Monday is the 10th anniversary of the massacre of 14 women at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. Canadians are still debating the implications of that horrific day.
It was Dec. 6, 1989, the last day of classes before the Christmas holiday. Decorations were up on the walls. Many of the students and staff were in a festive mood.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Marc Lepine walked into a second-floor classroom carrying a semi-automatic rifle that he had purchased legally. The 25-year-old Lepine ordered the men out and stated that he hated feminists.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Six women died in that room. But Lepine wasn't finished. He stalked the hallways, shooting as he went and entering other rooms in search of further victims.
Before he finally turned the rifle on himself, Lepine had shot 23 women and four men. None of the men was fatally wounded, but 13 female students and one female office employee were dead.
The horror of the massacre left deep scars and created rifts that Canadians have not been able to bridge.
For the survivors and the families of the victims, life would never be the same. Many reported nightmares for years. Many still feel nervous in some public places.
Defining moment
For other Canadian women, the massacre was a defining moment. Their blood ran cold at the knowledge that these 14 women died because they were women. More than that, the 13 dead students had been in a program once considered strictly a male domain -- engineering.
Lepine had applied to the same program at Ecole Polytechnique. The school turned him down because he wasn't qualified. For that, he blamed feminists. He wrote in his suicide note: "Feminists have ruined my life."
Yes, he was deranged. But it is inescapable that he chose women as his victims. He had also applied to the army and been rejected because he wasn't qualified. But he didn't choose to gun down soldiers, most of whom were male.
Before the massacre, he had compiled a hit list of Quebec women who he had fantasized about killing. The list included union leaders, journalists and a women's volleyball team composed entirely of police officers.
Many Canadian women feared that Lepine's feelings toward women were common, that many men shared them. If that were so, then how long would it be before the next massacre? It seemed like Lepine had declared open season on women, that he had opened a door that might never be closed.
That's why so many women supported gun control. The massacre crystallized feelings and resulted in the banning of several types of weapons and ultimately in the 1994 gun registration law.
A decade after the massacre, men are still feeling the fallout. There is an unfortunate tendency on the part of some women to vilify all men as potentially dangerous. That's just not true, any more than all women are saints.
After the massacre, gun owners, most of whom are male, all of a sudden found themselves being viewed with suspicion and in some cases turned into criminals after their once-legal guns were outlawed. As a result of the change in the laws, legitimate gun owners are now burdened with confusing and expensive regulations.
Graphic statement It's difficult to imagine a more graphic statement of hatred against women than Lepine's shooting spree. But being a woman hater is not the defining characteristic of all gun owners.
Nor is it the defining characteristic of other mass killers. Although there have been several high-profile serial killers who targeted women, most of the deranged gunmen killed whoever came within their range.
It's not even true that all serial killers are male. Several nurses, so-called angels of mercy, have been discovered quietly killing patients over a period of years. And there are too many examples of "good" mothers killing their own children.
The Montreal massacre must be understood in this broad perspective. It was an aberration that offers some general lessons -- but we must refrain from reading too much into it.
There is still far too much violence in Canada, not just against women. Violence will always be with us to some extent. But we must continue working to reduce it. That will only succeed if we keep the lines of communication open.
By recognizing the legitimate concerns and fears on all sides, by supporting open discussion, by refraining from vilifying opponents, by toning down the rhetoric on all sides, we can hope to make progress.
It's one of those famous Canadian solutions -- compromise.
Political pimps City councillors such as Lazarenko, Lubosch, Smith, and even Social Planning Council of Winnipeg executive director Wayne Helgason (if accurately quoted) are not just naive and misinformed, but also represent an active menace, if they can seriously suggest the legalization of prostitution.
These characters have been quoted as applauding the "entrepreneurial spirit" of prostitutes, who are described like "waitresses" who should be "tip(ped) for good service."
They propose to provide a safe place for "women who are determined to work as prostitutes," ignoring the many girls, boys and men in the industry, and thereby characterizing the sex workers as choosing such a lifestyle and occupation as an active vocational choice made by free will in a free-market economy.
None of the female or male prostitutes who have passed through my office as a lawyer these past two decades, nor the prostitutes I witnessed advertising themselves in the shop windows of Amsterdam and in my other travels have ever described themselves as anything other than oppressed by their pimps and their customers.
As a taxpayer, I resent the idea of taking further advantage of these needy people by becoming yet another level of pimp through government legalization and taxation, as they waste their youth, energy and their bodies on the decrepit losers who lord it over them for a few bucks.
Better to advocate the decriminalization (not the sale, but the use) of drugs, which appears to be such a major factor of street life and often the impulse behind prostitution, as I have observed.
People deserve a better life than the short, brutal life of the sex industry, even when it is legalized. Look around at the misery legalized gambling has brought to Winnipeg and Manitoba. Legalized prostitution will be yet another tax on the backs of the poor. I have yet to see an advantaged person actively choose prostitution as an occupation.
Victoria Lehman.
Winnipeg
(Does anyone truly choose it?)
LETTERS
Fix the Armed Forces Bravo on your editorial Disintegrating Army (Dec. 4). The state of our Armed Forces is a national disgrace. I am pleased the Winnipeg Sun is bringing this to light.
Pressure must be put on this unbearably stupid government to bring the needed changes -- and quick before more people die.
This has to become an election issue. Jean Chretien, Lloyd Axworthy are you listening?
Don't the people who put their life on the line for this country deserve the best?
In the meantime, maybe those two should fly on the Sea Kings for official business until replacements are purchased, I think that would speed up the process significantly.
Terry Wiebe
Roland, Man.
(A great idea. If the politicians had to fly around in Sea Kings, the Armed Forces would get new helicopters very quickly.)
Training programs needed If the different levels of government are serious about youth unemployment and skills training, then they should allocate funds for the identification and treatment of learning disabilities and ADHD.
While the up front cost may be a bit more, the long-term savings in terms EIA and EI, fewer stays in treatment and incarceration, a larger tax base and increased buying power more than make up for the outlay.
Tony Zerucha
Winnipeg
(An ounce of prevention ...)
Parents irresponsible? Re: Burning Anger (Nov. 27). I wonder why a boy of that age is out and about in the wee hours of the morning?
Supervision would seem to be sadly lacking prior to this time.
Children in those years need a great deal of guidance and attention from their parents. Parents have to be accountable for the actions of the children.
Abe Giesbrecht
Carman, Man.
(A lot of readers wondered why the boy was out at that time.)
Most kids are good We have 14-year-olds setting fires in crowded malls and eight- and 11-year-olds torching churches.
As we debate punishment and/or programs for our troubled youth, let us remember that we're debating about what to do about a small number of incredibly destructive youth.
Some youth are intimidating, some are criminal, but the vast majority are just like you and me all those years ago; a little reckless but filled with quiet hopes and dreams.
Curtis Moore
Winnipeg
(You're right The majority of good kids are often overlooked.)
No red-light districts Oh, how Coun. Harry Lazarenko's family must be proud!
Nothing like opening your morning paper and discovering your husband/father/son advocates prostitution and equates it to tipping for good service, no less!
Is a red-light district in our fair city the only way to regulate this problem?
Wait, I have a fantastic idea, we have an arson situation in this city don't we? Why don't we mark off five or six square blocks in the core area and let our little firebugs indulge themselves!
Sounds a bit crazy, doesn't it?
It is shocking to me that instead of fighting the problem, we consider adapting the rules to make it acceptable -- disgraceful.
We worry about our children leaving this city and this province to pursue better places to work and raise a family. Why would Lazarenko choose to make the decision easier by proposing such a regrettable solution?
Dave Tashe
Winnipeg
(Prostitution is degrading and dangerous under any circumstances.)
To e-mail a letter to the editor: editor@wpgsun.com
To be considered for publication, please include your full name, address and telephone number.
