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My wife C. and I have two daughters.
I also work at a post-secondary institution in British Columbia.
Thus, I was very happy to see the Clark government support Andrew Weaver's private members bill that will ensure that all post-secondary institutions in the province have a sexual violence policy that, at the very least, does the following:
(a) addresses sexual violence involving students enrolled at the university;
(b) sets out the process for how the university will respond to and address incidents and complaints of sexual violence involving students enrolled at the university, and includes the elements specified in the regulations relating to the process;
(c) addresses any other topics and includes any other elements required by the regulations; and
(d) otherwise complies with the requirements set out in the regulations.
And, after reading Ms. Clark's letter in the Vancouver Sun, I very much understand how her awful experiences as an adolescent (experiences I hope, with all my heart, that my daughters never, ever have) helped her decide to support Mr. Weaver's bill. I was also heartened by the realization that in many ways British Columbia is a better place than it was in 1978 in that many kids do feel that they have the freedom to speak up about things that really concern them without fear of reprisal or stigmatization.
But, of course, there are many things in the areas of sexual violence and discrimination that still need much improvement in British Columbia. And considerable improvements could be made very quickly if Ms. Clark and her government were to act on key issues, programs and initiatives starting Monday.
As for the specifics of what Ms. Clark could do, these were laid out very clearly and succinctly by Daphne Bramham in her recent VSun piece.
Now.
It is my honest opinion that if Ms. Clark was to take Ms. Bramham's advice things would immediately get better for all women and girls, and in some cases men and boys too, in British Columbia.
And no one, not even social media hot-button gotcha baiters like Mr. Baldrey and Ms. Mills, could argue with that.
OK?
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A small note....Plugged the cover of Neko Case' 'Calling Cards' back into the jukebox over there on the left sidebar because it was part of the original post of Bigger E's and littler e's muscical extravaganzification linked to, above.
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Friday, June 10, 2016
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27 comments:
I really wish there was even a thread of hope one could cling to, one reason to believe that this latest revelation by this government will amount to a hill of beans.
So a private members bill is passed?
Where will enforcement come? Will it be from this government?? Who then, Bill Bennet, Mary Polack, Shirley Bond, perhaps someone of great conviction like Don Mcrae or Fassbender? I shutter to think.
Nothing means anything to this government whether written in Law or Stone. Look at the state of mining regulation or environmental regulation in this province. Look at the past and realize that that is a fair indication of what we'll see in the future in the way of help for battered and abused women. Victims of sexual assault.
How many private member bills will fix this mess?
I'm sorry I feel this way, I wish I could jump on the band wagon and shout of hope and change but sadly if I am honest with myself I can't.
Only when Christy Clark and this band of misfits she calls her party are gone will I be able to con jour up even an iota of hope.
SH:
Clark will be on Almanac momentarily.
SH:
It would be useful for Christy to deeply examine her forgetting and recent epiphany. It would be instructive to other women who can't access their memories. Christy has opened a very large issue and it will be hard to close the door.
Women in my life, including me, who have been violated, never forget; it informs where I walk, how often I check doors and windows when my partner is travelling.
I would never walk in a park without my dog. Planners and politicians who are "feminist" should consider that when they determine which parks will allow dogs.
I have a male child, I have warned him about being aware of his surroundings. I am sure Ms. Clark has similarly warned her child, she is obviously a doting Mother.
When my Son was younger, a friend's son insisted on picking him up to give him free "fitness coaching" in my friend's basement, my Mom antennae went up, and I exited the friendship as gracefully as possible. We need to listen to our guts.
I hope Christy, extends her conscious raising PR to include male children.
What was left out of Daphne Bramham's article, and which wasn't mentioned by the Premier, was that Ms. Clark's mother was 'a marriage and family therapist' wikpedia
I really hope some good comes from this legislation and the surrounding discussion.
But I refuse to believe Christy Clark brought out the bush man story now for anything other than political expediency. Because nothing she has ever done suggests otherwise.
“The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.” – T.S. Eliot
SH:
Christy's talking about getting off social assistance.
How do we get on BC Liberal donor assistance Christy. La dolce vita.
btw she's down-talking now…the evolution of the Puppet...
Of the 1,200 phone calls that are made each year for help, how many of them have parents who are either a teacher and/or a therapist
SH:
When I was 12, I was walking my dog in an alley just north-west if the corner at 49th and Fraser, a blue Impala, just like my bff's Dad's car came up beside me, I expected him to ask for directions … the man who resembled my patrician Grandfather opened the car door and said have a look at this…
his trousers were down around his ankles and his nether regions were "inflamed" and his thighs were bright red.
I laughed, it was absurd. Then, I got how weird it was. I memorized his licence number…minutes later, I spilled it to a boy in my school I ran into on Fraser Street. That's as far as it went. I felt I would be blamed for being in the alley. Forget? NO.
I never forget this, or many darker things that have happened to people in my life, all at the hands of sexual deviants.
Christy could do so much better on this file. She doesn't get it. The fact that she has been her own driver (red light blow-out)
tells me, she doesn't live in the same shadow of fear as I do.
1978 was a different time.
Thus, I do buy the notion that this was very hard to talk about regardless one's parents' occupation or perspective.
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SH:
Right RossK, it is HARD to talk about. Harder to judge.
Timing is everything. Context is everything.
btw My experience was c 1969...
Thanks SH--
My growing up straddled both those decades.
There were, of course, many good things too.
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SH:
I would choose to remain childless if I had to raise children now.
We need our finest artists to seek out the memoried ones, to document the Lotusland that has been stolen.
SH--
Agree about the memoried ones.
But I dunno about the childless thing...
I've got three young folks working with me at the moment and while it's tough they're making a go of it with their little ones - and it's an amazing thing to see/revisit.
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SH:
RossK, the best people I know are graduated kidlets. So scared for their future…
Everything is so calculated with this woman. Look at all the publicity. I believe that these things happen to women and that this is violence. Does it take a sociopath to disclose violence to legitimate that it happens. No.Why do we call it sex when it is violence? Why does this woman always make herself the centre of attention? Can she maybe take a stand that has substance such as proper funding for victims of violence. Is this a momentary stance or a heartfelt stance that will be her cause instead of promoting pollution and Liberal donor agendas. So sick of her.So sick of them. So sick of the Keef and the lack of credible discourse in the media, These things happen to all women and because it is disclosed by this woman does not make it more credible and wish it would create more dialogue about violence rather then dialogue about Christy.
when I heard her disclosure on the news, my first reactions was, right, now she has something else to get in a photo op. Do I believe this happened to her, not really because I can't believe this woman when she opens her mouth.
The other commenters who have written what happened to them, yes I believe them with all my heart. you can tell just from how they write, but Christy has lied so much it just doesn't work for me, plus her lack of action in this area.
The law maybe passed but will it be enforced as a previous poster writes. I don't think so because that may require some effort, some money and heavens help us if it has some negative political ramifications for anyone of note in the B.C. Lieberal circle.
If Christy Clark really wanted to help women/girls/boys/men/people who had been sexual assault, harassed, exploited, etc. there would have been much more funding in this province for children it had happened to. There hasn't been for the 15 yrs her party has been in office, so she can cry me a river, but until she does something real, its just another photo op to me.
One wonders how CC's story would have played in 2001 when Christy Clark and the BC Liberals were voting unanimously to cut funding to women's shelters and crisis centres?
Would her platform of privilege as an influential insider have lessened the blow against women then?
And when Harper attacked BC's women who were disappearing on the 'Highway of Tears' and refused to start an inquiry into their horrific fates would Premier Christy's story have taken Steve's mind away from hockey and hubris long enough to support those women?
In other news today the Site C dam is leaking massive amounts of toxic crap into the river, but the media's mind is seemingly elsewhere.
I simply don't believe her story. A 13 year old girl who had experienced an attack like the one she describes - especially the youngest child of four - would have told her parents and her parents would have told the police...the story, I'm sorry to say, has no more credibility than her explanation for her running a red light with her child in the vehicle. This is a careless, thoughtless and totally self-absorbed human being...nothing she says, ever, can be believed. A careful analysis of the letter she published in the Sun will easily poke holes in her 'story' - I invite readers to do that themselves...
I would suggest that it is impossible to know for sure if she did or didn't experience such an incident. I have more of a concern about the other parts of her statements.
The scenario she portrayed has little comparison with what has transpired on various university campuses and how these institutions have dealt with sexual assaults. I would compare it with what has occurred in various locations of the lower mainland where nutbars have accosted women at various times of the day and night.
The other problem I have is that she seems to be saying that the only reason she supported Andrew Weaver's initiative is because she experienced the incident she says she did when she was 13 years old. Does this mean that she would not have supported Mr. Weaver if said incident never happened to her?
SH @ G West,
This tells me everything I need to know about Christy's "concern" for women, and young people in general:
"Grant DePatie was killed on March 8, 2005, due to a gas and dash incident when he was working alone as an gas station attendant. This tragedy shone light on the fact that workers alone in their workplace face greater risks of experiencing violence. For two years after his violent death, Grant’s father and grandfather campaigned with their unions and the B.C. Federation of Labour to get new WorkSafeBC regulations adopted. In 2007, bowing to pressure, the provincial government implemented what became known as Grant’s Law. This new set of WorkSafeBC regulations were put into place to protect the worker by adding safeguards against violence – employers had to provide either a barrier between clerks and customers or a team of two or more workers for night work.
However in April 2012, facing lobbying pressure from companies like Mac’s Convenience Store, the BC Liberal government weakened the legislation and reversed worker protections. The regulations were changed to focus on the safety of the products being sold rather than the worker. Security cameras and panic buttons are now mandatory but they do nothing to protect workers who are alone at night."
https://www.retailaction.ca/author/ranadmin/
SH:
If I thought the "Grandfather" that exposed himself to me was alive, I would go to the police with a description. That is what Clark should do now. There are police women she can talk to, if she's too uncomfortable talking to a male. There are policing techniques to help victims recall details. There are police artists who can render a likeness.
There are many stories of perps being caught decades later. Christy's "assailant" could very well be alive.
She has a duty as a citizen, and especially as a Premier, to show leadership and act now to set an example for others too afraid to report. The timing couldn't be better, she has the eyes of the Nation's journalists on her.
SH: But, even according to her own 'account' she can't even recall a single detail about the alleged perpetrator.
I've known lots of 13 year olds ( I have 4 children) and none of them would have reacted the way Ms Clark claims she did at the time. This is a fabricated story designed to manipulate emotions - notice her account mentions several other so-called incidents (groping etc.) about which she says not a single word.
Credit is always given to Clark for being a great campaigner and the ultimate opportunist. Considering an election is less then a year away perhaps this sudden recollection is another plank in her campaign strategy since their is no way to verify if it even happened. It seems very suspicious that this incident, that happened many years ago, is only now being recalled. The more recent incidents of Clark"s kibitzing with DJ's about MILF status and her microphone joke about her ex- husband are somehow overlooked by the MSM and not referenced in this latest admission by Clark. I guess when it comes to concern over sexual exploitation, memory is indeed selective and depends on who is doing it.
I agree completely with G West...Christy Clark will say anything to gain the spotlight, furthermore...
BC Liberals have put money ahead of safety ..The highway of tears whitewash and email deletions..
Need more...Ken Boesenkool...No paper trail, no emails, no nothing on why he was removed from the BC Liberal party...It was a sexual assault against a woman..
Remember Christy Clark tee heeing over Richard Branson's proposal...
The "limp microphone reminds me of my ex-husband" remark at a BC Liberal event..
And remember the Drex interview...Where Christy Clark stated she would rather be a MILF(Mother I'd like to fuck) than a cougar...
Christy Clark is a sexual tease, no wallflower and actions speak louder than words..
I also remember David Schreck commenting on Christy Clark having her ta ta,s hanging out of her top...
And yes, many assault victims go silent....However, Christy Clark allegedly escaped, therefore there would be no self-shame...
Christy Clark at 13 was an outgoing social butterfly..already working as a waitress..
Sorry Mr. K...Christy Clark's story doesn't ring true..Her memory of that day is sharp, the weather, time of day..running like the wind..feeling relieved to escape and she even remembered catching her breath at the restaurant before going in and putting on her apron..
Christy Clark wasn't attacked by an employer, wasn't attempted date rape..Christy wasn't at a boozy teenage party, Christy Clark didn't engage in risky behaviour...
She alleges she was grabbed by a man hiding in a thick shrub..Christy Clark mused after the fact, ..She wondered to herself where the man came from...another word salad statement,...She wondered where he came from?..Her own words said he came out of the shrubbery..
Lastly...Christy Clark could have supported Andrew Weaver's private member bill will putting the spotlight on herself..
Never even missed a day of work, didn't show up late, ....
Sexual assault..violent assault..it is wrong....
Christy had no reason to go silent, she allegedly escaped...no stigma attached to Christy..Her body was still sacred and untouched..
Thanks G West...
Mr. Ross K....I understand your posting...I would like to believe some good will come out of this....
However...When the RCMP old boys club still does what it does..When Christy Clark's BC Liberal flagship station Global BC shields Chris Gailas...When Boesenkool walks..
When girls still have no highway of tears shuttle bus...When Christy Clark allowed hundreds of thousands of older children wander the streets during a BC Liberal forced teacher's strike..
I'm cynical and probably right..
Glad you still have some Christy Clark/BC Liberal faith Ross K....
Good luck with that
Listen to this....Christy Clark baffles and bullshits trying to explains cuts to government funding of crisis centers..massive cuts to legal aid...
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/listen.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=&mediaIds=2690253761&contentarea=news&subsection1=regions&subsection2=britishcolumbia&subsection3=bcalmanac&contenttype=audio
Christy Clark "wants to change men attitude" ...Christy Clark does not want to fund support services...
Very revealing radio interview..
Christy the _ _ _ _ _ Clark
SH:
Love to be a fly on the wall at the post-scooped and overshadowed Twylson's, after Christy left essential bio-pieces out of Judi's valourizing and limp vanity piece.
No honour among….
Thanks very much for your comments everyone.
While I understand the scepticism of some who have commented here, I honestly believe that there is a capacity for some measure of goodwill in all of our fellow citizens.
Having said that, I, for one, plan to comment vociferously if Ms. Clark does not follow-up with a concerted effort and a comprehensive plan to alleviate the problem under discussion.
As for this post - I think the matter raised has had a good airing.
Thus, I'm going to close it to further comments now.
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