frustrated

I am not a news hound but there are items that catch my attention and hold on for good.

A couple of weeks ago, a Toronto Police officer shot and killed a mentally disabled black man on the streets of a residental neighbourhood. He was being held at a nearby hospital for a 72 hour assessment and somehow escaped and was found roaming the area in a hospital gown, no shoes, holding a pair of scissors in each hand. Those were his only weapons. There was an outcry, a vigil, but still no answers as to why the officer reacted the way he did – three shots point blank at a lost and disoriented man. After he had been fatally shot he was tackled to the ground and restrained. Read the article if you like.

Not weeks later, another mentally ill man went missing from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This man, George May is white, has been convicted of murder and institutionalized at the above. It was not his first time escaping from a psych facility and both times, an alarm went up, police were involved, and he was returned presumably unharmed. The police involvement however differs in that when May went missing the police were called in to help find him and bring him back.

I try not to call racism unless I have really thought about it but RACISMRACISMRACISM!!

more later when i am not so frustrated

parkdale paranoia

This has me quite rattled. As a woman, queer woman, woman of colour I sadly have practical reasons for being scared of walking alone at night. I avoid it at all costs unless the distance is short enough that I could run if I had to. I hold my keys between my fingers in case someone gets to close. I am going to buy pepper spray. 

This woman was in her OWN HOME. This man was determined and had a target, it seems. I am feeling for her so much, I want to know if she is ok, is going to be ok. I want to reach out to her somehow to tell her I have been thinking of her constantly. 

The fear of the outside is one thing but to imagine this situation is, I haven’t found the words. As it is I check my locks fastidiously; I scan the surrounding area of my house to see if anyone is lingering in the shadows. This event has crumbled what security I felt I had. I am still processing this news…

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=parkdale%20toronto%2C%20sexual%20assault&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime%2Farticle%2F1140653–woman-sexually-assaulted-while-sleeping-in-parkdale-home&ei=IMRUT9XNC4Lh0QHBh93_DQ&usg=AFQjCNHEqbygM9XHIUSk44ihuB2hTntxYg