I don't normally tweet angry. Today is an exception.
I’m done being nice to antivaxxers. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, I can’t force you, but stop spreading your ignorant bullshit around social media as though you have even the faintest idea of how this stuff works.
You're not a virologist. You're not an immunologist. You read a Facebook status once from someone using big words and and decided that you know more about this topic than people that have dedicated their entire lives to its study. Stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Vaccinations eliminated smallpox from the globe. Most people no longer have to worry about polio, measles, rubella, mumps, diphtheria and TB, all because of vaccines. They are a public health miracle.
People are going to die because they listen to views like these. It's not funny, and it’s not a fucking game. If you want to revel in your ignorance, go right ahead, but keep your mouth shut so we can get on with the work of protecting everyone else.
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I’ve seen a lot of “I’m going to remember what I learned about people over the last year” posts recently. And I am too. But maybe not in the way you think. Here’s what I’m going to remember. 🧵
I’m going to remember every one of you that celebrated your birthday on their couch.
I’m going to remember every post about fighting with your airline for a refund because you cancelled a long-awaited vacation.
I’m going to remember your socially distanced campfire selfies, and all the times you got together with friends outside to go for a walk.
Every time it gets this cold, I think about a night a few years ago when I realized how strong my privilege is. I was buying something off Kijiji, so I drove to an apartment building on the other side of the city and picked it up. When I got back to my car, it wouldn't start. 🧵
I had AMA, but the wait time to get a boost was around three hours. It was probably -25 or so, and hadn't exactly dressed for an extended period outside. So I decided to wait in the buzzer area of the apartment building.
I stood there for about three hours. During that time, a couple dozen people came through into the building. Not one asked me why I was there. Most were friendly. No one called security. Probably a third of them asked me, unprompted, if I needed to get let in.
Here's a little secret for straight dudes in relationships: if you make an effort to be romantic and thoughtful throughout the year, your partner probably isn't going to care about what you do for Valentine's Day.
The reason it matters to people is because it's their one chance to experience romantic gestures. There's no reason to save those for special occasions.
If they like flowers, buy them flowers on a random Tuesday for no reason. If they like back rubs, give them a back rub when you know they've had a hard day. Give them a day off without kids in July. Whatever it is that's important to them.
I understand that everyone wants to get “back to normal” as soon as possible, but seeing so many people complaining about vaccine delivery delays of a few weeks while poorer countries won’t get any vaccines for years is a really bad look.
“But I might not get vaccinated until the late fall!” Yup. And a highly-vulnerable immunocompromised person in Ghana probably won’t get it until 2023.
We Canadians like to brag about being responsible global citizens. So prove it. Sit down, be quiet and wait your turn.
As we watch Keystone XL go up in smoke, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to offer some unsolicited advice to Premier @jkenney. 🧵
Most Albertans don’t love oil and gas. What Albertans love is the prosperity that oil and gas brought to our province.
I can appreciate that, for a province with some of the largest oil reserves on the planet, the idea of a world transitioning away from oil & gas is scary, and many desperately wish we could return to the halcyon days of high oil prices and the corresponding bulging public purse.
However, there are realities at play here well outside our control.
1) Oil demand is going away. We can quibble about the timing, and how long the residual demand tail will last, but there is no mistaking what’s happening here.
30 years ago, a man walked into École Polytechnique and killed 14 women. As an engineering student many years later, we were taught about the tragedy, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that my initial understanding was inadequate. 🧵
One man may have committed the act, but make no mistake: misogyny killed these women. Patriarchy killed these women. The belief that a woman could have the audacity to move beyond the confines of traditional gender roles killed these women.
This was not just one angry man. This was an inevitable byproduct of a system. Even now, there is an entire online radicalization pipeline ready to tell confused or angry boys and men that it’s the women’s fault. They’re the ones you should hate.