Featured posts
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On My Soap Box: Have Some Respect For The Parkland Kids
I’m back on my soapbox, and I’m angry. And I’m sorry (not sorry), but the focus of my anger has…
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On My Soap Box: Stop Blaming The Victims
It’s always a little awkward, writing a blog post after a long period of silence. I decided that instead of… 0
Stop Equating White Nationalists With Black Lives Matter
This is a message for those who are equating white nationalists with Black Lives Matter. Stop it. Just stop. For…
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Mental Health Awareness: Join The Conversation
Mental illness exists in the fabric of every society. It does not know geographic, educational, economic or cultural boundaries. Almost a quarter of deaths among Canadians aged 15 to 24 can be attributed to suicide. And yet people are afraid to talk about it. About half of those who believe they are going through depression…
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The Dangers Of “Wait And See” In The Age Of Trump
So. Donald Trump is now the President of the United States. Very few people thought this would actually happen, including, I would venture to say, Mr. Trump himself. I think most of the world held onto an unrealistic hope, right up until the ninety ninth hour, that something would happen to prevent or delay him…
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Open Letter To Friends Who Voted For Donald Trump
Dear friends who voted for Donald Trump, I’m going to start this letter with a disclaimer: I am not an American. I am a Canadian citizen who voted for Justin Trudeau in the last federal election. That should give you an idea of which way I lean politically. If you were to look up the…
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Transgender Restrooms Are Not Going To Destroy The World
Last night a truly hateful video appeared on my Facebook timeline. It was originally posted by something called “Highways and Hedges Ministries”, and it is a rant about the evils of transgender restrooms. The man in the video makes several sweeping statements about members of the LGBT community. They are perverts. They are sinners. They…
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5 Reasons Why Drug Testing Welfare Applicants Is A Bad Idea
Last year, I wrote web content for a facility called Addiction Rehab Toronto. I was working nights at the time, staying up long after the family had gone to bed, doing research, learning heartbreaking things about addiction and reading gut-wrenching real-life accounts written by addicts and their loved ones. Addiction is one of those subjects…
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Why I Am Not Supporting The Black Dot Campaign
If you’ve spent any amount of time on Facebook over the last few months, you might have seen something called the Black Dot Campaign. The concept is simple: if you see a woman with a black dot in the palm of her hand, she is a victim of ongoing domestic violence and needs to be…
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South Africa: Hope In Times Of Trouble
When I left South Africa in 2000, many people assumed that I was wanting to be part of the “brain drain”: a flood of disillusioned young professionals getting out of a troubled country before it was too late. Although there were undeniable problems plaguing the country, that is not why I left. My reason was…
Bravery Is Not A Competition
When Bruce Jenner became Caitlin Jenner earlier this year, Facebook erupted with judgmental posts. No surprise there – after all, Facebook has been the venue of many battles, including the Vaccine Wars, the Gay Marriage Wars, the Breastfeeding In Public Wars, and many more. People say all kinds of things from the safety of their…
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Assault Is Not Ever OK
A few days ago, an eighteen-year-old woman named Sanet – the sister of one of my friends – was brutally assaulted in Cape Town. She got into a taxi to get home after a night out with friends, and the taxi driver and another man pinned her down, kicked her and beat her. She was…
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World Autism Awareness Day: In Celebration Of Uniqueness
As I sit down to write something about World Autism Awareness Day, I find myself struggling. Part of the problem is the sheer volume of posts out there: I want to say something that hasn’t already been said. I want to offer a perspective that people haven’t yet thought of. Then there’s the fact that…