A Sad Day in Canada

  Yesterday a young man walked into a school in a small Saskatchewan town and killed two people. This after killing two teenagers in their home. It's very sad. It's very scary. And it's very rare in Canada. Yet it hasn't blown up Canadian social media like other incidents have. Similar mass shootings, that happened in other countries, have gotten more social media play than this. Why?

  I don't want to jump to conclusions. Really I don't. But my mind keeps coming back to the thought...is it because these victims are native?  Please, please let me be wrong.

  Canada has a shameful history in the treatment of our indigenous people. Shameful. There is an out right bigotry that some Canadians do not even attempt to hide. Look around cities with a high native population. How many natives do you see in the workforce? Very few. Not because "they are all lazy" or "they are always drunk". Because no one will hire them. Don't believe me? Go to Winnipeg.

  A report in 2014 stated that between 1980 and 2012 there were nearly one thousand two hundred reported cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Read that again. 1200 women. No inquiry. No warnings. No yelling and screaming from women across the country. At least not enough of one to make people stand up and take notice. Why? Do these women not matter?

  Last week two teenagers went missing here. Within minutes my social media was flooded with their photos and info. These posts were shared and shared and shared. Four people were murdered and I have seen one post, just one, on social media.

  All life is important. All lives. No matter the color of skin.

  I really hope I'm jumping to the wrong conclusion.

  Ang

*** for the record I love the fact that social media can play a role in helping to find missing people...please don't misinterpret that statement about the missing teenagers from last week***

*** the phrases in "quotation marks" are generalities I have heard many times over the years aimed at indigenous people...like most generalities they are not true and I correct everyone who has ever spoken those words to me***

 ***FYI Winnipeg has it's first aboriginal mayor in Brian Bowman. Congrats Mr. Mayor!***