This thread is for both my Canadian and American Twitter pals. Just me, a regular person, sharing my thoughts, for whatever they're worth (you will be the judge). I'm sure there are many others on Twitter who have said what I am about to say much more eloquently, but...
1/11

that's never stopped me before so here we go. I'm a baby boomer. I grew up feeling safe, in a time (and place) when from my child's perspective, adults treated each other with civility and I never had to worry about random political violence from anyone or ...
2/11

that I or my parents might catch a deadly virus if we left our home. And because this was my normal, I had no life experience(s) on which to draw to help me understand and appreciate how lucky I was. The first wake-up call for me was in October 1970 ...
3/11

during the FLQ crisis. I was living in Montreal when PM Trudeau (the elder) invoked the War Measures Act. I was 13 at the time, and will never forget being out with my mother seeing soldiers in combat gear with assault weapons everywhere -- in malls, at the airport, ...
4/11

in coffee shops, near schools. My most vivid memory is of the expressionless faces of those soldiers. Terrifying, because although I was still a child I was old enough to grasp the politics which had brought us to that place. It was the moment I realized that politics ...
5/11

could be a dangerous and destructive force in society.

Our American friends and neighbours are in that same place right now that I was 51 years ago, times a thousand, and all that on top of a virus that is causing overwhelming death, sickness and economic suffering. ...
6/11

Being witness to this has been painful and traumatizing. And if that's how it feels for me, sitting here where I don't need to be worried that the nutter standing behind me in the grocery store has a gun or gets violent when asked to wear a mask, I would've been unable ...
7/11

to imagine how it must feel for them but for the awesome Americans I've connected with on Twitter, who share their stories and their pain and their righteous anger with us all every day. They do it with wit, humor, compassion and courage. It's amazing to me, and humbling.
8/11

Because I'm not so sure I could do the same.

So I send much respect, gratitude, love & hope for the future to my American Twitter pals. And to my Canadian Twitter pals, a reminder most of them probably don't need (but I will give anyway, because dammit, it's my thread).
9/11

What is happening in the US right now could happen here. The seeds of hatred of the "other" that bear this bitter and poisonous fruit are already sprouting here. We need to yank those seedlings out of the ground and make sure they wither and die.
10/11

Look at this map. It designates the US as a flawed democracy and Canada as a full democracy. I point this out not to shame Americans or glorify Canadians, but as a visual warning of what we stand to lose if we don't take better care of it.

Peace and love to all, end of thread.