Well, I guess the time of year snuck up on me.
On our walk home last night, I spotted a woman and three girls, all in prairie garb. Think long skirts and high necklines, all braided and modest. I thought it was an odd sight for any big city, never mind Spark Street in Ottawa. Later in the evening, I started to hear a crowd pass in front of our building, and when I looked, I saw more than a hundred teens (and more than a dozen adult chaperones) walking in groups. I figured it was just some mega school trip.
This morning, I woke up and opened Twitter, where I saw tweets indicating that today is the annual March for Life. That's right, Ottawa! It's Crazies on Parade time!
There are likely some decent, intelligent people in the crowd, but they are inevitably overshadowed by the, umm, more colourful of the assembled anti-abortion/anti-choice marchers. Indeed, I know lovely people whom I get along with famously, but we significantly disagree on the issue of abortion rights. Where are those people in that crowd of wackadoos? Three years ago, I headed out at lunch down Bank street, unaware of what was coming at me. I went into the Shopper's Drug Mart on Laurier, did my business, and when I came out, there were hundreds of people marching. I had my headphones in, so I didn't notice at first that they were anti-abortion, but I was soon cured of my ignorance as a group of older marchers started shouting at me. Literally. They took it upon themselves to accost me and a few other people on the street for not marching with them.
I kept my head and walked on, which is unusual for me, because when someone accosts me, I go by the golden rule...do unto others, my friends. Get in my face? That's license for me to respond in kind.
A little common courtesy...
...Wish you were here.
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