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Land of the Q
05/16/13 3:35 pm
Imagine the
1950's... Hoop skirts, hot rods, mom at home and every household
single income, 2.5 kids and a car in every driveway. The war
was a memory and everything seemed to be going just right for most
people in Canada. The advent of television and kids hanging
out at the malt shops that dotted the land, drive up dining, drive
in theaters, and the culture of the car... Life was good - it was
peaceful. Social unrest had not found its way into the minds
of most people... yet.
Not so easy if you identified as gay or lesbian back then however. If you knew someone who was "Gay" well... they were sick - it was a disease. Much easier to put them in a hospital and cure them of this illness by shocking the "gay" out of them. Nothing a good jolt of electricity could not fix, and if that did not work... well there was always the lobotomy. A lot of families opted for some form of hospitalization or treatment, better to have a sick son than a gay one. That is if the offending party had the courage to come out and say "I am gay". For most, it was simply easier to keep it secret, locked away in the closet. To do otherwise was to risk the freedom to walk the streets.
Picture now a young man standing on the steps of the courthouse in the mid 1950's asking for equality, preaching to people who studiously avoided his look and ignored his words. Why would anyone be asking for equality? Women had the vote, unemployment was at record lows, we won the war! Our Utopian society just got its gloss back, how could anyone think that life was not... simply groovy?
Anyway, who was this upstart who was trying to shatter the illusion we had built? He's a freak, he is sick... easier to just ignore him. He'll go away... and if he doesn't the police will take care of it for us.
Now that young man, was part of a family of the rarest kind in those days. He told them he was gay and they still supported and loved him. This was not an ill person, this was their child, brother, grandson. Imagine the frustration knowing that he was not "abnormal" that he was a human being. Being yelled down was one thing, people were paying attention to him, but ignored... treated as though he did not exist... that was worse, it was more lonely.
Pay Attention to me! Look at me! I am a HUMAN BEING! Listen to me! All the cries in the world - and still he was nothing, he was ignored - discounted.
So one day, this young man did something that shocked them all. He found a way to make them pay attention, to make them listen. It was not by lighting anything on fire, or by hurting anyone. He did not vandalize, or destroy. No, this young man with the courage of lions did one simple thing that rocked people to their very cores.
He put on a dress.
So it happened that in the 1950's on the steps of the Vancouver courthouse a young man put on a dress, donned costume jewelry, painted his face and started to talk about equality for all mankind. He made sure that he did not break the law so they could not arrest him... three pieces of men's clothing he must wear, and three pieces he wore. He never took a woman's name, he was always Mr. no matter what - But there he stood in all his glory - a man in a dress.
Now they listened to him, now they paid attention.
60 years later and a lifetime of fighting for equality, they still pay attention, they still listen when he speaks. This man that is arguably the father of the gay movement in Canada, founder of the first gay march in 1963, the first gay businessman's guild, the Courts of Canada and the man that through thousands of handwritten letters convinced our government to decriminalize homosexuality. This man who is known and loved across Canada, Mr. ted northe.
Not so easy if you identified as gay or lesbian back then however. If you knew someone who was "Gay" well... they were sick - it was a disease. Much easier to put them in a hospital and cure them of this illness by shocking the "gay" out of them. Nothing a good jolt of electricity could not fix, and if that did not work... well there was always the lobotomy. A lot of families opted for some form of hospitalization or treatment, better to have a sick son than a gay one. That is if the offending party had the courage to come out and say "I am gay". For most, it was simply easier to keep it secret, locked away in the closet. To do otherwise was to risk the freedom to walk the streets.
Picture now a young man standing on the steps of the courthouse in the mid 1950's asking for equality, preaching to people who studiously avoided his look and ignored his words. Why would anyone be asking for equality? Women had the vote, unemployment was at record lows, we won the war! Our Utopian society just got its gloss back, how could anyone think that life was not... simply groovy?
Anyway, who was this upstart who was trying to shatter the illusion we had built? He's a freak, he is sick... easier to just ignore him. He'll go away... and if he doesn't the police will take care of it for us.
Now that young man, was part of a family of the rarest kind in those days. He told them he was gay and they still supported and loved him. This was not an ill person, this was their child, brother, grandson. Imagine the frustration knowing that he was not "abnormal" that he was a human being. Being yelled down was one thing, people were paying attention to him, but ignored... treated as though he did not exist... that was worse, it was more lonely.
Pay Attention to me! Look at me! I am a HUMAN BEING! Listen to me! All the cries in the world - and still he was nothing, he was ignored - discounted.
So one day, this young man did something that shocked them all. He found a way to make them pay attention, to make them listen. It was not by lighting anything on fire, or by hurting anyone. He did not vandalize, or destroy. No, this young man with the courage of lions did one simple thing that rocked people to their very cores.
He put on a dress.
So it happened that in the 1950's on the steps of the Vancouver courthouse a young man put on a dress, donned costume jewelry, painted his face and started to talk about equality for all mankind. He made sure that he did not break the law so they could not arrest him... three pieces of men's clothing he must wear, and three pieces he wore. He never took a woman's name, he was always Mr. no matter what - But there he stood in all his glory - a man in a dress.
Now they listened to him, now they paid attention.
60 years later and a lifetime of fighting for equality, they still pay attention, they still listen when he speaks. This man that is arguably the father of the gay movement in Canada, founder of the first gay march in 1963, the first gay businessman's guild, the Courts of Canada and the man that through thousands of handwritten letters convinced our government to decriminalize homosexuality. This man who is known and loved across Canada, Mr. ted northe.
Bullying... are we missing something?
05/13/13 2:53 pm
We are all
well to aware of bullying and the impact that it has on our youth,
far too often leading to tragedy and loss of life. Bullying
has quickly become the hot topic in media and with governments that
are working on legislating protection.
All of
this exposure and attention are good things, they are highlighting
an issue that for years was simply viewed as "kids being
kids". The advancement of the Internet and in particular
social media has provided would-be-bullies with a new outlet
to participate in thew action of bullying. In many
cases the anonymity of the virtual world has opened the doors to
people becoming bullies who would otherwise not engage in this
behavior.
We focus
on bullying as an activity conducted by people against another
because that is what it is. Bullying is a
behavior. Is it possible however that in our focus
on the act of bullying we are neglecting to understand and
address the underlying reason behind why people bully
others?
It is
believed by some experts that bullies engage in the behavior to
experience a "thrill" or a sense of power power over another
person. That the behavior is a symptom of other issues, such
as a lack of self esteem in themselves, or a need to feel some form
of control due to a lack of it in other aspects of their
lives.
Regardless
of the reason for why someone bullies another, perhaps we need to
look at educating our youth more effectively on understanding the
rights of others. In the end, is that not what bullying
really is? The act of one person suppressing the rights of
another or punishing them because they are not perceived to fit
into the "norm" which the bully feels their victim should
fit?
In the
end, is this really not all about human rights? Our own
individual rights to live our lives free of persecution and
discrimination because we do not conform to another persons view of
who we should be? I once heard it said that when a
person attacks another it is because of fear. Fear
of the unknown, or fear of what they do not understand. In
some cases even that they see some of themselves in that other
person and it is a characteristic that they do not like about
themself and are afraid of it being exposed to society in
themselves.
Many of
the Stop Bullying campaigns work to educate our youth on why
bullying is wrong, how to stop bullying, how to spot bullying,
etc. All of which is valuable information. Perhaps we
need to expand the level of education to include why human rights
are so fundamentally important, and teaching our youth to celebrate
differences.
If we can
show young people the value of diversity and help them to accept
people for who they are, and show them that it is our differences
that make us a strong society, perhaps they will better understand
why bullying is wrong. After all, we each of us have
strengths and weaknesses, a bully preys on our weaknesses and uses
them to their own advantage.
Q Hall of Fame comes to Toronto
05/02/13 8:46 pm
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04/18/13 1:40 pm
Land of the Q
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The Words Hurt Campaign
The power of the word.
It can heal, lift one's spirits, and
it can hurt. Words can change a person's life and they can
leave a lasting impression.
Far too often our youth experience
how much words can hurt and cause long term psychological
damage. Words can even drive a young promising person to take
their own life.
Social Media is all about using words
through technology and it has been created to bring our society
together. We have seen how the power of social media can
topple dictatorships, can educate and protect, but we have also
seen how social media can be abused.
For many youth social media is an
outlet where they can be anonymous and express themselves, often
without truly understanding how the words they write can change the
lives of others, or even their own. Too often we do not stop
to think about how what we say can help or hurt
another.
The Q Hall of Fame Canada is a unique
organization that has a truly national reach through those people
that are honoured and it is through our inductees that we have the
power to reach our youth.
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Q Ball
On October 03, 2013 the world will
turn it's attention to Toronto as the Q Hall of Fame inducts
outstanding Canadians for their contributions to Human
Rights.
But did you know?
Each year we receive hundreds of
nominations for inclusion into the Hall of Fame. All
nominations are made by the community across Canada and all
nominations are vetted by an independent selection committee.
The committee consists of Canadians from across Canada and their
membership in the committee is kept confidential to ensure that
there is no undue influence in the choosing of inductees.
It is a challenging process to
select the six or seven people who will be honoured, but the
committee looks at some key items. Has the nominee
contributed to Human Rights and Equality? Can their contribution be
substantiated by independent third parties? There are many
other key things looked at. For more information on how an
inductee is selected, please visit us at:
http://qhalloffame.ca/nominations/nomination-guidelines/ 01/01/13 3:23 pm
A cold September wind was blowing
across the lake, a signal that fall was here and with it the
nightly frosts that come so early on the prairies. The
lake had not quite started its annual freeze, but the pilots who
landed at the water port knew all to well the signs and started
making sure that the winter landing gear on their float planes was
in good shape. Her husband was off on his duties and should
be coming back soon, time for her to put the kettle on, he was
certain to have felt that chill right to his bones and would be
wanting a hot coffee to thaw himself.
It was a struggle for her to
hoist herself in or out of any but the tallest chairs in the cabin
and she was wrapped in layer of clothing to ward off the chill
air that leaked in around windows and doors. It was high time
to pack up and head back to the warmer climate of the Fraser valley
and her beloved home. It crossed her mind for the hundredth
time that she probably should have stayed at home what with being
so heavy with child, but she was determined to be with her
husband as he fulfilled his duties for the war effort. Of
course she could have come earlier, but the garden was not
quite ready for her and the canning jars, so a couple of weeks
delay was in order. Now the question was do we leave and hope
to make it home before the child comes, or do we wait it
out.
As she stood before the stove she
noticed the vibrant red of the sunset and the way the light danced
around the room. The cloudy cheap glass never gave the
clearest of views, but when the light struck it at certain times of
the day she would have sworn she stood in a great
cathedral with soaring stain glass. These days may be getting
colder, but the rising and setting of the sun in the crisp autumn
air never ceased to take her breath away. She adjusted the
shawl wrapped around her again and wandered over to the window to
experience the full majesty of the sunset just as her life's love
rounded the corner to come home. All thought of the
sunset fled her mind and she felt her breath catch in her
throat. The bright glory of the sunset lit him from behind
and cast his face in shadow framed by a deep rich red laced with
oranges and purples. Most people would not know who was
walking up to the door, but that familiar gait, and the strength of
his frame left her no doubts that this was the same man she shared
her life with.
Her heart filled with the same joy
she experienced every time she saw him after even the shortest
separation. How could she be so lucky to share her life and
build a family with this man was something she never spent much
time pondering on. Today, however he was more on her
mind as the baby was being overactive. With each kick it
reminded her of that passionate night nine months ago when he took
her in his arms. It seems so distant, and yet she could still
feel the heat of his breath on her neck, and it still made her
pulse quicken. These thoughts always led her mind down a
path to remember the day they first met, the first chaste
kiss, and his asking her father for her hand. Ever since that
first meeting her life just seemed to be filled with blessings, and
now she had his child filling her belly. One that seemed to
be very intent on reminding her that the time was getting
close. After a particularly brutal kick, she moved away from
the window to take care of the kettle and set about fixing dinner.
As she moved across the room a twinge in her back made her pause,
she could hear the handle on the door rattle and just as her life's
love opened the door, the first pain of labour brought her to her
knees.
There was no fanfare, no fireworks,
and no one outside of the hospital room knew that on that day
someone quite remarkable was being brought into our
world. She knew that he was more than just a piece of
her heart and soul, more than a new born. Like any
new mother she looked at the new life she held
in her arms and knew that a special life had just
been created. She hoped and dreamed that this small boy
in her arms would do great things, and as she held him to her
breast she wispered to him those very words. She never knew
just how true that would be.
Nominations.
All inductees into the Q Hall of Fame are selected by an independent committee from nominations made by members of our community. We encourage you to take part and nominate your hero for induction into the Q Hall of Fame.» Nominate.
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