Mother's Day Meltdown
Schools continue to imply that it's unacceptable that most people have it pretty good here.
One of my favourite weekends of the year is the one that includes Mother's Day. Not because I'm a mother, but because I have one. And also because my kids have one. An added bonus to the latter is that my kids' mother also happens to live in the same house with me - and with my kids.
So it's a perfect opportunity to sit out on the deck with family and friends and enjoy what is often the first really nice weekend of the spring (yes, in Manitoba it often takes this long).
Not only that, but it's a chance to write cheesy poetry and just generally show the mothers in my life how much they mean to me and how thankful I am for who they are. It's also a great opportunity to teach our kids that recognizing someone strictly for who they are is a legitimate form of respect.
So, when I heard that a school near Winnipeg had decided to opt out of Mother's Day (and Father's Day) in the name of “inclusivity”, I was a little peeved.
Why is it that every time the inclusivity mantra is invoked, it's when someone or something is being excluded?
Another great example of this idiocy happened just this month at the east end of our oh, so progressive nation. Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland has banned the singing of Newfoundland’s provincial anthem, Ode to Newfoundland, at convocation ceremonies. The reason? Well, apparently to “create safer and more welcoming spaces for all students.”
Obviously. Because the students at Memorial University are evidently terribly fragile things that would never get over problematic lyrics such as "God guard thee" and "as loved our fathers, so we love."
I know - it's despicable. I'm presuming the problematic words here are not “guard”, or “love” (though that last one may be right on the edge), which leaves “God” and “father”. I can see those young, impressionable minds just melting at the mere mention of these two words, let alone the singing of them.
In Canada we have so many commemorative days, it's a wonder there is even enough room in the year to celebrate them all. But what's the point in having any of them if celebrating one means leaving someone out?
Why celebrate black history month? Not everyone is black.
Why have a Pride day? Most people aren't part of that group.
How about Orange Shirt Day? That only really applies to a minority of people as well.
I could go on, but the point is that if we're so concerned about "inclusivity" then why (in the case of Mother's Day) are we effectively excluding the vast majority of children that do live with at least one of their parents? Is it simply because they are in the majority? Are we now to resent the fact that some people have something to celebrate that we don't? These people are constantly preaching diversity and tolerance, yet the more diverse we get, the less tolerant they are of anyone with a different viewpoint, specifically legitimate viewpoints that were here long before they were.
These kids are going to have one hell of a rude awakening when they get out into the real world and discover that:
"Diversity", contrary to what they learned in school, actually means that there will be people who believe differently than them and they need to live and work with them even if they disagree with them,
"Equity" the way they teach it in school will not help you get a job unless you're able to prove that you can also do the work, and
"Inclusion" is a fantasy. Just because school boards force it in the classroom, in real life you are included when you bring something to the table. No one gets something for nothing. Government welfare programs are a necessary exception, but they're not supposed to be the rule.
They will also learn that though the world is indeed diverse, it is not necessarily inclusive, and life is definitely not fair. No wonder there are now people seeking government sanctioned suicide in this country simply because they can't find a proper place to live.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2022 about 63% of 15 to 34 year-olds had a positive view of the future. This was a decline of 15% from 2016 (the sharpest decline of all age demographics). Perhaps unsurprisingly, this finding coincides with a steady decline in mental health among youth over the same period. Maybe if the schools would spend more time encouraging kids to overcome their problems, and less time teaching them how to be victims, you'd see a bit more hopefulness in our younger population.
It's not like these things can't be discussed in school. There's nothing wrong with saying, "It's Mother's Day today, and even if you don't live with your Mom, can you think of someone else you're thankful for?”
Or something like that.
Recognizing Mothers Day doesn't need to mean that you don't have empathy for those without mothers.
The problem is that for some reason, authority figures are terrified to have these conversations so they just bury everything with bizarre DEI rules crafted to be so sterile (as to not offend anyone) that they basically strip any life out of the activity, and then walk away thinking they've made this great contribution to society. This is pure fantasy and we're seeing the results of this foolishness right now in real time.
This always comes from the top. It may start with one complaint, usually from someone with an axe to grind, or someone who is also an activist. Some school boards are awful for this (Toronto and vicinity are great examples), but at the end of the day, it comes down to this:
Those in leadership are cowards. They'd rather piss off the vast majority of people whom they hope and pray will do nothing, than the tiny subset of whiners whom they know will never stop whining. These leaders have no spine and no integrity, and I personally can't wait to see how they react when the general public has finally had enough.
After this story in Winnipeg blew up, it took about three days for this school to do an about-face after receiving “feedback” from the community. A similar thing happened in Quebec as well. This one ended in an apology from the school, but with the qualification that “communication was clumsy and could have been misunderstood and misinterpreted”. Riiiight. So, it's people's fault for misinterpreting the data…
Whatever. The bottom line is that ordinary, regular people stood up and said NO, and those guys folded. I see this as a great sign and I'm cautiously optimistic that we can look forward to more of this in the near future. Maybe the tide finally is turning.
Of course it's not just “Mother's Day” - this is simply the latest manifestation of an ideology that has as its core tenet some version of, “Regardless of how good you've got it, someone else always has it better and that is not acceptable.”
I'm all for equality, but if we're going to strive to make everyone equal, why not try to bring people up instead of constantly pushing others down?
Now, back to that cheesy poetry I mentioned earlier. This one is a couple years old, but still a personal favourite:
There once was a Mom named Celina With a bambino and a bambina She raised them so well With nary a yell, and Without even one misdemeana.
Further reading:
