One of the differences between Canada and the US is that Canadians tend to remember stuff better and longer. I always note this on November 11th, as poppies and ceremonies here remind folks of World War I far more clearly and directly than either Veterans Day or Memorial Day in the US. Today is another one of those days.
On December 6th, 1989, a man killed these 14 women in very cold blood.
Today we remember 💕
— Celina Caesar-Chavannes (@iamcelinacc) December 6, 2020
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz#16Days
He separated out the men from the women and then executed the women. It was the biggest massacre since the 1800s until this past year (the Nova Scotia spree). The guy killed himself. He might have been the first incel terrorist. Certainly, the violence was misogynist as he declared he was attacking feminism. He went to a school and systematically killed the women.
Every year, this day is marked across Canada, not just in Quebec. Violence against women was not new then or now, but this is the largest attack by a misogynist in Canada. This summer's attack in Nova Scotia was a bit more complex, but the perpetrator had a history of "domestic violence" as well. I put that in quotes since the phrase, to me, sanitizes the beating of women (yes, it applies more broadly).
Anyhow, I can't help but notice that the US does not have national remembrance of its various massacres. Maybe because there are so many, maybe because 14 women is small compared to Tulsa Race Riots (which were lost to history for most Americans until the past few years) or Las Vegas or Orlando. Columbine? Well, we know it is April 20th (Hitler's birthday and all), but we don't mark it. Nor do we mark Sandy Hook, which we damn well should.
Anyhow, I am sad and angry that women face so much violence and other forms of abuse. Today, we are reminded of the toll it has taken. Remember the women who paid the price. And let's not give the man any additional attention or notice. That is what these guys want, so let's deny them that. It is the very least we can do.
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