Guns4Safety

She also spoke out against stricter gun control laws and said: “Now is not the time to call for law-abiding citizens to put down their guns.”

Why? Terrorism, of course.  There are terrorists out there - heck, they could be your very neighbour! - and they're coming for you.

The could have bombs strapped beneath their niqabs, or be planting bombs in your schools.  Or, like all those white people who go postal, they could just whip out their automatic weapons and start blasting away at a mall, or sports game, or even your shooting range.

It's dangerous times, America.  Guns are all that stand between us and our enemies.  And their bombs.  Or something like that.

With this in mind, here are the leading causes of death in the US:

• Heart disease: 611,105
• Cancer: 584,881
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 149,205
• Accidents (unintentional injuries): 130,557
• Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 128,978
• Alzheimer's disease: 84,767
• Diabetes: 75,578
• Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,979
• Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 47,112
• Intentional self-harm (suicide): 41,149

Now, a gun can't protect you from heart disease.  A gun can't prevent you from getting Diabetes Type II.  It won't stop a drunk driver from running you over.  It can and does get used in suicide - in fact, the vast majority of gun deaths in the United States are suicides.

So - what's the big deal?  If it's really about security, why aren't statistically relevant causes of death getting more attention?  If it's really about safety, why isn't the NRA and other security-focused agencies investing in prevention?

Guns aren't about protection.  That's a convenient myth.  Guns are about power.  

The most powerful people in history changed the world without guns, but with words.  The conversion of "bad men" to good is tied to the history of movements as much as are those who have resisted change with their cold, dead hands.

This is the narrative of America right now - it's not one about safety so much as it is about resisting a global shift in power that is reflected by an internal shift in demographics.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but guns can't save you from social evolution, either.

Power, Risk, Movement

One of Havis’s neighbours told the media, “We didn’t want him to die, just for him to get the help he needed.” The police seemed not to want to kill Havis either, even though he fired at them and threatened two civilians. They proved that police often do put their lives on the line, and can do so without needlessly jeopardizing the lives of the people they serve — that Sarah Yatim’s wish for a city without fatal police confrontations is within the force’s power to fulfil.

This is a fascinating subject - to understand conflict and resolution is to understand humanity.

Some of the toughest-talking politicians out there are fighting hard to keep six refugees beyond their borders, even though they don't fight that hard when it comes to ensuring people have access to guns.

It's like the time a group of powerful, tough-talking folk bullied and threatened little black students simply trying to go to school and get an education.

The West looks at foreign conflicts and asks "how can we have the maximum impact with the minimal risk?" We're still arming and training rebels - tomorrow's opponents, as history keeps reminding us - but now we're employing smart bombs and drones, keeping our people out of harms way.

Those charged with keeping our communities safe - police and soldiers in particular - face unprecedented risks and yes, need protection.  Their job, however, involves risk by its very nature.

The same holds true for those other folk we charge with keeping our communities healthy and safe - educators, healthcare practitioners, those who care for those less able to care for themselves.  If you're a teacher, you put yourself in the line of fire every time you break up a fight, or calm down an explosive student, or face an explosive parent.  There are all kinds of risks that come with all these jobs that the average person doesn't know and, frankly, doesn't care about.

Folks like these - the front line of community, whether paid or volunteer - they take risks every day, go to the communities where security forces are most frequently sent, only they do so without guns.

Their shield is their belief in what they do, the need for people like them to change the world, save the next generation from needing the walls and the guns and the distance by empowering, not enforcing with power.

The most powerful people in history - those who led movements, religious or civil, weren't armed with swords, but with messages.  Those messages resonated and changed the world.

Which begs the question - what are we trying to accomplish with heavily armed guards, firewalls and strong surveillance measures?  Is living in fear, cloistered behind our borders how we choose to define freedom?  Do we want to remove the risk of anything bad happening - and if so, are we willing to give up the chance for something fresh and good to happen as well?

I believe we, as a species, are coming from a place of fear, isolation and top-down power structures and moving towards, in fits and spurts, true community.  I believe it's a slow process, full of misteps, wrong turns and even periodic reversals.  The long-term trajectory, however, is positive.  

We will get there.

It's a dangerous world full of risk, perils and change; we will need to make some painful adaptations to live beyond our caves.  We'll have to get used to sharing, too.

When we meet on common ground, and bring the best we have to offer together, we can build something greater.

Humanity: The Force Awakens

"There has been an awakening.  Have you felt it?"

It's hard to imagine you haven't - we're all plugged in these days.  Our social networks are global networks; we are all connected to each other, with real-time events and the points of view that frame them bombarding us at every turn.

"The dark side..."

Civil war.  Abuse of power.  Preponderance of weapons - and the call for more of them.  Displaced people.  Surveillance that puts the safety of The State above that of the people. Terrorism that originates abroad, and on our own shores.  Racism, othering, hatred, the urge to shut out and destroy those we dislike once and for all.

"And the light."

#WelcomeRefugees.  Open Government.  The whole how might we approach to tackling wicked problems.  Story telling, opportunity creation, empathy.  Empowerment - seeing power as something that flows through and binds us all, rather than as a tool to be wielded by the strongest.  A focus not on endings, but new beginnings.

This is the conflict we face, folks.  It's not us vs. them.  It's us vs. ourselves.

We can live together, or we can die alone.  Those are the two options that we have faced, and been reminded of, throughout history.

Which project we opt to finish is our choice, and our choice alone.

How #WelcomeHomeTO can help avoid this

If you live in Toronto and are interested in supporting the sponsorship and settlement of Syrian Refugees, you might be interested in this presentation by the Arab Community Centre of Toronto  (ACCT) happening December 2nd between 7:45 and 9:45 pm.

Of course, you might be interested in attending this presentation on the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Policy Options & Implications for Canada.  It's also happening December 2nd, between 7pm and 9pm.

You obviously can't do both though; they're happening at different places in town at the same time.

Competition is all well and good, but when we're looking at a national project, you want to maximize the opportunities, information and capacity for collaboration everywhere you can.  Having two related events happening at the same time is something that can and ideally should be avoided.

Did the two organizing teams know they were looking at the same time and space, and would end up competing for each other's attention?  I imagine not.

Could they have been?  Could whoever booked second have found out there was another related event happening at the same time on the same day and potentially picked a different time to book their event?

Can the people attending both events proactively share input and thoughts through a shared platform - or different platforms, but still have everything aggregated in one place?

You can see why something like the WelcomeHomeTO page at Shape My City could be useful.

Trudeau's quote

Far be it for a bafflegap like me to interpret the Prime Minister, but here's what I get from this:

“One of the things that changed with Paris was the perception that Canadians had. Canadians who have been extremely supportive and open to the idea of bringing in more refugees and demonstrating that Canada is there to help, had a few more questions,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters in London.

“And we realized that the most important thing is to be able to reassure Canadians that absolutely everything is being done to keep Canadians safe and therefore ensure that these refugees are welcomed as new Canadians, and not a cause for anxiety or division within the population.”

The way to make good policy in Canada is to ensure it reflects the values, hopes and concerns we share as Canadians - in aggregate, which is what happens in a democracy, but also with respect to local concerns and realities.

If Team Trudeau makes all its policy choices in the same vein as they tackled the commitment to brining Syrian Refugees to Canada, we are going to see policy that better reflects Canadians as a nation and as communities.

Which is what "getting it right" looks like.

Why I'm not fond of #WelcomeRefugees

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, so please bear with me.

Canada welcomes countless New Canadians every year.  They are mothers and fathers, entrepreneurs and tradepeople, Muslims, Hindus, people of different sexual orientations and heights and political orientations and all the rest of it.

But they are never just one of these things.  No one ever is.

It's convenient for us to think about people this way - you're either of us, or not of us - but it's not accurate.

When we use simple phrasing like this, we unconsciously tend to view people through one lens, rather than seeing them as complex human beings with multiple facets.

If a person is something we are not - a Muslim, a Refugee, a Missing/Murdered Aboriginal Woman, a Mentally Ill Person - it becomes very easy to see them as a caricature of a person and romanticize who and what they actually are, as human beings.

This concept of viewing people as more than a label has really been driven home to me of late through Stories of Ours, a one-of-a-kind story telling series founded and run by the amazing Erin Kang.

Every story teller can be labelled as one "thing" - an immigrant, a refugee, a black man, a Korean-Canadian woman - but each story paints a picture of a complex human being that experiences life through every aspect of who they are and not just through what we opt to see them as.

Many of the stories are heartbreaking.  Some of them are inspiring.  Each of them uncovers the facets of an individual and, in doing so, reveals a new thread in the human tapestry.

I love the idea of welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada, and refugees from everywhere.  To me, Canada is a global Rivendell, a place where everyone can belong, thrive and contribute.  We don't evade problems - we turn them into opportunities.

Rest assured, many of the refugees who will soon be calling Canada home have incredible gifts to share, ideas to nurture and innovations to hustle.  They may open your next favourite restaurant, or develop your next favourite digital platform, or be your next Minister of Democratic Institutions.

I believe it's important to dig deep into the hardships these individuals have experienced, but also to not look at them as pity cases.  

Those who have come to Canada as refugees in the past - not to mention their descendants - have ended up making tremendous contributions to our society, our cultural life, and our economy.

They are refugees now, but what they will be moving forward is neighbours, partners, friends, family.

Which is why I picked the name #WelcomeHomeTO for my community support aggregation project. 

This isn't just about them coming here - it's about us welcoming them, as well.  Like a new family member.  Some day, they will be doing the same thing for other new Canadians.  It's what we've always done.

There's what we offer, there's what they offer, then there's what we build together - like a potluck, with Canada being the common ground for making the soup that's more than the sum of its ingredients.

I understand the intent behind #WelcomeRefugees but really, it's about more than refugees, and it's about more than the government's plan.

It's about people.  It's about stories.

That's what Canada has always had the potential to be, and only embraces when we recognize the individual and build the country collaboratively - not the toughest or wealthiest nation, but one that demonstrates what humanity can be at its best.

they are important to building a stronger and better Canada, and that their successful resettlement and integration has been a key part of our country’s history.

Russia has previously apologized for its incursions into Turkish airspace during its Syria campaign -- something that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia last month that it "cannot endure."

Take that into consideration when reading this:

Moscow insists its jet remained in Syrian airspace.

The Russian people are smart.  They don't want to be taken as rubes by anyone - not NATO, not Putin.

There will be spin, rhetoric, baiting and switching.  Don't buy it.

Now, more than ever, it's time to hold your government to account for Russia's interests, not their own egos and ambitions.

Is it a "moral crusade" to take on insurgents in someone else's civil war - and in support of a regime that might be friendly, but openly hostile to its own people?

The rebel group that sent the video operates in the northwestern area of Syria, where groups including the Free Syrian Army are active but Islamic State, which has beheaded captives in the past, has no known presence.