Kid’s school confirmed it’s closing tomorrow because they can’t guarantee the safety of children due to the anti-vaxx, white supremacists who are speeding through Centretown streets + screaming obscenities at residents. @OttawaPolice, time to run these extremists out of town.
These extremists have led to the closure of at least three vaccine clinics, several schools, the Rideau Centre and countless small businesses. Residents are shaken and afraid. I have lived in Ottawa since 2004 and NEVER seen anything like this.
Kids are having their rights violated by being denied school. White supremacy is marching in our streets, openly displaying the swastika and the Confederate flag. Workers at a homeless shelter are being harassed. LGBTQ residents had shit flung at their home.
Teenage coffee shop employees are getting death threats for asking customers to wear a mask. Trucks are honking for hours on end and late into the night. Our city is being occupied by chaos and hatred. No comment from @fordnation. And the @OttawaPolice have done almost nothing.
By doing nothing, our city is choosing white supremacy over kids going to school, over vaccine clinics, libraries and small businesses. Never forget this, ever. I have never seen such a profound failure of leadership.
If police cannot enforce a security perimeter around a school, what are they actually doing to help any of us?!?
*Correction: only one school to be closed tomorrow, so far …
Daycares closed tomorrow too. The extremists are keeping toddlers from being able to go to daycare.
Anyway, anyone I know who lives downtown feels totally abandoned by all levels of government and the Ottawa Police. It is shocking, actually. We deserve better.
Twenty years of conversations about consent in the queer community have prepared me well for the slow emergence from this pandemic. Some advice … 1) Be honest, have hard conversations, don’t lie.
2) Always accommodate the person with the higher protection requirements. I don’t normally wear a mask for outside interactions and am now fully vaxxed. But if a friend feels more comfortable this way, the mask goes on.
3) Have the conversations about masking (or barriers if we are talking about sex) before you actually hang out. Make these decisions in advance.
THREAD: In light of the confusing communications from the Ontario govt about AstraZeneca, I thought I would share some common communications principles that would have really helped put people at ease yesterday. Number one is always: know your audience, write for your audience.
What's more important is what an audience wants and needs to hear. Not simply what you want to communicate. Yesterday, the Ontario public and particularly #GenXZeneca needed to hear: You did the right thing. Thank you for taking this life-saving vaccine.
Throwing facts at people does not get your message across and does not reassure people. Lead with empathy. And tell the story using the simplest language possible. Example: AstraZeneca is an extremely effective vaccine. But now we are changing strategies and here's why.