École Polytechnique murders 32 years ago today

[Rhannion]

Today 6th December marks 32 years since 14 women were murdered in Montreal, Canada. They were shot by because they were women.

Appalling. Some days I find this fight so difficult. It's so demoralizing. Shame on Canada and on the individual who has agreed to speak. Yet another flagrant example of a mysoginistic society failing to appreciate the harm caused to women and girls by this extremist ideology. I'm so fucking tired of this shit.

AlfonsoTheUnrepentant - "If the speaker is the person I think they are, they have a history of owing an extremely large sum of money to an indigenous group"

Is this a history that might be obscured by the prohibition against "dead naming"?

(Apologies for a potential derail)

I put some links on the other thread but obv it's kaput.

I was generally googling to get some context about the rememberance event/s.

From what I found there's lots of different things rather than a main big one. (Anyone knows better sorry and please say).

I read about various orgs doing things, universities, communities coming together and things like that meeting in various different venues to remember together.

So not official, more loads and loads of gatherings all sorts of places of various sizes who would have done different things iyswim.

I was unable to work out who the group who invited that speaker actually were. Big/ small, famous or not, what they do etc in the bit of time I looked.

So no idea if they big audience for this, not much, what they stand for etc.

Anyone know be happy to hear!

So could be just random rather than as I initially assumed a well attended/ the main thing for this day.

Makes a bit of a difference I think.

If you want to read things that will raise blood pressure then Google.

Don't want to bring monitors.

I was tbh really taken aback.

As I say there's not many results which is odd. But the ones there were. Groups and individuals. Talking about how this day really is about other groups that the group murdered. Some strange comments about motivation for violence which were frankly appalling given what happened.

Essentially it's mainly a day to raise awareness for lots of groups but not women.

I saw an episode of Law and Order this week, made in early 2000 ish.

The storyline was a man who couldn't get into medical school because they were prioritising women.
He was told to go to nursing school.

He finds out where they are going to be, the park, he lets the men go and shoots the women.

I thought to myslef could something like that really happen in real life?!
Today I learn this horrific truth, it's already happend.

????

Welllll.

Could a man in real life be so angry at women, because he blames women for everything in his life that isn't what he wanted (expected).
That he goes out and attacks women, even to the point of going out and murdering multiple women?

Yes. This man did it. As men before him have and men after him will.

......

A man in a TV show. With no previous feelings of antagonism towards women (?).
Applies to med school and doesn't get in.
(Did this happen in (?) USA med schools in or around 2000?).

The med school TELLS HIM that he would have got in but they want women who are not as good as him so sorry no place.
(Really???)

And then they TELL HIM to try training to be a nurse.
(Eh? This was a thing? Around 2000? Sorry bloke we want women so can't come but would have got in if we weren't unfairly getting the women.
How about nursing.
???!!!!!????).

And he's so angry about it that with no previous negative feelings about women he goes and kills a load of women.
(Surely he should have targeted those who decided the admissions criteria for women/men but whatever).

No. That's a very very silly idea.
Like too many USA TV dramas though. Esp round 2000. It sends a really really iffy message.

I hadn't read this thread earlier, before it was shut down.

Absolutely no surprise to me that it was reported.

It's an amazing thread.

The outrage, the horror, the overwhelming solidarity with these women.

I'm so moved by the posts of women who remember it. The confusion and quick fear, the anger over reports not getting it. The women who ache for the loss of life and hope, unable to sleep, hugging their own daughters.

It's an intense, gut wrenching, tear filled rage of a thread with a shared, tangible solidarity that no man could ever hope to understand, let alone experience.

It's powerful stuff. A consummate thread, written by formidable women lamenting their amazing sisters.

💐

Hear, hear Datun

These women are long dead, but that does not change our visceral horror to their lives being ended through sheer hatred. Not for something they had done or chosen but for the very fact of existing as women.

Every ounce of rage their deaths inspire in us should be put to good use, even if for me it is just to treasure and educate my own children even more, and hopefully to inspire them with my own actions.

I thought to myslef could something like that really happen in real life?!
Today I learn this horrific truth, it's already happend.

It sounds like it was based on this, I think those shows often did.

From the Guardian piece linked below:

And there’s no doubt that if Lépine existed at the same time as online hate groups and YouTube extremism, he would have used the internet to feed and shape his ideology and plan the shooting, said Liz. “The only difference now is that he would have live-streamed it.”

Yes.

That Law and Order... how bloody disrespectful and distorted.
In the real life case, there were only nine out of about 60 women in the first mech eng class he targeted. A measly 15%. Hardly evidence of women being 'prioritised'. But that was still too many for that man.

I agree it's taking a tragedy, making up a totally unbelievable storyline (they said all that to him? Etc) which casually ignores the global historical ongoing sexism/ exclusion/ discrimination / hostility women and girls have had forever, and around the world still face, when it comes to accessing even basic education.

Opting instead to feature a (good? probably wanted to be a doc) man treated awfully because women who were not as good were being given important things they didn't deserve because they seen as special.

The uni in an extremely counter intuitive move not only tell him he's been done down because of bloody women getting an easy ride. And also suggest he becomes a nurse. A very strongly female stereotyped role. (Rather than anything like I dunno maybe vet, dentist, physio loads of areas of specialisation, that sort of thing).

So naturally it's not maybe an excuse but certainly a sold motivation for a man (previously not violent/antagonism to women??) to get a gun and kill a load of women.

Totally utterly irresponsible.
Especially given that there are a fair number of men out there who would empathise and understand why.
Possibly even encourage.
And of course a mainstream view in society that women are getting special treatment and it's not right.

This stuff gets lapped up. Esp USA TV but here too.

Killing Eve? Liked series one but come on!
Bond lethal hot women for decades
Crime shows with women poisoning, kidnapping, shooting men all over the place
Women masterminding awful crimes and having them carried out by a gang of blokes who are all somehow super obedient to her
Scrolling down TV menu at night. Women who kill! Worst women serial killers!

And etc.

To do it with this atrocity, complete with hard done by man driven to it because women. That's just terrible.

@MrsTerryPratchett

The speaker talked a out getting their bum groped when they were wearing a red dress, saying that they had experienced the same violence.

It may also be worth saying that the red dress is a symbol of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. They are hung on Red Dress Day to symbolise each woman. I don't know if the speaker is Indigenous.

Ffs that really makes it worse. I think the best thing we can do is use our anger and distress to carry on holding the line with regards to the rights of women everywhere to freedom , dignity, privacy, education and safety.