Posts filed under “History”
If God were Alive Today: Remembering Maisie Shaw and Berny Cameron
A Christmas Reflection to be read, if possible, in every Catholic and United Church service across Canada It’s well into the night here in Nanaimo, and although the cold rain beats incessantly at our home, the fire inside is roaring. Carol is asleep next to me on the couch and my stomach is filled [...]
What’s Buried Next Door to Vancouver Island University?
Crimes against Humanity in our own Backyard are Finally Surfacing I was held in the Nanaimo Indian Hospital when I was a child, for seven years. I was used like a guinea pig in experiments. Lots of Indian kids died in there. – Joan Morris, Songhees Nation, at a lecture at Malaspina College (VIU) in [...]
Torture by any other Name: How the Abomination Continues
A Sequel to The Forgiveness Fallacy It felt like they were raping me all over again, but this time they were calling it healing and reconciliation. – Sylvester G., aboriginal torture victim, after attending Canada’s “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” hearing in Vancouver, 2011 Torture is the perfect crime … in the vast majority of [...]
From 1761 to 2012: What has changed in England? Lessons from My Ancestor Peter, a Stansted Prison, and a Digger named Winstanley
On December 19, 1761, author and publicist Peter Annett was arrested on a charge of blasphemy and sedition for questioning scripture and the authority of the Church through nine editions of his news sheet The Free Enquirer (Oct. 17 – Dec. 12, 1761). He was prosecuted in London by the Attorney General and sentenced by [...]