Today in ongoing genocide

Today, I was telling my class about a horrific miscarriage of justice, a murder where, despite overwhelming evidence and a ridiculous defence, the killer was not only acquitted (by an all-white jury, no less) but is also inexplicably allowed to profit from his crime through GoFundMe. A cruel case based in racism and bigotry, where a white farmer shot a young indigenous man in the back of his head, left his body outside, and had coffee with his family while waiting for the RCMP to arrive—the same RCMP who then bungled the evidence and harassed the victim's family.

It was at the end of a long day and for the life of me, I could only remember the name of the victim, Colten Boushie, and not his murderer, Gerald Stanley. Because during the whole case, they've been referring to it as the "Colten Boushie" trial, as if it's the murder victim who stands accused and not his killer.

This country. It's a hell of a thing to have to explain to kids. I've lived here all my life and yet the reminder that we differ from the American Deep South in the 1950s merely by degree, not kind, is nevertheless continuously shocking.

If you want to help out Colten's family, you can donate here.