My last blog about my experience of being bullied

Now – I have reached a point in my recovery – wherein talking about having been bullied – is impairing my recovery process from attaining the next level.

Now, I met a woman in 1994 and we have spent the years in between building ourselves a life together – and it hasn’t been easy.

Not because of any interpersonal or family stuff – that’s the normal things that any couple has to experience.

But when you also face – so called “social opposition” – the nice way to say

Discrimination

Intolerance

Violence

Oppression of Rights that anyone else can take for granted

Now – this sounds like a joke – but it’s not –

I joined a facebook group called “I bet I can Find 1 million people to care about gay rights equality”

And – when I explained my Stephen Harper owes Nina $50 – my posts were removed and I was kicked out of the group.

Seriously – apparently – CARING about the lack of rights just means to share links to new stories – and not to encourage people to actually DO SOMETHING about the discrimination and oppression that faces real live people in Canada.

About 250,000 million people in Canada, give or take whatever percentages – I mean – and those quarter of a million people are regular Canadians who all also work for the Federal Canadian Government.

To me – the particular number or percentage of the minority group to the majority population – should not be a factor in upholding and ensuring – enshrining – in fact – in LAW – I mean – aren’t rights protections for the minority against the majority – the whole basis for minority rights in the first place?

The majority – no matter where, what, when or who – CANNOT BE TRUSTED to be fair to a minority – and really – the more hated the minority – the MORE those rights need to be protected.

Now – there are exceptions – and it’s not because of the minority status – it’s also about ethical matters – minority rights do not mean – each and every single minority group.

But the way to tell a good minority from a bad minority – is not anyone’ personal beliefs about morality or goodness.

It’s about a minority which acts in all significant respects the same as the majority.

So – gays and lesbians/sexual/gendered minorities- ethnic minorities, religious minorities, variously abled peoples – whoever you are – as long as you are doing your social contract best – you are deserving of equal recognition and consideration under the law  – these are all ethnically and legally recognized as minorities in need of protection.

Or even, just members of a union – and there’s a vast difference between a private sector union and a public sector union – for many reasons – the public does not support public unions more than private sector ones.

Notice that – women – are absent from the list of minorities – because WOMEN MAKE UP 51% of a normal average human population group. We are the majority.

Now – the minorities that are not good ones – are those who prey on vulnerable people – and – the criminal code/legislation of any secular democratic nation – already have laws to deal with people who sexually or homicidally or otherwise harm other people. These people do not deserve protection as a legal minority group – they deserve to be in prison – until they can demonstrate – that they can understand and respect the social contract of leaving other people – alive and physically wholesome and as untraumatized as humanly possible.

But I am not a law and order person – and there’s a reason for that.

You see – my uncle Gus – died in 1992 owing to diabetic complications and a heart attack. He fell in the bathroom and struck his head against the bathtub.

And I found him – the next day.

Now – I was in my early 20’s when that happened.

 

Sorry, it’s a very difficult subject – you see – this is something that I never talked about before – at least – not directly.

I come from a large family and Uncle Gus – was the heart of our whole operation. He kept everyone together and going strong – he was a very supportive man.

When we wanted to keep the funeral to just family, it wasn’t possible, all the people who wanted to come and just let us know – how much Uncle Gus had meant to them. He knew so many thousands of people from all the businesses he was involved in.

Actually – I have a video – it was made when I was at the Vancouver Film School – it wasn’t my project – I did location sound – but the director wanted to do something about the housing crisis in Vancouver – there was an incident referred to as the Francis Street Incident – you’ll learn about it in the video.

But I knew – that the video was going to need a villain and no developer in Vancouver was going to talk to a bunch of unsympathetic film school students – so, well – I asked my Uncle Gus – because he was involved in many development projects.

And my Uncle Gus – had a wonderful sense of humour and he really just wanted to help out with my film school project. So – he agreed to play the villain.

Now – he was not able to come to the screening and this documentary – I can’t remember how many projects that Class 16 had – there was commercials and short films and documentaries – this was the only one – that got booed – and Uncle Gus – was thrilled when he learned that we’d gotten the reaction that we had hoped for. He was just that generous a man.

so – the reason why – I do not respect authority – is because

When the police and ambulance – 1st responders – arrived at my Uncle’s House and I was there – alone – for – I honestly do not know – how long I was alone in that house –

they saw in a glance that my uncle was beyond their help

they looked at me – standing there – shock white and stunned into silence

Then, they turned and went outside for a cigarette

and just left me – standing there – in shock

I mean – when someone calls 911 to say that they have found the body of a relative – is it too much to expect that the first responder help – should be arriving to help the person who is still alive?