Yesterday I found out about two very sad incidents that happened in Winnipeg. On Monday night, an Indigenous woman, Tammy Bateman, was killed by a police cruiser driving through a park toward an encampment. On Wednesday afternoon, a person was hit by a vehicle that drove into a protest responding to Tammy’s killing. I was asked to comment on this news but sometimes, before we speak, we need time to reflect. Humanity cannot be honoured in a quick tweet, a quick opinion without love. So, I had to really reflect on these very sad incidents, and sometimes there’s nothing to say.
What I do know is that life is precious. What I do know is that all living beings have a spirit that is deserving of dignity and respect and that regardless of where a person may find themselves, they must always be treated with humanity. When you strip a person of their humanity, you can begin to justify the most unjustifiable actions.
Like the picture I saw from Winnipeg of an unsheltered woman lying on a bench being removed by six patrol officers.
Like the rhetoric we hear from the Conservative Party, dehumanizing and criminalizing people struggling with mental health and addictions, and violently kicking them when they are already down.
Like the extremist rhetoric resulting in violence against the transgender community.
Like the dehumanizing comments that normalize violence against Indigenous people and worsen the crisis of murdered and missing and Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people.
Like the growing Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate that is dividing our community.
Why is it that instead of addressing the roots of crime – poverty, houselessness, trauma, addiction, isolation, and mental health distress – we spend our money on policing and punishment?
Why does our federal government invest more to deal with auto theft then to deal with the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2S?
Why do we base our political decisions on poll numbers rather than on public health and science expertise?
Why do we allow kids ageing out of care to be dropped off at the Salvation Army instead of investing in housing and supports for them?
Carceral options will never prevent crime, only punish the people who are hurting enough to turn to it. What we need to build healthy communities is already here in Winnipeg, we just need to invest in it. We need to spend more on community-based organizations that build connection, honour the dignity of their participants, and empower people to change their own lives. Organizations like Art City, Graffiti Art Gallery, West Broadway Community Outreach, Spence Neighbourhood Association, West Central Women’s Resource Centre, the West End Cultural Centre, Resource Assistance for Youth, The Canada African Cup of Nations, and Bilal Community and Family Centre. I could list for days the organizations in Winnipeg Centre that are already doing the work we need, that deserve proper investment.
Everyone has story and everyone comes from a mother, and I have never met a person who does not have at least one person who unconditionally loves them. We are human beings. We don’t need more quick and thoughtless political soundbites. We don’t need reactionary policy. We need thoughtful responses that honour the humanity of all people.
To the family of Tammy Bateman, I send my deepest sympathies. She deserved to be treated with humanity and respect. She deserved all the human rights she needed to live in security and with dignity. Our systems failed her.
To the person injured during the protest, I hope you are healing and are safe.
It’s time to reset our understanding of humanity. The health of our community depends on it.