From a retired teacher via email: The tragic suicide of the 15-year old gay Ottawa teen has sparked renewed attention to bullying. It was big on CNN’s Anderson Cooper recently. And it’s not just a gay-straight thing. Bullying has always been around…
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BigCityLib Strikes Back: Torys Anti-bullying Message Is Cheap-Assed Crap
So, when Kady O’Malley made note of this a few hours ago, I was prepared to be impressed. In fact, I originally meant to title this post something like “Tories Show Some Class”. But, see, I first saw it with sound off (Long story why)…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Tragic Death of Jamie Hubley
I know a lot about suicide. Ever since I saw a young straight couple jump in front of a train at the McGill Metro station I have tried to do what I can to prevent it.I have worked as a volunteer in the mental health system in Montreal and Toronto. …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Tim Hudak Plays the Homophobia Card
Well I see the Con teabagger Tim Hudak is so desperate he is hauling out the homophobia card.Just as I told you last night.And remember, the people they are going after are bullied gay kids.The miserable cowards.Oh boy. It takes all kinds of people to …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The National Post Apologizes for Anti-Transgender Ad
The National Post should never had published this truly evil ad from the grotesque homophobe Charles “Bloater” McVety.It was offensive, it was cruel, it was aimed at bullied children.But at least now they they have apologized.The fact that we will not …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Mitchell Wilson, Jamey Rodemeyer, the Bullies, and Lady Gaga
As you know I hate bullies of all stripes. From Stephen Harper and his thug Cons, to those who bully children for being different or gentle, to those who beat helpless old people in senior’s homes.So you can imagine how I feel about those who bullied a…
Continue readingThis is horrible. 11-year-old disabled Pickering boy commits suicide after bullying.
RIP Mitchell WilsonI can’t fathom the torture this poor kid endured for much of his young life. Words fail.By his 11th birthday, Mitchell Wilson had already endured a lifetime of pain. He was 8 when his mother died of cancer three years ago. …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Con Bullies Go After the CBC. Again.
I have never understood why the Cons hate the CBC so much. Why the grotesque teabaggers at Fox News North spend so much time hissing and spitting at it.Or why senior Con operatives use CBC hate to whip up their rabid supporters, and sque…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Jamey Rodemeyer, the Bullies, and Lady Gaga
The other night I wrote about the tragic story of Jamey Rodemeyer, the 14-year-old boy from Buffalo, New York, who was bullied to death for being gay.So I’m glad to see that the bullies may be held accountable.Police are looking to bring crim…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Sad Death of Jamey Rodemeyer
Jamey Rodemeyer was a 14-year-old boy who lived in Buffalo, New York. He was relentlessly bullied because he was gay. He cried out for help online for months.And when nobody helped him he committed suicide.On Sept. 8, he wrote: “No one in my …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Leanne Iskander and the Catholic Homophobes
Leanne Iskander is a 16-year-old lesbian who has led the fight to create a Gay-Straight Alliance club at her state-funded Catholic school in Ontario.But last week the Toronto Catholic District School Board voted to put denominational rights before huma…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Watch: Tampa Bay Rays declare It Gets Better
In this It Gets Better instalment from the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Joe Maddon and players Johnny Damon, Sam Fuld, B.J. Upton, and Sean Rodriguez speak with conviction in a sincere message of support for LGBT teens who might be the victims of bullying. …
Continue readingcultural sn:afu: The avoidable and useless death of Debbie Hunter
A friend of mine… maybe an acquaintance I respected and felt great pity for, died today just days after being admitted to the hospital in Alexandria. From tuberculosis. Tuberculosis. She was 41-years old, or very close to it. I know … Conti…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Late Night at Simon’s: Bruce and the Magic Ponies
Shortly after the gay blogger Bruce McDonald killed himself, I went over to his shuttered site Canuck Attitude, and stole his jukebox.I was hoping to remember him by playing some of the old tunes and cartoons he use to run late on a Saturday night. But…
Continue readingLaw is Cool: Constructive dismissal
Recently, I consulted a client who was in a conflict with a few co-workers. Let’s call him Jack. My client told me they did not like him. Jack received emails accusing him of poor communication skills and mistakes in the performance of his work duties. Jack convinced me that the accusations were groundless. He believed […]
gay persons of color: Tampa Bay Rays become 9th MLB team to join It Gets Better Project
Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Joe Maddon and players Johnny Damon, Sam Fuld, B.J. Upton, and Sean Rodriguez will be featured in an upcoming “It Gets Better” video to support teens dealing with anti-gay bullying, reports the St. Petersburg Times. The new vide…
Continue reading350 or bust: Is The Kremlin Now In Charge? Harper Government Silencing Canadian Artists And Scientists
The Harper Government is sending out a clear message at home and abroad that if your politics are not correct your art shouldn’t be shown, and if your findings are inconvenient your science doesn’t matter. A recent Vancouver Sun discussed t…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Honouring My Hero Nelson Mandela
Monday was the 93rd birthday of my greatest living hero, Nelson Mandela.Tributes poured in from all over the world, and South Africans celebrated by singing songs for him, and performing small acts of kindness.It’s a day when people in South…
Continue readinggay persons of color: Watch: Boston Red Sox "It Gets Better" video
Released last week, the Boston Red Sox contribution to the It Gets Better project features manager Terry Francona, captain and catcher Jason Varitek, and first/third baseman Kevin Youkilis, whose words are woven together with those of “real” people to …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Con Bigots and the Rainbow Chasers
It was a grey and rainy Monday, so imagine how great it was to stumble home from work, and see this beautiful rainbow streaming down on my island.
Especially since I know that a sight like that must drive these rainbow chasers CRAZY.
A…
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