Vancouver’s becoming like NYC: I’m deeply troubled with this — when are the robins coming, check these lines. (1) In the wake of another targeted shooting this weekend, Vancouver police are admitting their solve rate is low; and then this on: (2) The force is solving half as many gang hits as other murders; or this one: (3) The VPD is struggling to solve planned murders that leave the police with few details to follow; or this one: (4) Constable Tim Fanning says lots of planning and night-time attacks are making it hard for police to find the killers. My question: why is there no anti-violence themes in this, why are meeting force with more force?
Aqsa Parvez was killed exactly three months ago today. Let’s celebrate her, cuz we never really knew her and that should be mourned.
God forbid — do you regretting getting politically involved? Tell us if your involvement in “activism” has left you dry and why. Did you experience include allegedly assaults for being too passive or for resigning, or have you witnessed such things, have you experienced extremely abusive organizational practices, or were you bullied and threatened by members of any political groups?
HEADER IMAGE CREDIT: here.
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This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Anti-Violence, Disaster/Explosion, Education, Environment, Health, News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I guess I will start this conversation off
I’ve been involved in community organizing for most of my life.
In 2003, the drain became so bad, that I stopped volunteering for three years. It pains me to want to contribute to positive change in my community, but feel unable to do so because of org politics.
So often, community groups are domineered by the toxic politics of one person (or a small group) who claim to have no interest in power, while using passive aggression to control the actions of the organization.
It’s really sad how this kind of politic fractures the very community it claims to serve.
That’s my deal.
Katie, I totally know where you come from. I used to serve on the board of a local charity called SANSAD which works on issues pertaining to South Asia. My friend and I left after we faced sexual harassment - and not only harassment but also gendering of work - why is it that women are always stuck with administrative tasks like minute-taking, kitchen work, etc? When we handed in our letter of resignation outlining our reasons for leaving, we were threatened with being sued for libel (by someone in the legal field, no less) and were accused of making “a big deal out of nothing.” Chalk it up to another example of how women who out men for harassment are accused of being hysterical and crazy - and how men in power try to use their positions in society to further oppress women. I still partake in my own form of community work at times. I guess we all just have to make our own livable boundaries.