRY, ABOUT THE ETCHING OF MODERN DAY POLITICS OVER-TOP OUR HISTORY, AND THE WAY DEMOCRACY IS SEEN AS BEING VIGOROUSLY DIMINISHED, BY POLITICAL TAMPERING…….WITHOUT SEEMINGLY A CARE HOW THE PUBLIC FEELS ABOUT THE APPARENT SURRENDER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS AS CANADIANS. WE DON'T JUST GET POLITICAL AT ELECTION TIME. WE DON'T GET INTERESTED IN THE WELFARE OF DEMOCRACY, WHEN IT'S TIME TO ELECT A NEW GOVERNMENT. AND WHEN A NEW GOVERNMENT IS ELECTED, WE EXPECT THEM, DESPITE THEIR POLITICAL STRIPE, TO PRESERVE THE RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION. HOW MANY CANADIANS FEEL DISENFRANCHISED FROM GOVERNMENT? HOW MANY CANADIANS FEEL THEY HAVE LOST THEIR VOICE IN GOVERNANCE? FOR SOME CITIZENS, THERE IS A BREAKING POINT. IT'S JUST HARD TO TAKE, THAT THIS DISENCHANTMENT REACHES THE POINT OF AN ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION, AND THE DEATH AND INJURY OF THOSE NOT INVOLVED IN A SINGLE POLITICAL DECISION. THEY WERE BYSTANDERS. IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME. YET THE DELAY, GETTING PAST THESE VICTIMS, MAY HAVE SAVED THE PREMIER ELECT FROM A TRAGIC FATE.

     IT'S NOT JUST THAT A SHOOTING OCCURRED. IT'S NOT JUST THE CASE A MADMAN HAD HIS MOMENT TO PLAY THE "EQUALIZER" STRATEGY. WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS THINKING IN ADVANCE OF THE SHOOTING. HOW DID HE FEEL GUN-PLAY WAS GOING TO SOLVE THE POLITICAL CRISIS, AS HE ASSUMED THE PQ VICTORY HAD HERALDED? WAS HE PLANNING TO BE A MARTYR, IN THE ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE FEDERATION? OR WAS HE JUST CRAZY-CRAZY? 

     HOW DOES SOMEONE GET THIS MAD AT GOVERNMENT, THAT RAGE EQUATES DEATH AS FAIR PLAY? EVEN THEIR OWN DEMISE BECOMES IRRELEVANT! WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO THIS WEEK'S SHOOTING, NOT JUST IN REGARDS TO A BREACH OF SECURITY. WE SHOULD FIND OUT HOW MANY OTHERS OUT THERE, FEEL THE GUNMAN WAS JUSTIFIED. WE'D BE JUST PLAIN STUPID NOT TO APPRECIATE THAT SOME DISGRUNTLED CANADIANS WOULD HAVE FELT THE SHOOTING WAS JUSTIFIED, BUT THE TARGET WASN'T ACHIEVED. COPY-CATS. I THINK THE DOOR HAS BEEN PULLED WIDE OPEN, FOR ALL OF US TO SEE, THAT BAD THINGS HAPPEN IN CANADA TOO. IT'S NOT JUST AN AMERICAN THING, AS WE LIKE TO OPINE, WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS ELSEWHERE…..WHEN HISTORY SHOWS, WE'RE AS VULNERABLE TO VIOLENCE AS ANYWHERE ON EARTH. WE JUST HATE THE THOUGHT OF IT.   

     THANK YOU FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. PLEASE JOIN ME AGAIN SOON.

     AS A FOOTNOTE: I HAVE BEEN THE SPOUSE OF A TEACHER FOR 31 YEARS. THERE ISN'T A DAY THAT GOES BY, THAT I DON'T WORRY ABOUT INSUFFICIENT SECURITY WHERE SHE WORKS, TO PROTECT STUDENTS AND STAFF. WHEN I HEAR OR READ ABOUT A SCHOOL SHOOTING, I IMMEDIATELY REACT, BY SUGGESTING IT'S TIME FOR HER TO RETIRE. SHE ASSURES ME THERE IS SECURITY, AND AN EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO QUELL THE EVENT, AND LOCK-DOWN THE FACILITY. I'M GLAD SHE IS SECURE IN THIS WAY. BUT IT DOESN'T DO A DARN THINK FOR ME. THERE'S A NEW REALITY OUT THERE, AND IT'S HAPPENING FAR TO FREQUENTLY, AND IT SEEMS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAUTIOUS. ALL WE HAVE TO CONSIDER, IS HOW A GUNMAN, THIS WEEK, WAS ABLE TO PENETRATE WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SECURE FACILITY, AND CAUSE SUCH HUMAN CASUALTIES. AS THERE ARE NO SHORTAGE OF WEAPONS OUT THERE, AND A LOT OF ANGER, IT WOULD SEEM TO ME, A GOOD TIME TO INVESTIGATE OUR INSECURITIES…..FINDING THE HOLES IN WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE SAFE, DISCOVERING INSTEAD, IT LEAKS LIKE A SIEVE.