Bill 62
There has been a lot in the news about Quebec’s new law about face coverings. Most of the commentary is from Muslim women who are crying foul about being forced to be immodest. Because of this my commentary relates to them.
\First let me be clear: I think the law is wrong. I don’t like the state telling people what they can and can’t wear.
If you want to cover up for the sake of modesty then I have no problem with that. Ask yourself this: If you’re ever detained by police and they make you wait for a female officer to come and confirm your identity just remember those officers are respecting your modesty. Being honoured is not always convenient.
If you simply don’t feel like having men look at you then that is fine with me. I think your wishes should be followed but don’t expect them to be accepted as normal. Commonality is a big criterion in defining normalcy; not wanting members of the opposite sex to see your face is not very common around these parts.
One commentator really made my eyes roll when she said that religious laws as the reason for covering up. Modesty is the law; interpret that how you will. Ask yourself this: Are you allowed to cover yourself like this on the Hajj? Do you complain about the libertine Saudi policy too? Why is Quebec being held to a stricter standard?
Here’s a final thought on modesty: I love my woman and women in general. When one of you is showing off your figure I may sneak a peek to admire it but it takes a moment then I carry on with my day. When you cover it all up it makes me think about it a little longer… I wonder what I’m missing out on seeing. Sometimes showing less is showing more.
It isn’t a contest because we have the same goal.
I had a fall and hurt my back, neck, and hip in April and have been doing physiotherapy since then. Every day consists of 6 hours exercise and therapy with other people who have hurt themselves in workplace accidents.
Our injuries range from mild to severe and we often talk about our issues at coffee or lunch and while there is some negativity, I have never heard any one-upping when it comes to injuries. People’s problems are never diminished because regardless of how easy or hard things are, we’re all in the position of being unable to work and trying to change that.
Why hire a veteran?
A story about veterans struggling to find satisfying work after leaving the Armed Forces came up in my social media feed. There were comments about some military trades having no application anywhere else and this idea that you needed a pile of relevant training to have a career. I felt compelled to comment on it as well and expand on it here.
Let’s start with what a career is. I believe that a career is work of any type that will be long term, pay the bills, and possibly provide opportunities for advancement provided you have the aptitude. I believe this is the essence of what we all want in our work lives. It doesn’t have to lead to a corner office and that’s fine because most careers don’t.
I know more than a few veterans but my experience in having them work under me in industry is limited to just three. Their relevant technical skills ranged from zero to intimidating but they all had these things in common:
- They could take instructions.
- They could give/pass on those instructions to others.
- They could think for themselves.
- They could stick to a procedure when it was necessary.
- They were punctual.
There was more but these are the biggies. Think about that and how rare these qualities truly are. Think about that: Each of these guys showed up on time and I could give them a job to do in a specific way and they would do it. If constraints prevent them from doing it the way I asked they applied a little critical thought to determine if they could work around the problem or needed to get assistance. If I sent someone to help them they effectively put their help to work. Nice.
When you hire someone with a degree you can make assumptions about literacy, numeracy, and research skills regardless of their field. Those bullet points are what I assume a veteran can do regardless of their trade. There are other transferable skills for certain but these are the big common ones I noticed.
Of course there are screw-ups in every line of work and there is no guarantee someone will be a good fit for working with you but if the qualities I talked about are important to you then take a closer look at any veterans among your candidates.
Don’t pretend I have a choice.
I hurt myself a while back and have been going to physical rehab for a while now. I just started at a new clinic and was filling out paperwork that included a number of points that included an emphatic reminder that I was free to refuse to take part in the programme and leave at any time. What is unspoken is that while you’re free to leave, leaving will probably mean your compensation payments stop.
When I talked to the lady at the clinic about this she said that I ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE so I put this question to her: If she had a gun and cornered someone on a bridge and gave them the choice to either stay on the bridge and get shot or jump in the river and take their chances, was that a free choice?
I technically have a choice but since I need the money, in practical terms, I don’t. Don’t get me wrong: I’m grateful for my compensation money and my experience with WorksafeBC has been almost entirely positive; decisions haven’t always been what I wanted but 100% of my dealings with WorksafeBC have been positive and respectful. Let’s just not pretend I have the luxury of refusing. I am a good boy and will happily jump off that bridge.
Sniper!
There’s a lot of buzz in the news about a Canadian sniper setting a new distance record and it made me think of my time with my unit’s marksman team. The thing is I never fired a single round during that time because I was a GD (General Duty) on the team and responsible for supporting the guys taking a marksmen’s course. I spent my days loading magazines, making coffee, fetching lunch, and patching targets at the range so the guys on course could focus on shooting. I was a storesman.
There were some really good shots in my company, the company clerk was a Queen’s Medalist for goodness sake, and many of my friends and coworkers were excellent shots but I was only ever a fair shot but a consistent one: Laying in the mud and rain, in the blazing sun with a boiling mirage, hung over, sleep deprived(not necessarily related to a hangover), or out of breath from running didn’t hurt my aim as badly as most.
Reminiscing made me do some arithmetic: I haven’t fired a weapon in nearly 18 years!
Premarital classes.
Someone I know is getting married and someone I know just ended a two year relationship. I’ve been thinking about the premarital classes my fiance and I had to take before being married.
I believe any couple should actively study effective communication skills before getting married. It doesn’t have to be through a church. Take the time together to learn how to convey your needs. Learn that people show love in different ways. It’s simple stuff but everybody doesn’t necessarily know it. There is nothing to guarantee a relationship will survive any given day but this exercise certainly helps your chances. You may learn through this preliminary process that you’re not compatible with the person you love and I believe that if this happens you should seriously reconsider; it’s better to be alone than with someone who is a bad fit. In spite of what The Beetles said, Love is not enough.
For people I know taking premarital classes I usually have two things I tell them:
- SEX & MONEY: The minister won’t tell you this but if you keep these two things good it’s lot easier to tolerate BS from your significant other.
- TAKE THE CLASSES EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY’RE TOTAL CRAP: Even if you don’t believe that the lessons are necessary, consider that you and your fiance working together to deceive a minister in order to be married is an AWESOME team-building exercise. See? It works no matter what.
No, Mom. I’m not in trouble.
I notice a belief a lot of people seem to hold: That if someone finds themselves in front of a judge, they must have done SOMETHING wrong and the concept of the accused having rights is nothing but an affront to all victims of crime.
Whenever I read about the Jordan decision somewhere, the reader commentary seems to always be about criminals walking free. Doesn’t anybody want to suggest that maybe an innocent person’s life was put on hold for too long while waiting for things to be resolved?
A story from the radio.
I was listening to a story on the radio about Dr. Kona Williams. She is Canada’s first first nations forensic pathologist. It was a wonderful story that started with a little girl who loved to figure things out and ended up with her being a doctor. Within this story there is a more important and sinister story:
On the radio she talked about encountering racism from two fellow medical school applicants while waiting to be interviewed. There is a chance those two applicants have become doctors themselves and are viewing their patients through a bigoted lens. First nations patients already have to deal with negative assumptions being made about them when getting health care and adding a couple more bigots to the mix doesn’t help; I bet it will shorten some people’s lives.
A thought.
Yesterday I listened to a story on the radio about a first nation doctor and it made me think of another recent medical story about a Saskatchewan nurse who was fined for unprofessional conduct when she complained about medical care relatives received.
When a criminal won’t inform on their colleagues we gripe about the culture of silence. When a medical professional is in the same situation it’s called being professional. In both cases those who do inform are often despised as finks.
My thought is this: Of both groups, whose actions or carelessness destroy more lives?
Sundry Thoughts of Cameron Watt 