It started out with a post of remembrance every year and, alas, I’ve let things slip in recent years. Yet, this is not out of lack of remembrance, but lack of sharing my thoughts on a day that has lived with me since it happened.
Today, I’m picking up the tradition I’ve let falter and want to recognize the lives lost on December 6th, and remind us of what their deaths stand for.
One Night in 1989
I was just completing high school and looking forward to university when I learned that women at L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal were singled out, separated from men in their Engineering class, and brutally killed in a place where they should have felt safe. These young women were all studying to become engineers. They were trailblazers in a field that was — and still is to some extent — male dominated.
These women, like most students, were looking to make the world better by applying their skills, knowledge and talent to shape a fulfilling career.
They were killed because they were women.
They were killed by someone who was told that women were second-rate and witnessed violence against women in his home.
Some survived, but all who this act touched were transformed.
The problem is all of ours. The solution is, too.
Today, we pay special attention to an issue that is still endemic in our society. We pay attention to the brave women (and men) who are working every day to create a better world for everyone of any gender and sex.
It’s a reminder to me to recommit to making the effort and taking action to end gender-based violent. It’s a good reminder to us all.
In Remembrance.