Ok, so it’s time for me to get on my soapbox!

Look, let’s remove all the hyperbole and the political mudslinging and look at the situation as it stands.   When I heard that former PC Provincial Party Leader Patrick Brown had resigned his leadership over allegations of sexual misconduct I was hardly shocked.  It’s likely one of the worst-kept secrets in Barrie (PB’s home riding) that he’s a sleaze-ball in the bars and spends WAY too much money on printing for his propaganda.  When he was selected as the leader of the Provincial PC Party I groaned, rolled my eyes and said we’ll that’ll keep me off the PC bandwagon.

Now that the allegations are out, I see people asking “if everyone in Barrie knew why did they elect him?”  I can only answer with “some people suck”.  Rob Ford was elected and he was a drug-addicted slimeball who made fun of driving drunk and all around acted like an ass.  President Trump will “grab ‘em by the pussy” and he’s got one of the most powerful positions in the world.   People don’t care what happens to “others” as long as their own selfish needs are being met, it really is that simple.

So, the right-wingers and majority of scared males start with the “it’s the liberals doing this” … wow, that’d be a neat trick, but I honestly don’t think Kathleen Wynne is smart enough to pull this off.  The stories were genuine and heartfelt (something Wynne isn’t).  Then the … why did they wait 10 years?  Because until very recently the women coming forward were revictimized by victim blaming. 

“Why did the girls drink?” – because they were at a bar, that’s what you do.

“Why didn’t they say no?” – well, they actually did, very clearly.

“Why aren’t the police investigating?” – because sexual misconduct is not a crime, it’s a standard of conduct that we hold people in power too.  He was older, able to buy them drinks, give them jobs, have power over them and he used that.  He shouldn’t have, it was wrong.  This goes beyond single horny guy trying to get some, this is someone who plans to live their lives in the public eye as a leader, and a leader needs to be held to the highest standard.  When we don’t do that, we end up with President Trump!

Is Patrick Brown the worst sexual monster in the world?  Of course not, but he’s more than just a guy who gets shot down at bars, he uses his standing and power to try to get sexual acts out of young women, and that is simply wrong.

And therein lies the problem

There’s been a lot said this week about the death of a 17 year old Silverback Gorilla (an endangered animal) at the hands of the Cincinnati Zoo to save a 4 year old child.  That’s the headline, without all the hyperbole.   It’s a tragedy, but it’s also gripped the world.   The tag #JusticeforHarambe quickly trended.  People were outraged that the beautiful animal was the victim.  I agree and I feel horrible that this majestic creature died.  However, I fully support the zoo’s quick (and likely heartbreaking) action to end Harambe’s life to save the child.  No, for no reason should a child die at the hands of an animal, which without malice could kill the child through basic animal actions.  A tranquilizer likely would have taken longer to work, putting the boy in more danger.  It was a call, they prepare for this, and it was ultimately the right call.

I’ve watched people on both sides of the coin throw meme’s and articles up on facebook.  From memes of the gorilla saying “why shoot me, I was doing a better job of watching him than his mother” to “we should empathize with the mother”.  I’m somewhere in the middle of this.  No, Harambe wasn’t “careful” with the child and it was a much different scenario from when an unconscious 3 year old child fell into a Gorilla enclosure previously to be nurtured and cared for by a female (mother instinct) gorilla.  Harambe was panicked, and his actions were entirely unpredictable.  The boy was in mortal danger from the moment he fell into the pit until Harambe was dead. 

I’m trying not to judge the mother.  I wasn’t there; I don’t know exactly what happened.  I can’t imagine the terror she experienced when she looked around for her child, missing, then to discover he was in the moat, with that beautiful but deadly animal.  I can’t imagine the 10 minutes of sheer terror she had to survive, hoping her child survived.  My heart, as a mother, aches for her, for that agony she survived. 

And that’s where I was with the whole thing.  Saddened by the loss of Harambe, proud of the zoo for taking the difficult but right steps to save the child and empathetic to what the mother went through.  Then the following article came out:  HuffPo Article

And the following was printed and it just about set me ablaze.

“Think about the parents who have forgotten about a child in a carseat on a hot summer day. A mom who walked away from the bathtub for 3 minutes, and came back to a lifeless child. A dad who forgot to read an ingredient label and gave his child a food containing his severe allergy.  Mistakes happen.”

Wait, WHAT?  I ache for the parents who lose a child.  I’ve fortunately never experienced it and am incredibly grateful for it … but seriously, who walks away from a bathtub for 3 minutes with a child in it?  What is more important than your child?  Who DOESN’T know EXACTLY what goes into your child’s body when they have a severe food allergy?  That’s not a mistake, that’s negligent.  Yes, I can feel for the parent who loses a child, but I can also judge them negligent in their actions if it leads to their death!  Where is the personal responsibility to protect your child?  Where’s the ever-loving common sense?!?!?!?!?

It’s true; I don’t know what happened at the Cincinnati Zoo.  Maybe she was on her phone, maybe distracted by another child, maybe her crafty little guy slipped away in a crowd.  But ultimately SHE is responsible for the safety of her child, and as a result of her lack of diligence, Harambe is dead.  The Zoo also needs to look at how her child managed to get in and plug that epic safety gap.  Yes, this is a call to improve safety, and even (yep I’m going there) reconsider the benefit of keeping these beautiful and deadly animals in captivity for our entertainment, enjoyment, and viewing pleasure.   I’m torn, I love zoos and aquariums, but more and more, we’re seeing the negative impact on the animals kept in these facilities.  It’s causing me to rethink and reevaluate my feelings on it.  However, as a mother, of two little mischievous monkey boys as well, we as parents HAVE to accept responsibility for our children.  I won’t fill up your facebook wall with my thoughts on this, I have my blog and can say my peace here, but instead of simply posting the funnier meme or more heartbreaking story, why not look at what went wrong (safety around animal enclosures) and see what we can do to fix them.  Let’s not let Harambe die in vain, let something come of this, better safety for animals and humans!

When capitolizm catches up with your wardrobe

This week there was a stunning tragedy in Bangladesh, that's killed over 200 people.  Full story here Huff Post Story but basically a factory that produced Joe Fresh Apparel collapsed while workers were inside and the results were devastating.

While reading through the posts, I came across this one:

As a former product developer at joe fresh I can tell you that the product developer has no idea what factory the garments will be produced in. They only know the country of origin. They work with large agents (like Li & Fung for example) who choose the factory to make the style for joe fresh product. The buyer at Loblaws, also does not know what factory the goods are being made in.


They are not responsible for choosing the factory, but they do negotiate the cost. And the cost is low. It has to be to compete with Walmart. A factory in Bangladesh often makes no profit on a style...but produces it to keep the factory/workers working.

Think about it next time you buy a $7 t-shirt...the cost of buying the cotton, cost of knitting cotton yarn into jersey, washing the fabric, dyeing the fabric, washing it again,cutting the fabric, bundling it, sewing it, trimming it, labelling it, ticketing it, pressing it, packing it, shipping from Bangladesh to north america, transporting it via train to a warehouse, allocating and shipping it to a retail centre ....that's a lot of labour for a $7 t-shirt that has to make at least 60 point profit. Do you think your $7 t-shirt was made in a clean, spacious, state of the art factory ? No. But then you probably don't care about the workers in a hot, filthy, dangerous, cramped, old factory....

This isn't news to anyone, not really.  We all know that there's no magic factory serving fresh fruit and hot meals in the cafeteria while producing these ridiculously cheap clothes.  We (and I mean me here) turn a blind eye to the reality of consumerism so that we can have a plethora of brightly coloured t-shirts and yoga wear for the new season, all the time, ignoring the costs.

Everyone likes to blame Wal-Mart.  They're an easy target (oh yes, and Target too) as they're the ones applying pressure to the manufacturers to constantly reduce (ROLL BACK) prices.   Hell, I work on a committee at work that is focusing on finding ways to save money, reduce costs, improve processes.  It's how the world works, but once in a while, the price is paid.  Not by the North American consumer but by the poor and disenfranchised in a Third World Country.

As a person who has previously sourced product from overseas, I know what it's like.  I know the pressure from the company to "maximize the gross profit on the item".  I know that the buyer isn't THERE in the factory, inspecting the footings of the building and ensuring the workers are safe.  They rely on the systems and rules in place.  Obviously it's some one's responsibility, but who?  The consumer?  The buyer?  The head of Joe Fresh?  There's obvious areas for improvement, but where to start?

I don't know ... will I continue to feed the monster with my hard earned dollars for cheap shirts or find a way to buy local (and a LOT less).