with my two hands... i can change the world
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף
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With My Two Hands… I Can Change the World
I’m often asked why I’m interested in Human Rights, why I have dedicated and continue to dedicate my life to fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves; to speaking up for those without a voice.
I do it for Tyler Clementi and Asher Brown. Two gay teenagers who killed themselves this week after being tormented by their peers because they were gay.
I do it for Dolma Ismail and Amina Ishaq, two out of over 400,000 people killed during the state-orchestrated genocide in Darfur.
I do it because in 2010, people who are gay, Aboriginals, Muslims, Jews and the disabled are still looked down on because of who they are. Because Aboriginals are treated like they’re all violent, drunk and helpless, because gays are treated like they’re disease-ridden deviants and because Muslims are treated like they’re terrorists.
This past week, with the string of high-profile suicides of gay teens in the US, has been a wakeup call for me. How are we letting this happen to our children? How is our “modern” Western society so backwards that we can drive children to kill themselves for something as insignificant as who they love?
There are so many problems in the world today and too many people in North America are content to just close their eyes, plug their ears and pretend that it doesn’t affect them, or worse, claim that it isn’t their problem.
Elie Wiesel once said;
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death.
I am not content to sit back. I never have been prepared to just ignore what is going on around me. My pledge; I will never be indifferent.
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So apparently I have a website now.
(kinda)
Check it out?
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It’s time to get going
I’m so sick of waiting, studying, waiting, reading. Doing what I’m told, handing things in when they’re due and accepting that that’s how the world works.
I don’t usually use this space for complaining about my life, but I want to make a change. I’m not sure what exactly yet, but something.
It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come -
This past Monday, while Ontario and Alberta were celebrating “Family Day” and the US was enjoying “President’s Day”, Manitoba was… enduring… Louis Riel Day.
Yes, Manitoba has a holiday honouring Louis Riel, the Metis leader who declared independence from Canada shortly after it was created, murdered a Canadian diplomat, led the Northwest Rebellion, and was hanged as a traitor.
As further proof of Manitoba’s hilariousness, I present a picture of myself standing next to a giant statue of Louis Riel, in front of the provincial legislature.For you American tumblrers, imagine if Virginia had a giant statue of Jefferson Davis (minus the racist connotations) in front of the State Capitol.
Fun times in Canadian history!
This is the first in my “Strange Supersized Statues in Manitoba” series.
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In the second instalment of: “Strange Supersized Statues in Manitoba” (the first featured Louis Riel), I present you with the 15 foot tall statue of a Viking, unveiled in 1967 in Gimli, Manitoba by then-President of Iceland, Asgeir Asgeirson.
Why, you might ask, is there a 15 foot tall Viking statute in the middle of Manitoba (as opposed to maybe, you know, Nova Scotia or something)? The answer is that Manitoba is home to the largest population of people from Iceland outside of Iceland. Random, right?
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Me in Petra, Jordan. (ie. Indiana Jones…)
Sorry for the lack of updates, Tumblr! I’m busy having fun in Israel!
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Internet is broken. Shaw won’t fix it till Wednesday.
How do I live without internet for three days? HOW?
I feel so shallow right now. This really should not be such a big deal.
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Me, thinking and watching the sunset at the exit of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
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New Profile picture. Twitter, here (once I figure out how to change it) and Facebook.
lawyer (well, almost), academic, activist, political junkie, jew, geek.
it's all here.
