Hey folks, it's me, Michael Bach and this is Monday Morning Musings.
(upbeat music)
Happy Monday.
I hope this finds you well, safe and healthy.
If you're new to my channel, welcome, so glad you could take some time to watch.
Please do remember to subscribe by clicking on the link which is somewhere around me
to find out whenever I post a video which is almost every Monday.
I sometimes forget.
I have been a little somber this past week.
It's been a tough week, last week.
And I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to say about it.
You'd have to be living under a rock not to know what happened in London, Ontario,
on Sunday night of last week
when a young man, 20 years old,
driving a truck that he'd owned for about three weeks,
mounted the curb of a street, struck a family of five,
killing four, and leaving a nine-year-old boy hospitalized and orphaned.
All because they are Muslim.
He killed them because they are Muslim.
And I've been trying to figure out what to say, because I vacillate between anger,
intense sadness,
exhaustion.
And then I heard Premier François Legault,
the premier of Quebec, and the leader of the Bloc Québécois
coming out and speaking publicly and trying to distance themselves
and saying that Bill 21, the so-called Secularism Act in Quebec,
which prohibits the wearing of any sort of religious symbol by public sector workers;
hospital workers, teachers, government workers.
Which inadvertently targets Muslim women,
as well as Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, but mostly Muslim women.
Trying to distance themselves from the instance in London,
and saying that Bill 21 has nothing to do with what occurred in London.
Oh, how wrong they are.
I said this when this piece of legislation was passed by the Quebec legislature.
That there *would be* fallout.
That this was government-sanctioned racism.
And we didn't know then, but we're starting to see now.
We don't know fully the motives of this young man.
We know that he killed them because they were Muslim.
We know that it was a hate crime.
We don't know why.
We don't know necessarily if it relates to the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
We don't know if it is directly related to Bill 21.
But there is no way that we can possibly suggest that Bill 21 has not had an impact.
Because if I was 20 years old and I had hatred towards Muslims and I saw Bill 21,
I'd think, "Yeah that's the right way to go. We gotta get rid of these Muslims."
You cannot, in good conscience, suggest that that piece of legislation does not impact this.
It does.
You created state-sponsored racism, like it or not.
(sigh)
My heart aches.
I am filled with sadness.
I would encourage everyone
to write to Premier Legault, and ask him to rescind the legislation.
To start educating Quebecers on the value of inclusion of people from different religious groups.
But I would also encourage you all to do something towards dismantling systemic racism.
Figure out what your role is
because we all have a role to play.
That's it for me.
Thanks so much for watching.
Please do remember to like the video
and share it with all your friends on your social media platforms
to get them engaged in this conversation around anti-Islamic hate.
Also remember to connect with me on social media, if you haven't already, and I'm @TheMichaelBach.
And, if you haven't done so, pick up a copy of my book.
The best-selling, award-winning Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right
available wherever you buy books, as long as they're selling mine.
Or you can go to my website MichaelBach.com and click on "The Books"
to find out where you can get your copy.
I hope you have a fantastic week.
Hug your loved ones.
Stay safe, and I'll see you next week for another episode of Monday Morning Musings.
(upbeat music)