Sunday Evening OT

This week, there's some anniversaries, including the event that caused Dec. 6 to be declared a national day of remembrance in Canada. For cheerfuller things, skip to paragraph 4.

Less cheerful things begin here: Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada, it being the anniversary of the 1989 mass shooting in Montreal. The shooter targeted young women in an engineering school, separating the women from their male classmates and murdering fourteen women. You can read more about the fourteen women here: Remember the 14 or head over to Canadian twitter by searching #16days #polytechnique

It's especially poignant this year, given that the trial for the man accused in the Toronto van attack is currently underway. He was (allegedly) involved in incel groups online, which (allegedly) was his motive for the attack. Domestic violence organizations basically everywhere have seen an increase in calls this year, as more people are stuck at home under stressful conditions. So today, I'm taking some time to remember the fourteen in Montreal, and both the survivors and victims of gender-based violence.

More cheerful things begin here:

On the upside, here's something we can do to address human rights, discrimination and violence of many kinds while many of us are staying home or under lockdown. December 10th is Amnesty International's annual Write for Rights campaign. It falls on the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Each year, Amnesty highlights 10 cases of human rights abuses, where they feel a coordinated letter writing campaign can make a big difference. You can read more about Write for Rights here: Write for Rights USA    Write for Rights Canada   Write for Rights UK    Write for Rights Australia 

Amnesty USA also has a page about the human rights issues they would like to see the Biden admin prioritize. https://bidenhumanrightspriorities.amnestyusa.org/

 This week, I'll be writing letters and emails for the campaign, and if you'd like, we can have a virtual letter- writing party on the 10th.

Whew. All of that is a bit heavy. How go your holiday preparations, or your weekend relaxation?

PS I tried to make the photo a more reasonable size. How do I change it?