Je Me Souviens
This past Sunday was the twentieth anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. A man entered a classroom at the École Polytechnique, separated the men from the women, and then opened fire. Over a period of twenty minutes, he made his way through the school, shooting women and the few men who dared to help any woman. He told them he was killing them because they were feminists, as he defined them because they were (mostly) engineering students. All in all, he murdered fourteen women and injured twelve other people. Afterward, he shot himself.
And I almost forgot. I used to attend vigils, rallies and marches on December 6th, but this year I was all fogged up. Many thanks to catdancerz for reminding me, us.
I wanted to post that day, but got all caught up in wanting to be thorough and thoughtful, so I prevaricated. Here's the thing: I can't do this justice. I can't even express my own thoughts and feeling about this with any sort of eloquence, or even coherent articulation. This was one of two major violent episodes that shaped me as a young girl and, I think, a generation of Canadian women. I was only eleven-years-old, but I got it. Those women were targeted by a violence-hungry man because they were a) women and b) women exercising the rights gained by the feminist movement.
Because this is the thing: It cannot be said that anti-feminism is something particular, that it is not inherently anti-woman. In the discussion that came from this massacre, many men said that they were anti-feminist, but not misogynists or sexists, which continues to this day. Anti-feminist men who think you are not anti-woman: If you only 'support', 'love', 'respect', or 'like' women who accept their objectification and abjection silently, who cower beneath the oppressive weight of patriarchy by fear or bend beneath it by force, who live in a state of sexual terrorism surviving by acquiescence, then you don't support, love, respect or like women; you support, love, respect, and like victims, and victimhood itself. You support, love, respect, and like your own power, position, and privilege.
If the only woman you can 'support, love, respect and like' is the one whose neck you've got pinned to the floor with your foot, then you hate women. And you are a fucking coward. What, you're too fucking weak and stupid to live willingly in a world where women are equal to you? You terrified of the possibility of competing against women and coming up short? Baby gonna cry?
You know, feminists don't think men are inferior to women, but clearly you do if you're so afraid to get in the ring (created by your own imagination) without the ref, the crowd, and all the judges in your pocket.
Links to articles and video for those who are interested
Note: I wanted to add a bit of commentary to several of these links where I felt it was needed, but I just don't have it in me right now.
CBC Television News Report, December 6, 1989
Women protest massacre at University of Toronto, CBC TV News, December 7, 1989
Men wearing white ribbons, CBC TV News, November 27, 1991
Interview with Nathalie Provost, CBC TV News, December 6, 1994
"Lessons of the Montreal Massacre", Article with interview with Nathalie Provost, Toronto Star, December 5, 2009
Journalist Francine Pelletier reflects back on Montreal Massacre and the discovery of being on gunman's hit list, CBCNews, December 6, 2009
"It Was Twenty Years Ago Today...", CatieCat, Shakesville, December 6, 2009
* * * Trigger Warnings For Misogynist Vitriol in Addition to the Violence * * *
"The F-Word", Antonia Zerbisias, Broadsides, thestar.com, December 5, 2009
"Memento Mori", Antonia Zerbisias, Broadsides, thestar.com, December 6, 2009
Asshole Totally Misses the Point, CBC News article, December 7, 2000 Additionally, his professional webpage
«Des disciples de Marc Lépine font fuir un réalisateur», Anabelle Nicoud, La Presse, November 12, 2009 (in French)
And I almost forgot. I used to attend vigils, rallies and marches on December 6th, but this year I was all fogged up. Many thanks to catdancerz for reminding me, us.
I wanted to post that day, but got all caught up in wanting to be thorough and thoughtful, so I prevaricated. Here's the thing: I can't do this justice. I can't even express my own thoughts and feeling about this with any sort of eloquence, or even coherent articulation. This was one of two major violent episodes that shaped me as a young girl and, I think, a generation of Canadian women. I was only eleven-years-old, but I got it. Those women were targeted by a violence-hungry man because they were a) women and b) women exercising the rights gained by the feminist movement.
Because this is the thing: It cannot be said that anti-feminism is something particular, that it is not inherently anti-woman. In the discussion that came from this massacre, many men said that they were anti-feminist, but not misogynists or sexists, which continues to this day. Anti-feminist men who think you are not anti-woman: If you only 'support', 'love', 'respect', or 'like' women who accept their objectification and abjection silently, who cower beneath the oppressive weight of patriarchy by fear or bend beneath it by force, who live in a state of sexual terrorism surviving by acquiescence, then you don't support, love, respect or like women; you support, love, respect, and like victims, and victimhood itself. You support, love, respect, and like your own power, position, and privilege.
If the only woman you can 'support, love, respect and like' is the one whose neck you've got pinned to the floor with your foot, then you hate women. And you are a fucking coward. What, you're too fucking weak and stupid to live willingly in a world where women are equal to you? You terrified of the possibility of competing against women and coming up short? Baby gonna cry?
You know, feminists don't think men are inferior to women, but clearly you do if you're so afraid to get in the ring (created by your own imagination) without the ref, the crowd, and all the judges in your pocket.
Links to articles and video for those who are interested
Note: I wanted to add a bit of commentary to several of these links where I felt it was needed, but I just don't have it in me right now.
CBC Television News Report, December 6, 1989
Women protest massacre at University of Toronto, CBC TV News, December 7, 1989
Men wearing white ribbons, CBC TV News, November 27, 1991
Interview with Nathalie Provost, CBC TV News, December 6, 1994
"Lessons of the Montreal Massacre", Article with interview with Nathalie Provost, Toronto Star, December 5, 2009
Journalist Francine Pelletier reflects back on Montreal Massacre and the discovery of being on gunman's hit list, CBCNews, December 6, 2009
"It Was Twenty Years Ago Today...", CatieCat, Shakesville, December 6, 2009
* * * Trigger Warnings For Misogynist Vitriol in Addition to the Violence * * *
"The F-Word", Antonia Zerbisias, Broadsides, thestar.com, December 5, 2009
"Memento Mori", Antonia Zerbisias, Broadsides, thestar.com, December 6, 2009
Asshole Totally Misses the Point, CBC News article, December 7, 2000 Additionally, his professional webpage
«Des disciples de Marc Lépine font fuir un réalisateur», Anabelle Nicoud, La Presse, November 12, 2009 (in French)