Unbelievable - we haven't learned a thing! According to some of the victims' families who were recently contacted by B.C. Victim Services, the second Pickton trial is reportedly not going to happen.
This discussion was under way last December, the minute Pickton was convicted of 6 counts of second degree murder in the first trial. It was being talked about at the water coolers, in the change rooms of rec centres, over dinners with friends - should there be another trial for the remaining 20 victims? "It would cost way too much. The Olympics are coming and all." "Think about it, 20 women. That'll take years and years." "Yes, and oh my gosh, I just can't take anymore of these stories in the media. Don't have the stomach for it. I have had enough of the radio and television reports, and the pictures in the newspapers..."
Nice! What we are in fact saying is that those 20 women have no worth as human beings. Their stories don't need to be told because it would cost money and would inconvenience our cozy little lives. The fact is, we as a society are also to blame for the deaths of these women by being part of a community of residents who for the most part, doesn't give a rat's ass about what goes on in the Downtown Eastside and doesn't care why these women were driven into the sex trade. The 20 women still waiting for their day in court gave their lives in a most horrible way. The least we can do is offer some taxpayers' money and our respect. This is, first and foremost, about taking responsibility for what happens in our communities.
So for my part, I am ready to see that money spent, ready to explain to my children what the pictures in the morning paper mean. And I won't turn the radio dial even when my stomach feels sick from listening to what the women who died had to endure. How about you?
meike at uni.ca
This discussion was under way last December, the minute Pickton was convicted of 6 counts of second degree murder in the first trial. It was being talked about at the water coolers, in the change rooms of rec centres, over dinners with friends - should there be another trial for the remaining 20 victims? "It would cost way too much. The Olympics are coming and all." "Think about it, 20 women. That'll take years and years." "Yes, and oh my gosh, I just can't take anymore of these stories in the media. Don't have the stomach for it. I have had enough of the radio and television reports, and the pictures in the newspapers..."
Nice! What we are in fact saying is that those 20 women have no worth as human beings. Their stories don't need to be told because it would cost money and would inconvenience our cozy little lives. The fact is, we as a society are also to blame for the deaths of these women by being part of a community of residents who for the most part, doesn't give a rat's ass about what goes on in the Downtown Eastside and doesn't care why these women were driven into the sex trade. The 20 women still waiting for their day in court gave their lives in a most horrible way. The least we can do is offer some taxpayers' money and our respect. This is, first and foremost, about taking responsibility for what happens in our communities.
So for my part, I am ready to see that money spent, ready to explain to my children what the pictures in the morning paper mean. And I won't turn the radio dial even when my stomach feels sick from listening to what the women who died had to endure. How about you?
meike at uni.ca
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