I have to stay away from the comments sections of news Articles..They put my blood pressure up to dangerous levels. In my quest for information on what was happening in Ottawa..concern for my fellow Canadians and family members..friends who live in Our Nations Capitol..Heartbroken for the young Soldier,who was killed,his family..It led me down many newspaper articles.
Then a picture popped up of the shooter's mother..Her words broke my heart..Expressing her sympathy to the families..
“Hi, I am writing this note on behalf of my husband and myself.
No words can express the sadness we are feeling at this time. We are so sad that a man lost his life. He has lost everything and he leaves behind a family that must feel nothing but pain and sorrow.
We send our deepest condolences to them although words seem pretty useless. We are both crying for them.
We also wish to apologize for all the pain, fright and chaos he created.
We have no explanation to offer. I am mad at our son, I don’t understand and part of me wants to hate him at this time.
You write that our son was vulnerable, we don’t know, we (he) was lost and did not fit in.
I his mother spoke with him last week over lunch, I had not seen him for over five years before that. So I have very little insight to offer.
We don’t wish to be part of any media circus, we don’t think it will add anything to the conversation. Please respect our privacy although many may not feel we deserve any …
Once again we are so sorry.
The comments section was flooded with hate..before anyone knew the details on exactly who her son was..before... he became the "Terrorist "..The common theme for many..blame the parents..blame our immigration system..Blame everyone..except the shameful changes made to our health care and social system..systemically being destroyed to save money..If you want to place blame..we all need to look inwardly..outwardly..That we would allow this attack on our Health Care system to happen!!
I try very hard never to make a decision..form an opinion.. until I do my homework first..So I began..Who was this terrorist ?
- He was a Canadian..32 yrs old
- Born in Quebec
- A good student
- After high school began his journey with addiction..with the justice system.
- Begged a judge to send him to prison to get help for his disease after a failed Robbery..he was released !
- Mental health assessment stated crack cocaine was his drug of choice..He had addiction issues, Bi-Polar..No real mental health issues...hmmm
- Had no contact with his family for 5 years..until 2 weeks ago,he had lunch with his mother.
- Lived all over Canada,,mainly in homeless shelters
- Converted to Islam a few years ago
- Applied for a passport to travel to Syria
- Had made Contacts with radical groups via the internet
This was a sick young man..diagnosed with bi-polar at one point..Disease of addiction..who reached out for help..and did not receive it!! His mother is not to blame..The mentally ill have all the rights in our Country..We as parents Can NOT ask..sign in..request..beg..to have our sick adult children be institutionalized to get the help they need..for their safety..and ours..This right was taken away years ago..with nothing put in place as an alternative..oh yes..a mental health assessment..in my experiences involves a half hour interview in the ER!
We do not treat Addiction in this Country as the Mental Health issue it is..instead we incarcerate in jails.
Things need to change..our laws..acts.. policies..have to be re- addressed ..addiction and mental health need to be treated properly..not ignored..Put our greatly wasted tax-payers money where it belongs..our healthcare system is failing us.
My heartfelt sympathy..prayers go out to the family of the young man, Corporal Nathan Cirillo who was killed..Guarding the grave of the Unknown Soldier..With pride in his chosen profession of keeping our Country safe !
You are absolutely correct! I felt the same way when I read the articles. No mother should feel they have to apologize for the actions of their sick children.... Stephen Harper's government owes the Canadian public, that mother and both young men that died an apology... for gutting the health care system to the point where no help is available and for building jails to lock sick people up instead of funding treatment. I hope when election time rolls around people remember who has contributed to the destruction of families everyday in Canada. I am a lot more concerned about the everyday terror that families with addicted loved ones endure ..often in silence... I know because my family is one of those.
ReplyDeleteThank-you for responding ..Relieved to know I am not alone! We have to keep talking..educating..and send Mr Harper a message on Election Day!
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