Letter — We’re stronger when we’re all together

There are many people experiencing trauma in their lives for which they receive counselling, hormones, medications, sedatives. These are many people born with conditions or who develop them later in life, and even more people are traumatized from an event that has caused psychological coping difficulties, anxiety and depression.

People have side-effects and many people self-medicate. All people fall down, and somewhere along the way their situation consumed them, traumatized them or detrimentally set them back.

Everybody is going through something.

And that means the system of professional support is overtaxed and people can’t get the start-to-finish support they need such as diagnosis, coping skills and medication if necessary.

These people are left to their own devices and or turn to other means such as communities, churches, volunteer organizations or even family and friends who are not qualified, equipped or desire to help. The smaller the town, the greater the stigma as everybody knows everybody and the town society is often an intolerant clique club.

How do you cope when you are forced to know, see and interact on a daily basis with people you work with and must socialize with, like it or not? What if you can’t get a job or one that pays well because the clique employers won’t hire you? How can you afford to travel for supports needed if you can’t afford a car either? There may be constant name calling and bully abuse.

What happens when you are different — different, but yet a good person? But because you’re different, you are made to experience shame, bullying, gossip about you, discrimination, little to no friends and difficulty learning and rather than endure the torture daily you quit school. Can’t go anywhere in town because everywhere you go, the torturers are there. You can’t get the supports you need. You are alone, anxious and depressed. You can’t see or find a way out.

So you go online. You meet people like you. They experience the same trauma of being different like you. Meanwhile, others bully you online, too. They all fuel your anger like gas on the fire you are experiencing in your own town.

Now you are angry, desperate, at the end of your rope and no answers. With no community, professional, religious and social supports, you are left to drown in your misery that the town has given you in infinite supply. You are the village punching bag.

What’s left? Drink, smoke, inject or overdose on some courage, and you grab a weapon and decide your going to give back to the community which gave you so much.

The innocent and the guilty pay. Lives are lost while others are permanently changed. And you know what awaits you. You check out. All this for what?

Every single one of us has a breaking point of no return. No one truly knows what they are capable of doing until they have to because they are backed into a corner and they fear for their safety or life. So desperate to a point where the safety filter of rationality each of us has is compromised to the point of overload where now you are capable of anything.

This is why DEI is so important. Everyone matters. Everyone is supported. Everyone is welcome. The community rallies around you. The system would reflect this for help. Education can break down stigma and love will overcome hate. The human race is inherently a social race. We are meant to thrive together. Not exclude and punish others for being different. This is why we are stronger together.

No one deserves to die from a crime. No one. But let’s not forget the crime of intolerant, societial ostracizing. The withholding of humanity and all that it entails. No one should experience facing endless hell on earth like that either just because they are different. Effective DEI strategies make society pleasant and that benefits everyone.

Canadians can never be willingly united while we continue to willingly divide ourselves with hate. We are all different and so with that premise, we are all the same.

WENDY FRIESEN

Brandon