[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Vigil at Queen's Park June 28 - please distribute
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Wintermute <dwinter@networx.on.ca>
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2000 10:31 AM
Subject: FW: Vigil at Queen's Park June 28 - please distribute
A Silent Vigil at Queen's Park
Wednesday, June 28, 7pm to 9:05 pm
A group of concerned citizens is organizing a silent vigil in memory of the
tragedy at Walkerton to be held at the Ontario Legislature later this month.
The idea for this vigil grew out of a sense of shock over the tragedy, a
sense of frustration at the government's refusal to accept any
responsibility for creating the conditions in which it occurred, and a
strong desire to let the government know that enough is enough, that it is
time to stop the Common Sense Revolution before any one else dies as a
result of ideology, downloading, budget cuts, haste, and outright negligence.
The goal is to persuade enough people to come down and ring the perimeter
of Queen's Park one evening after work between 7 and 9:05 pm, and to stand
in respectful silence for five minutes at each hour in memory of those who
have died - those in Walkerton, of course, but also the homeless who have
died on our streets, the critically ill who have died forgotten on a gurney
in a hospital hallway, or in an ambulance on redirect, or while waiting for
treatment, women who continue to die at the hands of abusive partners, and
let us not forget about Dudley George.
Everyone is encouraged to wear a simple black arm band, but he idea is to
have no speeches, no loudspeakers, no bullhorns, no union signs, no
political banners, nothing to indicate that this is a group of people with a
mere special interest, but rather an assembly of concerned citizens from
all walks of life in Ontario.
So how do we move this from an idea to a real event? Time is short,
organization and funding are non-existent. We will have to rely on word of
mouth, telephone, fax, and email, each of us alerting people that we know
who feel as frustrated and alarmed as we do, and that includes a lot of
people in Ontario today since this tragedy has shaken the public's trust in
this government.
The perimeter of Queen's Park is approximately 2,825 feet. Allowing for 3
feet or 1 meter per person, that works out to 942 people, or roughly 1,000.
If each of us contacts everyone we know, and each of them does the same,
and so on, we think that we can reach that number, especially if we can tap
into large groups like unions and activist groups with well established
communications networks to get the word out. This includes the teachers,
heath care workers, CUPE, OPSU, CAW. This includes church groups, parent
groups, environmental groups, native groups, women's groups, arts groups,
college and university student groups, tenant groups, anti-poverty and
social justice groups. The potential is obviously there. Steps are already
being taken to approach people in Grey and Bruce counties and in Walkerton
itself to invite their participation as well.
We should not harbour any illusions that this vigil will change any minds
in the government. Rather, the goal is to bear respectful witness to the
tragedy that has occurred, and to remind everyone that people die in
revolutions and that we have had more than enough deaths in this one. To
say loud and clear with our silence that it is long past time to stop the
revolution!
Please forward this email, fax or photocopy this message, and forward it to
other people that you think might be willing to attend the vigil and ask
them to do the same. We especially need people with contacts in labor and
activist groups to help spread the word.
If you want to volunteer to help organize the vigil send an email with the
word VOLUNTEER as the subject to <jeager@visionol.net> or call Jim Eager
at (416) 652-3832.
--
-
This is the OPIRG-events@ox.org list. Announcement only please.
To unsubscribe, send email to opirg-events-request@ox.org, and put
"unsubscribe" in the body.
Archive at: http://www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/lists/html/opirg-events/