I work in a government agency responsible for responding to prisoner complaints, and investigating human rights violations in Canada’s federal prisons. I was inspired to write this post after one of my recent visits to a correctional facility. There, I met with a young man who decided that he wanted to end his life. There … Continue reading Criminal Justice and the Principle of Dignity
63 Stories That Could Enrich Our Views on Immigration & Diversity
Multiple events held our attention over this past week: tensions between the United States and Iran were at an all time high; an executive order to assassinate a top Iranian official was carried out by the United States; and a Boeing jetliner headed for Ukraine crashed shortly after takeoff, just outside of Tehran, killing all … Continue reading 63 Stories That Could Enrich Our Views on Immigration & Diversity
Ferdos Embraces the Bigot
As the bigot spewed his ignorant hatred -- monosyllabic slices firing in rapid succession -- his patient interlocutor, Ferdos, contemplated the genesis of differentiation. He dissociated from the violent present, and extended his mind towards the totality of being. The great chain of contingency, he had heard, extends from the unseen realm of the Primal … Continue reading Ferdos Embraces the Bigot
Leaning Against My|self|
Has fate been withheld or have I failed to subdue it? A tremendous force seems to bend my will, diverting me onto a familiar path, trodden and unremarkable. The tribe, solely concerned with the preservation of tradition, cautions me to fear the shadows that pass beyond well-marked boundaries. Stepping out into the wilderness, in violation … Continue reading Leaning Against My|self|
Beneath the Haze, Resist
Each morning my bowels agitate me into waking, twisting and churning, like an unwelcome poison ready to pass. My nasal cavity drives me out of bed, prepared to erupt a tank of phlegm. Stomach acids, possessing my insides like a grotesque demon lusting for release, bubble up to my throat and violently disgorged - and … Continue reading Beneath the Haze, Resist
