Segregation and Society

From: John Ames Birch <amesbirch403@gmail.com> Date: Tue., Sep. 28, 2021, 4:45 p.m. Subject: Segregation and Society (Opinion) To: <justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca>, <chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca>, <dujarric@un.org>, <aclupreferences@aclu.org>, <antonio.ferrari@un.org>, <actso@naacpnet.org>, <assistance@liberal.ca>, <annamie.paul@greenparty.ca>, <Erin.OToole@parl.gc.ca>, <bcrowfoot@ammsa.com>, <brienne.prusak@newyork.msf.org>, <carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca>, <calgary@globalnews.ca>, <cnn.feedback@cnn.com>, <chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn>, <dir_enq@cso.gov.hk>, David Hulen <dhulen@adn.com>, <edmonton@globalnews.ca>, <eonline@bellmedia.ca>, <Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca>, <FoxNationCustomerCare@fox.com>, <gov.pressoffice@alaska.gov>, <GlobalBarrie@globalnews.ca>, <GlobalOttawa@globalnews.ca>, <haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk>, <haqf@un.org>, <info@ccla.org>, <info@ap.org>, <info@ansi.org>, <jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca>, <kdundar@hdn.com.tr>, <km_ir@kindermorgan.com>, Liz Sauvé <liz.sauve@telus.com>, <msnbctvinfo@nbcuni.com>, <media@aircanada.ca>, <newstips@globaltv.com>, <newschannel@ctv.ca>, <newsonline@ctv.ca>, <nytnews@nytimes.com>, <news@skynews.com>, <news@connexionfrance.com>, <news@thelocal.se>, <osd.pentagonpressbadges@mail.mil>, <premier@gov.ab.ca>, <premier@gov.nl.ca>, <premier@gov.bc.ca>, <premier@gov.sk.ca>, <premier@novascotia.ca>, <pjohnston@postmedia.com>, <jsavikataaq@gov.nu.ca>, <reportit@kxan.com>, <report@aiusa.org>, <tips@thetexan.news>, <tonews@cbc.ca>, <ViewerContactCalgary@globalnews.ca>, <ViewerContactToronto@globalnews.ca>, <Vickie.Wonder@nngco.com>, <washingtonbureau@naacpnet.org>, <w5@ctv.ca>, <weekend@cbsnews.com>, <yves-francois.blanchet@parl.gc.ca>, <YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk>, <info@ifcj.ca>, <info@jfcuia.org>, <ncte@transequality.org>, <gladcanada.info@gmail.com>, <feedback@hrc.org>, <ecampaign@gop.com>, <taviv@international.gc.ca>, <pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il>

It starts with identification as it always does.... Over our history we have witnessed significant atrocities as we struggled to find a balance between collective good and individual rights. We fought each other for the right to exist, to end slavery and oppression. The world went to war against itself to stop the genocide of the Jewish people and we marched to see liberty reign. We marched first for the rights for women to be considered people. Then we marched again to stop segregation and apartheid, and we continue to march to combat homophobia, racism and gender discrimination. All these years and all of our sacrifices have led us to a better world, the one in which we now inhabit. Our world still isn't perfect, which is why we continue to march onward towards that beautiful future we all deserve. We must take heed however, that we keep a watch on the horizon of human rights lest we fall backwards into tyranny and oppression. It's time to remember who we were as a people so that we can determine who we will become as people, cities, nations and a society. Long ago there was a time of slavery and oppression for people of color, they were sold into bondage and had their inalienable rights taken away from them. They were not considered people only property, beholden to the whims of corrupt and evil people seeking to build empires off of human suffering. People were made to work long hours with no rest or recompense, they were raped, tortured and beaten if they resisted and entire generations fell to hate. Many were killed through acts of barbarism or neglect and had everything they loved taken away from them. As we know, we went to war against ourselves, nearly splitting an entire nation apart to set right that great wrong. From this atrocity another was created. Segregation, a word that many know but many do not understand. A time where people were precluded from houses, jobs, restaurants, shops, and washrooms simply due to the color of their skin. They were beaten, bullied and bruised as they sought equal status and protections under the law. They marched, bled and died to see segregation end and liberty begin. They had their rights taken away from them for a factor that they couldn't control. They were called names, had hatred spewed at them and had their lives ruined because of hate and oppression. It was a time of great upheaval and during this time another tragedy was taking place across the planet. The world wept as the Jewish people faced genocide for their religion and personhood. Hitler rose across the sea to segregate anyone who would not comply with the wishes of his Reich. It started with identification, they began to label and segregate Jewish and Homosexual people along with anyone they thought as "Undesirable". Jewish people were made to wear the Star of David while homosexual men were required to wear a pink triangle wherever they went or they would face severe consequences. After that, they began to be prohibited from certain restaurants, shops, jobs, and neighborhoods. There was even a prohibition on using any Jewish owned or operated business. The hate grew more and more as the public used them as scapegoats for their anger and their ideologies. After this, they were then rounded up neighborhood by neighborhood, house by house and sent to concentration camps. Here they were beaten, worked to death, murdered in gas chambers, experimented on and had their belongings seized by the Nazis. Entire generations ended by hate and intolerance, treated like property as opposed to people. History seems to be repeating itself in this generation as people once again seem to have forgotten the mistakes of the past. Instead of color, orientation or religion the spark of segregation is now vaccination status. Given that vaccinated people can still get sick and pass along the virus there is no cause or use for segregating vaccinated and unvaccinated people as it provides no protections for our society. I can see the same archetypes recurring today as we have seen ages past and it's horrifying. I see an unequal landscape based on vaccination status, people paying more for certain things, being prohibited from shops, restaurants, jobs and I worry that the hate being levied against unvaccinated people will turn once again to atrocity. It starts small, one concession, one right taken away and then another and another until one day you wake up in chains. The mistakes of the past are repeating themselves because we have forgotten them. There is a wave sweeping the world, a wave that seeks to turn the clock back on generations of human rights and human dignity and it cannot be allowed. Human rights are essential. The rights of the individual are important to the collective and without the rights of the individual, the collective is meaningless. Why do we build together, strive together and dream together if the individual is then left alone? We have built the western world through generations of activism and progress, marching hand in hand, generation by generation to craft a better world than the one we were handed. What will that legacy come to mean if we dishonor the memories of all those lost to hate and all those that fell fighting against oppression. We cannot turn the clock back on our progress, this lesson has been paid through blood by our ancestors and we must remind any who seek to erase that struggle. I am therefore calling on the world at large to stop segregation and discrimination in all its forms including based on vaccination status. If we allow a system to continue that doesn't protect us only segregates us, we will be turning our backs on the struggles and dreams of our forbearers. Stand together, stand for human rights and ensure that those rights are never devalued, never forgotten. These rights and the struggle that brought us those rights, define our society and our people. We must make sure that our legacy, the echo we send forth through time, represents our hearts and not our fears. "We have come far from the days where there was state-enforced segregation. But we still have a way to go". - Ruth Bader Ginsberg Stay Safe, Stay Sanitized and Stay Supportive, John Ames Birch @johneames2