Friday, April 18, 2008

Horror and Silence

Imagine for a moment being a kid again. Imagine going to school, but now imagine not coming home. Imagine having to work rather than learn, being beaten rather than cared for and being flogged to death or fried in an electric chair.

Or, if you are like me, a father with 3 children under 9 years old, imagine it happening to your kids. Imagine them being taken from you and sent away, supposedly to go to school, to learn so they could better themselves, only to come back broken. Imagine, if you dare, that they don't come back at all - they simply disappear.

Some people don't have to imagine this. For some, it has happened.

As Stageleft reported earlier this week, just when you thought the nightmare of Residential Schools was over, that the story had been told, we find out that hundreds, perhaps thousands of children - CHILDREN - were murdered by their supposed caregivers and buried in anonymous mass graves in an effort to cover up the crime. All committed with the complicity of the countries largest Christian churches and the Federal Government.

This is mass murder, of children.

This is genocide committed at the behest of our government, in our names.

And the mainstream media says ....

Nothing.

Silence.

Apparently, they are too busy with Senators hockey, RCMP raids, free speech lawsuits and the resignations of the Army Chief of Staff. It seems that the visit of a former Nazi to the White House, the babblings of an idiot Ottawa Mayor and the capture of a man wanted for (ironically) the murder of his children is far more important than uncovering crimes against humanity within our own country.

Its time to do something. Call or write your MP. Write letters to the editor of your local daily or weekly fishwrap. Phone your local TV stations and ask them why they aren't covering this. Call Indian Affairs and express your anger and shock.

And make no mistake, this is not simple anger with me. This is hard, cold, glistening rage. I purposely waited a few days after stageleft's post to see if any media would pick it up. None has. A chilling indictment of the uncaring racism that still exists in the country. We are presented with evidence of dozens of home grown versions of S-21, the infamous Khmer Rouge prison, and are silent.

We can't remain silent, we must get this message out and bring justice to the victims.

If this happened to your children, you would expect no less.

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14 Comments:

At 7:19 PM, Blogger JG said...

Has there been independent confirmation of this? I'm not trying to doubt it, but there is further no indication that anything criminal occurred per se, i.e. murder - premature death due to infectious disease was, lamentably, far more common in the past than it is today.

In any case, a thorough investigation (with whatever fallout it may have) is fully warranted.

 
At 8:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read the article at stageleft and couldn't comment because I was speechless and couldn't adequately express my revulsion. 900 also posted an article, and I still could not comment, because the thought of this type of behaviour is so very antithetical to what I believed Canada represented. I used to think that Canadians are better than this, yet, you are absolutely correct...not a peep in the mainstream media, and at the same time our govenment is prattliing on about abuses by other countries. In another wry imeeting ofthe planets, Pope Bennie is visiting the US to offset the bad publicity associated with his priests raping and abusing children yet in his tour to mend fences, he has refused to meet with any of the people who were abused. Sounds like a publicity tour to me.
I still don't have words for my sadness and disgust.
900 has also posted on this, and I wasn't able to comment there either. Silence denotes complicity and the media is complicit in a coverup. I do hope that there is a intense, thorough investigation, however, I am older, and doubt that any government but particularly this government will ever acknowledge there was a problem let alone set up a Royal Commission to investigate. I used to be proud to be Canadian. I feel somewhat soiled lately.
HT

 
At 8:14 PM, Blogger JG said...

Pope Bennie is visiting the US to offset the bad publicity associated with his priests raping and abusing children yet in his tour to mend fences, he has refused to meet with any of the people who were abused.

He hasn't avoided the issue - or the abused - at all.

 
At 10:10 PM, Blogger Nastyboy said...

I have to agree with josh b., nothing has been confirmed, and until it has, these are just allegations. Investigate and confirm, then there's a story.

 
At 2:05 PM, Blogger Mike said...

Josh and nasty,

I appreciate and understand your skepticism in this, but these are allegations that have been known in places like Port Alberni for 15+ years. What this press release is, is a collection of more, across Canada. Its not that the allegations are proven - as you say thats yet to be determined - but that they are so serious and so shocking, yet so consistent. And the seriousness of the allegations, proven or not, warrants at least some attention from the media or the powers that be.

Imagine if similar allegations were made against the Christian Brothers in Newfoundland. Just the allegations would be one of the top 3 stories leading every Canadian newscast. In fact, that is exactly what happened with Mount Cashel and the allegations of a pedophile ring in Cornwall Ontario. The Allegations raised the attention and caused the investigation.

That's what I want.

And, when this came to my attention at stageleft, I was a bit skeptical too and did some further digging - check this site out and what the video "Unrepentant"

This one, nothing.

That is the problem - even allegations of mass murder can't seem to get the attention of the media when it comes to native issues.

But block one highway on a Friday afternoon....

 
At 2:42 PM, Blogger Ron said...

It's simple: openly investigate the allegations. Now would be a good time.

 
At 2:53 PM, Blogger Mike said...

Ron,

EXACTLY.

It is a sad testament to our country right now that this won't happen if the politicos aren't motivated. And the they won't get motivated unless there is a public outcry. And that won't happen if the media ignores this.

And they are ignoring this.

Every person I have mentioned this too has either reacted in angry shock, as I have, or in skeptical disbelief, like Nasty and Josh have. Both are understandable and normal reactions to this kind of thing.

Everyone no matter how they initially react when they first hear of this, wants this investigated to find the truth.

When they find out about this...

Its hard when the issue is being ignored. Remember over at Ian's place a year or so ago when we talked about the power of merely ignoring a government of a state. Its a powerful weapon. Its also very powerful when its the state (and thier lackies in the media) doing the ignoring...

 
At 3:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for posting this. Here's the video of our press conference in Toronto (to which only Turtle Island News came) announcing the locations of the mass graves:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7294053672161695977

Friends & Relatives of the Disappeared-Toronto

 
At 1:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suspect in the end, what will be found is not murder, but sheer callousness, the discarding of the bodies of dead children, perhaps orphans, as so much refuse, because of their ancestry.

Still not very pretty.

OC

 
At 1:35 PM, Blogger Mike said...

Perhaps you are right OC.

Though there have been allegations of actual murder by teachers and staff, most will be the victims as you say of sheer callousness. And purposeful exposure to TB and small pox. And the withholding of medical treatment.

In my eyes, that still constitutes a crime and warrants at lest some concern and attention from the mainstream press.

At least the Edmonton Sun has published an opinion piece on it...

 
At 6:20 PM, Blogger mikmik said...

Hi, Mike. Worked with psychs here in Rape Crisis center and Women victims of violence.
Pets that are killed get more press in Edmonton than the dozens of homeless women that try to care for their children and meanwhile maintain a sense of dignity. They do it for their childs. I have never seen such expression of desire than what people do to give their children a sense of humanity and protect them from cruelty.
That is my heroes. Those ladies.

 
At 3:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No proof of any kind. No proof these allegations haven't been investigated. No proof they are more than ramblings by someone with a sense of entitlement.

But let's ignore all of this and play the game:

What would you have the rest of Canada do? Pay more to a clearly dysfunctional racial group? Where do I get to claim the money from the socialists who murdered my family in the Ukraine? Where's my fair share?

Oh right. Only native people are allowed such 'rights'.

Ridiculous.

 
At 4:01 PM, Blogger Mike said...

Ridiculous?

No, after the proven atrocities of the Residential School system, more allegations come forward, with eyewitness testimony.

It at least needs to be looked into and investigated. If it proves top be untrue, good. I actually hope it is untrue.

What would I have the rest of Canada do? Well, acknowledge the crimes as real, if they turn out to be so. If, as the result of the deaths, governments and churches acquired land and property through fraudulent means, the property should be returned. If there are people still alive who committed any crimes related to these deaths, they should be brought to justice.

At the very least the truth needs to be revealed so, as George Santyana observed, we are not doomed to repeat it, perhaps next time with Ukrainians.

"Pay more to a clearly dysfunctional racial group?"

Made dysfunctional by the very race-based, culture destroying school system and government policy I am talking about.

"Where do I get to claim the money from the socialists who murdered my family in the Ukraine? Where's my fair share?"

Russia would be a start. But of course, if the Russian government could be brought to court to make those reparations, or even just an apology, wouldn't you go for it? If the entire world ignored and denied that your family was even murdered, would you say something? Especially if some jackass said you were dysfunctional because of the treatment your family received from the socialist?

Its about finding justice and closure for the families. That doesn't always mean money.

 
At 1:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Of course I would go for it, who wouldnt go for free money at the expense of others, especially if told that it is a moral thing to do.

Unfortunately, constantly chasing ghosts of the past does not lead to happiness, justice, or closure of any kind.

The constant appeasement we give to native groups only enhances their obvious dysfunction as a modern society.

Imagine, if we had spent our entire lives chasing reperations from the countless atrocities committed by every ethno-cultural group against others throughout history. Perhaps we would all be clamouring for money whilst our peers are gripped by substance abuse, crime, and constant misery.

Yet, the left continues to promote Native Americans as some kind of special group due to forever collect money on behalf of others.

Bottom line: natives were not the only people treated poorly in the past. By the time they realize that they, in fact, were rather lucky that the atrocities committed againt their cultures are aknowledged as such today instead of continually laying blame at the feet of modern Canadians, their culture likely will have been totally destroyed. Cultures of entitlement usually are.

Too bad.

 

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