Welcome to the September Just Posts: the parenting blogosphere's round-up of writing on social justice issues.
The Just Posts are brought to you every month by myself, Jen of One Plus Two, Susanne of Creative Mother Thinking and Hel of Truth Cycles.
I've been thinking a lot this month about the word justice. You see it's been ringing awfully hollow in my ears of late. Folks who can buy good justice hire lawyers like Eddie Greenspan to mount bullet-proof cases. And maybe good ole boy, Conrad, didn't get off scot free but he's still doing remarkably well for someone caught on videotape removing the evidence. Other folks aren't quite so lucky. Just ask the surviving victims of Canada's tainted blood scandal, some of whom were told last week that not only was no one responsible for infecting them with HIV and Hep C but that they were wrong to even try to seek justice in the first place. Yes, that too was slick Eddie's work but that verdict, it would seem, does not have the same media-frenzied stamina as Lord Connie's. The story of last week's verdict was all over the front page one day only to all but disappear the next. Can the worst public health tragedy in Canadian history really be swept aside so quickly while Conrad Black manages to make guest appearances on the Rick Mercer show and arrange a long pen book signing at a Toronto book store despite being banned from this country?
But my despair doesn't end with these two examples. It seems everywhere I turn justice has stopped being blind in that warm, fuzzy good way; rather she has lost sight and good sense to syphilis or some such disease. Canada is still reeling over wrongful convictions that have been overtured decades too late: Guy Paul Morin, Donald Marshall Jr. and David Milgaard to name a few. If you browse down the list of posts below, you will notice that some of our American neighbours have deep concerns about how justice is meted: look for posts about the Jena Six and the Lesbian/New Jersey Seven. All over the world prisons are full of people from marginalized groups. Entire countries believe they are above international law.
It all becomes too much to process, so rather than think globally I will turn my attention to local matters because that is something I can grasp and take action on. Here in New Brunswick, the provincial government got rid of civil legal aid in 1988. We are one of only four provinces in Canada without it. This means that except in a few instances of family law and child protection, our citizens do not have fair or equal access to the justice system. This situation has its most profound impact on the poor. In an opinion piece in our provincial newspaper this past month, Ginette Petitpas-Taylor said, "it is ironic, tragic and mundane to note that people who are economically better off encounter fewer problems that require a lawyer than do people who are living in poverty." She also mentioned that "according to the National Council of Welfare, the mere presence of a legal aid clinic can have an effect on a community. Welfare officers are more respectful of claimants' rights, collection agencies consider clients' rights more carefully before proceeding to seize their personal property, landlords renovate more promptly and child welfare workers study cases more carefully before removing a child from the home."
In her column, Taylor asked people to express their outrage to the provincial government and demand that civil legal aid be reinstated. Outrage is something I have no short supply of, and so, I will express it in as many ways as I can: in a letter, when the candidates next drop round my door, when I bump into the Premier at the farmer's market or see him out raking his autumn leaves (he lives about 4 blocks away from me). I'll raise my voice as best I can for whatever it might be worth.
Speaking of voices raised--in outrage, in praise, in quiet contemplation and in fist-waving anger, in joy, in sorrow--here are your September Just Posts. Take a good long look: there's over 80 of them. You people amaze me with your conviction. Make sure you drink deeply and don't forget that my partners in crime justice, Jen, Susanne and Hel, also have something to say about social justice today.
Alejna with Squandered and A Post for Burma
Ally at Zone Family with Rainsong
Andrea at A Garden of Nna Mnoy with The Green Family: All right, Ms. Smartypants, what am I supposed to do then? and Frances Friday: Faith
be present be here with love and truth
biodtl at I am the Master Evil Genius with No Childs Left Behind and Hungry
Blithely Babbling with The Value of the Victim
Blog Antagonist with Solicitation and A Gift To Yourself
BlogHers Acts Canada
A Commonplace Book with Why Republicans Could Win the White House in 2008
Casdok with Have a Rant on Me
Cecileaux at Shavings off My Mind with What is to be done
Chris Jordan with The modern mother
Christine at Running on Empty with I'm all worked up!!
crazymumma with Untitled, Marina and Mussolini and snowbirds/airshow
DC Metro Moms Blog with An Open Letter to the Presidential Candidates--from a Mom
Feministing with Fired pregnant woman was told to suck in her belly
Fortune and glory after a cup of coffee with "Paranoia strikes deep ...."
Her Grace with He may move slow but that don't mean he's going nowhere
Ijeomaublogcreativity with Sneak preview.... and More Food for Thought
Ismail Farouk with GreYeo: Community Based Internet Communication in Yeoville and Apartheid, The South African Mirror: Instuments of Racial Classification
It's Not a Lecture with Facebook's Worst Nightmare, part II
Jangari of Matjjin-nehen for Woolies and Welfare, Indigenous language education and indigenous rights, and UN votes on indigenous rights
Jenandtonic with Naked, naked, naked LOVE!
Jen M at Get in the Car with her Philanthropy Thursday series
Jen at One Plus Two with Brother Can you Spare a Dime, This is how it starts (jumping off), Jump, Shelter-(ed), Door to Door, Chasing Tails
Jen at Under the ponderosas with I'm an environmentalist/I'm not an environmentalist
Jenni of Girls for Glaciers with War is not healthy for children or other living things
KC at Where's My Cape with The Good Influence and Moral Spin, Mortal Sin
Karen at Needs New Batteries with Places I Love
Kellee Terrell at Pop Gumbo with Justice with a snap and Jena 6 protests: the media finally gives it airtime
Kelly at A Child is Born with Fuck off Facebook and Bill Maher
Kevin at Life Has Taught Us with Hip Hop Justice, or Yet Another Story You Haven't Heard About
Kevin Chanas with The Deadliest Item at Your Grocery Store
Latoya Peterson at Racialicious with The Gentrification Shuffle
Lawyer Mama with On Becaming a Lawyer and Facebook Sucks
Liv with something wonderful happened today
Marcella Chester with Sexual Violence in the Congo
Maria Niles on blogher with Learning the lessons of Ugly Betty: real women have curves
Mir on blogher with Everything I never wanted to know about breasts I learned from Facebook and on WCS with Our job is to teach them to suck it up
Mouse with Global Warming Wednesday Haiku for bak to school
Mrs Chili of Blue Door with Ten Things Tuesday (or Ten reasons why I’m an outspoken GBLT advocate/ally)
Painted Maypole with family values, Easy Philanthropy Thursday and Activist Philanthropy
PeterAtLarge / The Buddha Diaries with Acts of Courage: Burma and War
Pundit Mom with Iraq War Solution by Pundit Girl
Rachel's Random Ramblings with Protests in Burma
Radical Mama with Watch Me Point Out the Obvious
Roy at No Cookies for Me with Can I be a feminist?
Sagefemme with Will this be on the exam?
Shelly of Girls for Glaciers with The Elephant in the Room
Stumbling and Mumbling with Unions and Inequality
Susanne at Creative Mother Thinking with Mommy guilt is not personal and Wiping with cloth
Thailand gal with Are ideas dangerous
The Assimilated Negro with Clowns run Klan out of Knoxville
The League of Maternal Justice
Third Story with September
Thordora with Out of suffering have emerged... and When I Cry
Wayfarer Scientista with October 2007 Scientiae Carnival
Where ever ewe go there ewe are with Sunday Front Page
writing as jo(e) with What we talk about at lunch
BubandPie
Carrie
Cecilieaux
Chani
Christine
flutter
Hel
Jen
Susanne
Tabba
19 hats in the ring:
Wow! I love how you guys just keep getting more and more links. FANtastic!
I am honered to be your partner in crime exposing.
I too yearn for the return of a fierce justice. A warior woman rather than a laywer.
That's a great topic. I hope that there will be something done about that situation in your neighborhood (and elsewhere of course).
Idoubt that there is such a thing as justice on earth but then I love it as an ideal that points us on our way.
Wow, no legal aid? How heartbreaking. I know so many poo poo the importance of lawyers, but they really do help keep the justice system in balance. They can be fierce warriors too.
I agree with LM.
And -- a reassuringly large number of just posts does the heart good.
It is so hard to wrap our minds around the big issues sometimes, but if we all started locally, we would know our power, and the justice could grow and spread. Excellent post.
I am so ecstatic that this is growing. It is a beautiful thing.
And you! I chuckled when Sage told me that you had notified her of my news. You guys make my heart burst, you know.
Thanks, Mad. It takes a bit of the sting out of the last week to read this and know people are still fighting.
This is impressive and a lot of reading! Inspiring posts are always welcome.
All these voices.
Incredible again....
thanks again, for doing this roundtable, you and your knightses of justice. you've given me a reason to keep my eyes open, and keep learning and looking. :)
and the legal aid issue...is a bit of a travesty. which is not enough said, on my part, but i neither know where to begin nor end.
No legal aid? That's just not right, not right at all. Justice should not only be for those who can 'afford' it.
And 80 posts. Wow.
Wow, I'm impressed with the number of posts. I'm even more impressed that you're willing to speak up, even to the mayor. It's something I have a really hard time doing.
Hat's off to you, Mad, and to your co-workers, for all the effort and reading (!) and sifting and sorting this takes.
It is going to take me a while to get through these and I know that when I do I will have a pile of new bookmarks.
Does the premier have a website where horrified Ontarians can leave messages? Snicker.
Powerfully written. It's scary how the right to legal representation has just been quietly stripped away for the poor in Canada.
Look at these voices, and heavens, look at yours.
Thank you for this.
oh mad. you are a fighter.
and we love that.
I've been slowly going through this list of posts--they are, as always, remarkable.
Great post, and thanks for the link to mine ... I'm honoured to be included in such company!
Post a Comment