December 6, 2009

I know that this blog is generally a place for comedy, and satire, and light-hearted looks at life, but I need to change tone for today. I apologize, please indulge me, I’ll keep it brief.

20 years ago today, a man walked into the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and opened fire with a rifle, killing 14 women before taking his own life. Canada’s worst single-day massacre lasted only 20 minutes.

Every year since then, around the first week of December, people wear buttons to remember this horrible day in Canadian history. The buttons are white with a single red rose, and the words “14 Not Forgotten.”

However, what bothers me, is that in discussions of what the button means, and what happened that day, everyone mentions the gunman’s name. So, instead of commemorating the lost lives, we instead remember the evil person who perpetrated the massacre.

How does that make sense?

In essence, while the phrase “14 Not Forgotten” is bandied about, nobody ever mentions the names of those 14 women who we say are “not forgotten.” Today, when you read your newspapers and watch your TV news broadcasts, count how many times you hear HIS name. I refuse to mention his name in this post because by doing so, I give him what he wanted that day, to be the name that people speak. He wins when you mention his name, and it saddens me.

And if you wear a button, or do anything to commemorate what happened today, do yourself a favour and learn these names, and never say his again:

Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Maria Klucznik
Maryse Leclair
Annie St.-Arneault
Michèle Richard
Maryse Laganière
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Annie Turcotte