Thursday, November 24, 2011

Attention local newspaper editor... activists are active!

This letter was sent to Marc Zienkiewicz, the managing editor of Interlake Publishing. It was in response to his November 17th editorial in the Selkirk Journal. (selkirkjournal.com) I doubt he'll publish it so I decided I should take charge and post it here:

Marc,
I am thankful there are activists who question our society. Many are educated and thoughtful. Some are not, but they want to get involved anyway. I think they see hungry children and addicted adults and mental illness and family violence. They see hurt. I think they also see obese teenagers and electronic baby toys and extravagant homes with three car garages. They see inequality and waste. Canada is an amazing country for many people, but for others, it is filled with discrimination and intolerance. Activists want to take action to change this.

Activists are far from lazy. Some grow guerilla gardens in empty city lots. They share the food. Some teach people how to fix their own bikes, so they can get themselves around. Others live and work cooperatively, not competitively, so everyone wins. Some activists create and perform music to express their frustrations. And some choose to occupy public spaces to make a statement.

Taking time to hear different perspectives benefits us all.

I have heard yours, in your unsettling November 17th editorial, “Good riddance, you lazy hippies” and now you have heard mine. Like you, I could go on all day, but I will stop before I sink to the level of self-righteous name-calling.

Peace.

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