Who's Pushing What Agenda on this Very Sad Anniversary?

I had been reading the various articles about the anniversary of the Polytechnique Massacre. What really is catching my eye today is the comment board from an interview between Ingrid Peritz of the Globe and Mail and Nathalie Provost, one of the surviving shooting victims from that horrific day at the Ecole Polytechnique on December 6, 1989; twenty years ago today.


This year, I have heard that stale argument that the gun registry would not have prevented Marc Lepine from shooting those women.


I have heard from some who believe the victims are being exploited for the gun control and feminist agenda.


Well, actually, those very same people are using this tragedy to push their racist agendas due to the fact Lepine was half Algerian. Even though Lepine was baptized a Catholic and his mother, Monique says that he was a   "a confirmed atheist all his life" No matter, many Canadians have and are still using this anniversary to promote the hatred of Muslims.


Here is a goody from ACsial:


"There is also an unfortunate bit of Stockholm Syndrome at work, here. Gharbi was no poor, misguided little boy--he was a piece of human garbage and as good an argument for legalised abortion as any. 'Practicing Muslim', or not, he was raised in that culture's rotten misogeny by his violent father...and--like those Taliban who squirted acid on girls' faces--isn't getting 72 Houri in heaven."


Here is a racist not only promoting his agenda but also a very misinformed individual. 


Lepine's mother separated when he was just 6 years old. He and his little sister Nadia were raised by his mother, a French Canadian all of their lives and never saw their father again. What part of Islam or Algerian culture could have influenced him? He changed his name to Marc Lepine at age 14, a sure sign that he renounced his father. More on Lepine here.


I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see the likes of Norman Spector publish racist drivel, inciting the racists to make paralells between Lepine and the Taliban all the way in Afghanistan.  Ol' Norm also has the gall to suggest that if reporters were less politically correct in reporting this massacre, we may actually know the 'real' reason behind Marc Lepine's rampage.


"In the wake of the Fort Hood massacre, there was considerable soul-searching in the U.S. media about politically-correct reporting on the murderer. I don’t have a satisfactory explanation of these horrific multiple murders in Montréal either, but perhaps we would have been closer to one had the mainstream media done a better job reporting on this incident over the years."


I also find it amazing that these Islamaphobes tend to think that being a misogynist is reserved only for Muslims or anyone from that part of the world. I worked for two misogynists; neither one was Muslim or even of Middle-Eastern origin.


Perhaps it's just a slow news week for Spector. Most of his article was quoting the Montreal Gazette's Janet Bagnall's column.






Last night, I said the anniversary should serve as a reminder that we need tighter gun control laws.  I pointed out another irony of those Harpercons to push to be tough on crime, while at the same time removing a tool from law enforcement to help them do their work.


Well, when I saw the comment board to the G and M interview with Ms Provost, I was shocked at how many Canadians were not only pushing for  scrapping that long gun registry, but advocating for no gun control. They seem to envy Americans who walk around toting guns on the street legally.


Here's a goody from a redneck who calls himself Trozz: 


Trozz: "Ms. Provost and women like her should learn how to defend themselves against a psychopath. Instead of wanting the power and confidence to be able to stop guys like 'Marc Lepine' from harming good people, they want the government to do it for them. And for some reason, these 'engineering graduates' actually believe a bunch of 0's and 1's would protect them from violence.

Instead, we should be focused on training these women to defend themselves against violence. That will ultimately lead to their safety."

Oh, that is just wrong! I'm wondering if that was an American troll? Although, if one read the comment boards on the Globe and Mail, they would see that our friend, Trozz, is not alone. Frightening to say the least!

From that comment, I can only infer that he wants everyone to pack a gun. Teaching women to defend themselves? Am I the only one who sees how unintelligent that sounds?

I wonder if Nathalie Provost, who did attempt to reason with Lepine, would agree with that? She confirms that Lepine was obviously deranged: 

"He wasn't someone who wanted to relate. Marc Lépine was in an altered state. You have to be, to do something like he did; basic human nature doesn't let you. The man I saw wasn't someone who was focused on his acts, and he didn't want to relate. The eyes were dark"

Are Trozz and those who share his beliefs suggesting that everyone in schools should pack a gun?  

Let's assume that someone at the school did brandish a weapon:  What good would that have done? Lepine was a madman on a mission: to kill women. Someone like that would not be afraid of a loaded gun pointing at them, if anything, it would have made him crazier. They generally don't care about their own safety.  This was a man who felt he had nothing left to lose; that life as he knew it was over. Does one honestly think pointing a gun at someone like Lepine that day, or even Kimveer Gill, the shooter of the Dawson College shootings in 2006 would have scared them away? Not likely.  In fact, there would have been far more casualties. Do we really want our schools or even our workplaces and other public places turning into the OK Corral? 

Pittsky: "...See the organizations that debase the memory of these women for what they really are: A group of angry, scared and grieving people who would rather blame men and guns for all of their problems than tackle the real issues. "

To say that women's groups and so many others are blaming men; all men for the Polytechnique Massacre is oversimplifying things to say the least.  If this were true, many of those surviving women would never have gotten married or had children, like Nathalie Provost, herself. 

Pittsky: what are those real issues? The issue is violence. Another would be how those with mental health issues have fallen and still do fall through the cracks. Definitely more needs to be done about mental illness. More needs to be done to prevent violence: violence in general; not just against women. All  have a right to be safe in their schools as well as anywhere else.

There are many who feel that Ms Provost is not qualified to talk about gun control. I think that staring at the barrel of a gun, watching your life flash before her eyes definitely qualifies her.

Many speak of the militant feminists. Nathalie Provost never considered herself one. As she said, they were just women who were studying to achieve their chosen profession: engineering. This was exactly what she told Lepine when she was trying to reason with him.

Here's a doozy from Durward: It resembles Pittsky's comment, but goes nuttier.  I was waiting for some right wingnut to somehow use the big bad 'S' word improperly. Here goes:


"I'm so sick of hearing about this issue that was high-jacked by feminists and socialists to promote their warped views on guns and to name all men as mad gun crazed killers.
Most Canadians have long since forgotten this crime committed by a deranged individual, but not the anti-gun crowd, they want to revisit it every yr as a tool to push their agenda, they don't care about these women's deaths, just how to use them for political gain.
God how I hate socialists."


So now, 'socialism' is now going to play a part from those weird fringe groups on the anniversary of the massacres. I would be worrying about Durward's mental state right now. In fact, if any policemen are reading this, I would check to see if he has any weapons and then confiscate them. That kind of manic hatred is what leads to activities of the Kimveer Gills, Valery Fabrikants and  Marc Lepines of this world.


The rantings of a socialist hater. I seriously doubt he's actually met a socialist or has even lived under a real socialist regime; thus, another type of ignorant prejudice exhibited here. 


I wasn't aware that wanting everyone to be safe and having gun control to achieve this end was socialism. Even if it were: is it bad to want to feel safe in school, work or just walking from point A to Point B


They say that the best revenge is success. While many, understandably after such a traumatic incident would have quit school, and even given up life; survivors like Nathalie Provost and Heidi Rathjen have grown into successful women without wearing the badge of militant, man hating feminist as some rednecks would believe.


Ms. Rathjen would go on to complete her engineering degree, get married and have a daughter and fight tirelessly for gun control.


Ms Provost would not only graduate but stayed at Polytechnique to complete her master's degre. She is now the director of strategic planning for the Quebec civil service. Today, like so many career women, she is balancing career with raising four children. Like so many parents, she tells her daughters  they can be anything they want to be. 


Below are some statistics posted on  Antonia Z's page on how firearm homocides have 
declined. Here is further evidence from Statitistics Canada showing how domestic homocides by firearms have declined from 1974 - 2007. Here are more statistics proving that the gun 
registry does indeed work. 





Yes, of course we must remember this horrific anniversary as well as those of the Dawson shootings and the Virginia Tech and Columbine shootings in the U.S. How are we supposed to learn if we don't remember the past?


The reason the anniversary the Polytechnique massacre is of particular importance to feminism is that this particular gun man was motivated by his hatred of feminists. Here is a copy of his suicide note proving as much.


Sorry to disappoint, Norman Spector, we already know that Lepine's blaming feminists for his own failings in life were the cause. No question of political correctness on the part of media here. And no, no Islamic influence here.


As Heidi Rathjen pointed out, the gun registry really doesn't cost Canadians all that much. Nine million is a small price to pay to keep everybody safe. Antonia Z points out here that is more expensive to not have gun control, which the Harpercons are no doubt striving for.


Canadian Cynic and Antonia Z had noticed there were no postings commemorating the massacre over at the Blogging Tories. Should we be surprised? They're an uncaring group After reading from like-minded commentators at the Globe and Mail: do we really want read anymore racist, socialistphobe drivel? 


For those anti feminist, pro-gun nut, socialistphobics and racist anti Muslims: Who exactly has an agenda to push by commemorating the anniversary of the Polytechnique Massacre? It would seem that they're exploiting these victims as well as the victims of the other above mentioned school shootings to promote their agenda of hatred.


In Memory of: 

Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989)
Hélène Colgan (1966-1989)
Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989)
Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989)
Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989)
Maud Haviernick (1960-1989)
Maryse Laganière (1964-1989)
Maryse Leclair (1966-1989)
Anne-Marie Lemay (1967-1989)
Sonia Pelletier (1961-1989)
Michèle Richard (1968-1989)
Annie St-Arneault (1966-1989)
Annie Turcotte (1969-1989)
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958-1989)