Current mood:	sad
Entry tags:	dawson

Dawson: Focusing on the real issues
I am not a Montréaler by birth; indeed, I have lived here only two months, and am now attending McGill University.

One person's account of "the experience"
The McGill Tribune Article

This afternoon, the city of Montréal (and, if you are to believe the Premier of this province, life for Quebec as a whole) came to a bit of a grinding halt, as Dawson College became yet another in the history of school and college/university shooting rampages. The facts (and speculations) above speak for themselves; I need not recap what happened, for it seems that everyone, from Ontario to British Columbia to Kuwait to Italy, is already aware of the basic story.

There are other pieces of the puzzle which have not been put into place yet; other versions of the story which suggest there may be more to this than is being officially reported at this time; but for now, that is the official word, and any other version can only be worse.

What I find necessary to reflect on is the myriad of responses that this incident has generated. On the one hand, there has been a great outpouring of support from friends and the community around Dawson (e.g. Concordia University's temporary shelter), and the generosity and caring that people are able to show one another in a time of need is impeccable. If nothing else, it proves that there are some who have a heart beneath all the capitalistic "shells" we build for ourselves. Certainly, some of the people that I know who go (or have gone) to Dawson can attest to the number of people who have checked in today to see how she is -- some long lost forgotten people, at that, it seems.

What irritates me, though, is the press. Not all of the press, but at least some of the journalists, seem to have very little grasp on the reality of the situation. It certainly is not appropriate to ask the Premier about the impact that this incident might have on "gun control laws." First of all, as he pointed out, today is not the time nor place to have that discussion. Secondly, this incident has nothing to do with gun control laws. We already have some of the strictest gun registration policies in the world, and semi-automatic rifles aren't exactly part of your normal hunting gear... if people are going to do these things, no "registry" law is going to stop them.

Second, there is this strong focus on the "Goth" connection (tentative) of the shooter, and perhaps this is a reflection of our desire to have a concrete place to lay blame, but ... must we always blame a group, whether it be a particular religious sect, ethnic group, or what have you? If this person were from Iraq, would we suddenly be determined to launch an all-out assault on Iraq? The reality is that there are just some people out there who "lose it," for any number of reasons ... and labelling them so quickly, and without any real evidence to support the notion that it is in some way relevant, only appears to make matters worse for other members of that minority group who have to get past this as well.

My heart goes out to all of those who currently go to, or have gone to, Dawson College in the past. It will not be easy to go back there and look at it in the same way, feel the same sense of "home" that so many have commented on, or not think too much about the 'what if' questions: what if there was another shooter? What if they come back again? What if they come after me? What if I'm in the wrong place next time? What if there is a next time? These are all questions to which nobody has any answers; but as a community, we must be there to support one another in the weeks that come, and to pick up the pieces, and move on as best we can -- without pointing fingers, laying blame, and jumping to conclusions about the motives or reasons behind the incident.

From the point of view of those who are involved, and all those students who will, sooner or later, have to return to class, this is not the real sisue at the moment. The real issue, and the real question that many will be asking is, How do we move on from here? I hope that the focus in this tragedy remains on helping the Dawson community, and the victims, through the troubled weeks ahead, and not on some political rant about gun laws.


To those who need them, accept a hug; or ten. To those who have friends who were injured, they have my best wishes. To the rest of us, who have luckily remained relatively untouched by the events of today, may this be a reminder that anything can happen, any time, any where... and as members of the greater society, this leaves us with two obligations:

1. To enjoy life, make the most of what we are given, and to live as much for the moment as for the future; and,
2. To watch out for our fellow students and citizens, to look for signs of trouble, to be there to listen when people want to talk... for if more people talked, and fewer people acted, things like this might be far more avoidable.