I Stand with the Muslims

As I learn about yet another racist assault on Muslim women in the city I live in, I'd like to take a minute to share a story.

I’ve been an AirBnB host for over six years. In my first year hosting, I had a young woman stay for a month as she getting started as a PhD student at the UofA.

She was Muslim.

I am Christian.

Throughout her four-week stay, I showed her around. Coming from a large city in the middle of the desert, she was keen on spending time in nature. So I took her to Elk Island National Park, down into the River Valley, and--upon request--I found her a wheat field to stand in.

I took her to Ikea to get what she needed for her new apartment, and to the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market to show her where to buy local close to campus. I Googled the Halal shops close by. I accompanied her on a walk or two.

In all this, we talked about our different upbringings, our different cultural experiences, and our different faiths—I remember she openly answered my curious questions about her faith practices, and the principles that guide them. I think I did the same for her.

She reached out a few times after she’d moved. She was making friends with other international students, and they sometimes had questions as they tried to immerse themselves in various aspects of “Edmonton culture” for the first time. One particular summer evening, she texted and said she and her friends were going tent camping in Jasper for the first time that weekend. She wanted me to come; partly for company, but partly, I'm pretty sure, as the Canadian Camping Expert. I couldn’t go, but I offered up my camping gear so they wouldn’t have to buy everything new.

That was the day I stood in my garage and showed a Muslim woman and her friend how to pitch a tent.

I don’t remember most of the conversations we had. I just remember she had such a posture of humility. She was open to conversation without judgement or pretense. She had a delightful sense of humour. She was open to trying new things. She was disciplined in her studies as well as her faith.

I've thought of her, and other Muslim women I know, often this past year, as these acts of racism and hate keep happening. I don’t have any heroic point to make here other than to show that she is a person--with hopes, joys, and a life—just like every other Muslim in Edmonton and Alberta.

Let me just say that if you’re the kind of individual who is bothered by people who look, dress, or live differently than you, YOU’RE the one who can go elsewhere. I stand with the Muslim women who've been attacked this year, and all those who are at risk of discrimination and attack as they simply go about the business of living. They have every right to be here and to exist as you or I.

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If I can't go to the Red Chairs this year, I'll bring the red chairs to me!

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"Only in darkness can we glimpse the fullest light our soul carries for us." - Angie Weiland-Crosby

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I find that small birds are crazy-quick and hard to photograph. However, they're also great subjects, and so interesting to watch in their own right.

So I bought a bird feeder to see them more often.

Then I bought a good bird feeder to see them longer.

Finally, I bought a fancy-pants zoom lens to see them better.

And I watch. And I practice.

Ages ago I learned that with portrait photography, make sure the eyes are crisp, and try and get the catchlights if you can. Turns out that applies to any species. So I start from there and compose as I go.

Small birds are crazy-quick to photograph. Here's to sometimes being quicker.

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Listen up for a minute. I don’t typically do editorial photography; however, when my planet is at stake, I make an exception.

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg came to Alberta this week. Her trip included a stop in Edmonton on a Friday, which happens to be her weekly school strike day.

I’m primarily a nature/outdoor photographer, capturing the beauty of the world around me. And I want that beauty to last—both for my lifetime and the lifetime of generations to come. Everything I photograph inspires me to protect this earth I dwell upon. How does it not inspire others?!

So I admire Greta for turning up the volume on the issue of sustainability, and how critical it is to take actions--both individually, and as a society--that will improve our planet. Each part of the globe has their challenges; each part of the globe also has the power and ability to work and think differently.

One news article I read following her visit to Edmonton indicated that while Greta's message is powerful, it is not fully informed, as she does not seem to recognize any of the initiatives that already exist--initiatives of the kind that she is advocating for. It was is something I reflected on as well. There are several great innovations, nationally and world-wide, that reduce our negative impact on the environment (one of my favourites is this bad boy here).

That being said, at the end of the day--at least in Alberta--we are still extracting oil from the ground in excess. Alberta’s identity is wrapped up in oil and gas, to a fault. I get it--I heat my home with natural gas and fill up my car at Shell like everyone else. AND, I also believe we need to move away from oil and gas to something more sustainable as fast as possible.

I do agree that Greta will need to start affirming the positive actions that are being taken if she wants her message to remain powerful and motivating over time. It's well-known that recognizing strengths is a better motivator for learning and change than admonishment. Greta's key focus right now seems to be in sending the message that society simply isn't moving fast enough to counteract the damage we are still doing; and, that we aren't taking those 2C seriously enough. While the message is limited in scope, she's not wrong. (I've been eco-conscious since well before she was born, and some days it blows my mind that some people don't even value the concept of recycling, let alone anything more advanced.)

I have lots of beautiful places I want to photograph both in this province and around the world. ...will they still be there when I arrive?

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I've had my iPhoneXR nine months, and am never not impressed with its photographic capabilities.

I've lived in Alberta 38 years, and am never not impressed with its topography.

Also, these two impressive features play well together.

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SOTC could stand for Smoke Over The City rather than Straight Off The Camera for this one (though both apply). Though it had been hazy all week, forest fires northwest of Edmonton rendered a particularly apocalyptic landscape on May 30.

Discrimination

"We pay a lower minimum wage to those who are under 18."

This is the new Alberta.

But consider this: change the words 'under 18' to 'Black' and read the sentence again. Does it suddenly sound discriminatory?

That's because it is.

I'm pretty sure the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibits discrimination based on age, and yet, here we are.

I know the NDP-initiated move to $15/hr minimum wage negatively impacted some small businesses. I'm not an economist who claims to have all the answers on how to make that issue any easier. That being said, equity and social justice is more important than any business having to reconfigure its budget.

Lowering the minimum wage for a sub-group of people is discrimination, not a business strategy.

Period.

Here's 16 yr-old Karissa talking about what Jason Kenney's minimum wage change means to her.

Our side of the house believes that value of your work should depend on the effort & skill you put into it, not what year you were born. #ableg #bill2 #15forall pic.twitter.com/RiYise5wzs

— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) May 28, 2019

Fortunately, even though the UCP feels it's okay to allow discriminatory business practices, businesses themselves can go above and beyond. If you disagree with the option to pay a lower minimum wage to youth, simply because they are under 18, you can do two things:

1. Support businesses that commit to non-discriminatory practices and pay $15/hour minimum wage regardless of age.

2. Commit your own business to a $15/hr minimum wage for all ages.

Both of those action steps can be taken at https://alberta15.ca.

Can You Afford to Have Children?

As someone who is intimately involved with the Early Learning and Child Care pilot project here in Alberta (aka "$25/day daycare"), I often follow related posts on Twitter, and I inevitably read some of the comments.

I am careful to pick who I engage with--choosing to respond to those who seem like they have legitimate questions, concerns, or thoughts. ...And occasionally the wildly ignorant person who needs a quick slap of education.

However, one refrain I see in response to tweets related to the topic of universal childcare runs along the lines of, "if you can't afford to raise children, then don't have them."

This statement irks me to no end, but 280 characters does not even scratch the surface to respond appropriately. I've learned that for some, "raise children" means not putting them into child care at all. These individuals don't seem to understand that child care is not just glorified babysitting; early learning and child care centres are rich learning environments, and educators deserve way more respect from society than they often get. ...But that is a different post, for a different time.

However, I think most are simply implying that parents who are raising children should include the cost of child care in their budget if both parents choose, or are required, to work.

If you are one of the misinformed (or ignorant) who have made such statements as outlined above, then this post is for you.

First, let me come clean and admit that I have been guilty of making such statements. I acknowledge that I was young and naive, though those are explanations--not excuses--for such narrow-minded thinking.

I soon landed on a career path that involves working closely with families, and my eyes were quickly opened to the nearly infinite definitions and functions of family. We are long past living in the world of "mom and dad and 2.5 kids." Perhaps that's why the statement irks me so much. In addition to lacking empathy, such a statement fails to understand the complexity of families and life in general.

"Parents who can't afford to raise children shouldn't have them," you say?

• What about the family that decides they can afford to raise one child, then ends up with twins?

• What about the family whose child is born with an unforeseen disability? (Hint: it is often more expensive to raise children with disabilities)

• What about the family who thought they were done having children, then accidentally gets pregnant?

• What about the young woman who gets raped, and instead of aborting, chooses to keep and raise the child?

• What about the two-parent family who endures the death of a parent, and now lives off one income?

• What about the family who is required to relocate for work, to an area where the cost of living is higher than expected?

• What about the refugee family that had children in their home country before knowing they'd need to ask asylum out-of-continent?

• What about the family who ends up dealing with a chronic illness and its associated medical bills?

• What about the family who loses everything to fire or flood? (because that never happens in Alberta)

• What about the parent in a family who unexpectedly loses their job?

...I could go on.

Perhaps you're feeling defensive now, thinking, "but that's different--those are exceptions." No. They're not. Each one individually, maybe. However, many of those hypothetical situations are not rare, and collectively, they make up a sizeable amount of the families that live and grow in Alberta.

Some families are able to easily make the decision for one parent to stay home, or to have other family members help out with child care. If that's your family, and you have that luxury, go for it. I advocate for healthy families as much as I advocate for quality education.

However, for the parents that choose to, or are required to, put their children in child care, it should be quality and affordable--regardless of financial state.*

Knowing that life can change in an instant, can any family truly afford to raise a child outside of the present moment?

I'm not so sure.



*For further reading on why universal childcare might be beneficial to society, click here.