The Wall Comes Down

Last day at my job as political hack/office monkey/spin doctor.  I'm currently packing up all the random shit I've littered around the office: two years' worth of clippings from various religious and political publications, various mementos like the matchbook from 24 Sussex, the freakin' sweet suit from Femme de Carriere that I kept here in case I had to pretend to be a competent young professional, and, my personal favorite, The Wall of Randos.

The WoR is (was?) my own personal shrine to the homobigots of Canada who saw fit to influence their federal leaders during the legislative run of Bill C-38 by faxing in a variety of letters and drawings that ranged from "mildly crude and laughable" to "incredibly asinine and offensive".  I'll post some pictures later, but you can get the general idea here.  Every morning my co-worker and I would gather round the fax machine and pull off a stack of few dozen of these (somedays I'm sure it must have been more than a hundred) and pull out those that were ridiculous enough to deserve a spot on the wall,. Which, technically, wasn't a wall at all, but the back of my door, but "The Back of the Door of Randos" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

It might sound masochistic, but it was actually quite cathartic - it was a reminder of the stupidity of these arguments.  Many of them featured seatbelts/cutlery/nuts and bolts.  Many of them featured trees or animals, complete with skirts for the females - you know, just like in nature.  Many of them were from children, which was heartbreaking, and arguably reason enough for a call to Social Services. 

I can't think of a stronger argument for free speech.  As soon as these people opened their mouths (or in this case, uncapped their felt pens) the sheer banality of their reasoning was revealed.  Every letter I read, every picture I saw, every single one of their so-called "arguments" only strengthened my convictions against their discriminatory cause.  They were the best argument against their own beliefs, and the greatest reminder of the importance of secular law as the basis for civil society.  There are people out there who believe that marriages, like seatbelts, require interlocking parts, and I don't want them shaping the social policy of my country.

So the wall's coming down, but it's coming with me. I promise picture goodness later.  And let us all hope that it is truly the end of an era.