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Danielle S. McLaughlin

Director of Education, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

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We Should Be Proud of Pint-Sized Protestors

Posted: 12/29/2012 9:26 am
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Do your kids march around the living room with picket signs when they want a later bed time or an increase in allowance? A colleague from Buenos Aires tells me that this is considered normal childhood behaviour in her community. While the children on the domestic picket lines may not always succeed in having their grievances addressed, they have clearly learned something by observing the effective strategies of the adults among them.

We, as the adult authorities, may not be delighted by having such tactics applied to us, particularly where we feel a possible loss of control. In fact, we might feel downright annoyed by the application of organized civil society's strategies to minor league grievances. Are the kids trivializing our serious complaints? Or are they practicing to exercise their rights in lawful and legitimate ways, as they grow and develop into the democratic citizens we hope they will become?

Argentina is not the repressive country it once was. Hearings by that country's National Commission into the Disappearance of Persons into the torture and disappearance of tens of thousands of people during its dark history have shown to the world that democracy can change things. Constant demands for accountability made during the courageous and persistent demonstrations by the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, among others, created a tradition that has gone on to inform protest and process around the world.

What are our children in Canada seeing in the streets of our cities and towns? Idle No More, Occupy, protests in Ontario and Quebec by teachers and students -- and remember the G-20 protests in Toronto in 2010? While some of us looked the other way, the children are still watching.

Recently, I heard a Grade 6 student explain to a radio interviewer that he and his friends had walked out of school to protest against a government measure that they believed had resulted in their teachers' rights being taken away. The students outside the elementary school said the teachers were not being treated fairly -- and they called the media themselves. The principal was not impressed.

I think we should be very impressed. We don't have to agree or disagree with the content or the objective of the students' protest to understand that these children have learned something about rights and their exercise. The kids have something to say and they feel they have the right to be heard.

When I see the very heated debate about gun control that followed this month's horrific school violence in Newtown, Connecticut, and hear young people's voices on many sides of the issue, I feel great relief. Young people are asking hard questions and they are doing it out loud and in public places. This is in the best tradition of democracy.

Not very long ago, and certainly not at all far away, children wished for gifts of toy weapons and war play was a part of normal childhood behaviour. But in some communities, picking up a picket sign, and chanting slogans while marching around the living room is perfectly normal.
So, as a holiday treat for the pint-sized protesters in our families, I offer a small gift. Here is a downloadable do-it-yourself "That's Not Fair!" sign suitable for living room protesters of every age and ability. Just add colours, glue, and a flat stick and join the movement for peaceful and lawful democratic engagement everywhere.

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  • A native dancer looks on during an 'Idle No More' gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

  • Native dancers rally during an 'Idle No More' gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

  • Idle No More Mall Protest

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/630755180/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell">LJ Henshell</a>:<br />A First Nations Drummer plays during a protest at Intercity Shopping Center in Thunder Bay, Ontario

  • It's about the future

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/630755180/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell">LJ Henshell</a>:<br />A child protests in Thunder Bay, Ontario

  • United we stand

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Doug_Cleverley"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/805699678/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Doug_Cleverley">Doug Cleverley</a>:<br />At the #IdleNoMore rally in Owen Sound (Saugeen Ojibway Nation territory), during a spontaneous round dance at the main downtown intersection.

  • Killer Whale Dance

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Idle No More actions, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Idle No More #J11

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Idle No More #J11 March

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Tla'Amin Prayer Song #J11 Idle No More

    Tla'Amin Prayer song on #J11 2013 Idle No More, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River BC

  • Tla'Amin Killer Whale Dance, #J11 #IdleNoMore

    Tla'Amin Killer Whale Dance, #J11 #IdleNoMore, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • C45 affects all Canadians! Join the fight.

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Eleanor_Kure"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/840875359/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Eleanor_Kure">Eleanor Kure</a>:<br />At the Idle No More protest in Halifax Nova Scotia. with an eco-justice article in pocket, spreading the word that Bill C45 affects every Canadian, not only First Nations. Thank you FN, for beginning this movement.

  • Piyesiw Awasis

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mizzren"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/3183681.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mizzren">mizzren</a>:<br />Thunderchild First Nation @ Lloydminster Flash Mob. January 16, 2013

  • <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/16/idle-no-more-queen-elizabeth-2-highway-blockade-alberta_n_2490009.html">Idle No More supporters jump onto a truck</a> as they are pushed by a driver trying to pass, as the protesters block Highway 2 as part of a planned national day of action, in Edmonton, Alberta on Wedneday January 16, 2013.

  • Aboriginal protesters march down Huron Church Road towards the Ambassador bridge in Windsor Ontario, Wednesday, January 16, 2013. About 1000 demonstrators disrupted traffic to the country's busiest border crossing for several hours.

  • Aboriginal protestors pray at the end of their blockade of a CN railroad track just west of Portage La Prairie, Man., on Wednesday, January 16, 2016. They ended their protest without incident.

  • Aboriginal protesters demonstrate at the base of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor Ontario, Wednesday, January 16, 2013. About 1000 demonstrators disrupted traffic to the country's busiest border crossing for several hours.

  • Idle No More demonstrators block a CN east-west track just west of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Wednesday, January 16, 2016.

  • Mississaugas of the New Credit support INM

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Vicki_King_Jamieson"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/750500023/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Vicki_King_Jamieson">Vicki King Jamieson</a>:<br />New Credit Youth supporting INM

  • Montreal Idle No More

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Caillum"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Caillum">Caillum</a>:<br />Thousands of people, both Native and Canadian, show their support at an Idle No More protest in Montreal on January 11th, 2013.

  • #Denendeh #J11 #IdleNoMore #YZF #NWT Yellowknife "Northwest Territories"

    Video of the Global Day of Action rally in downtown Somba K’e (Yellowknife)on the Akaitcho territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation in Denendeh (Northwest Territories).

  • #IdleNoMore March and Round Dance in Yellowknife Denendeh NWT

    "Today (Friday, December 21, 2012) in Denendeh and across the globe, we made an impact, a statement for true justice to be brought forward and acknowledged. But it will not stop, for the 8th fire has been lit and will only grow. Mahsi for all who showed up and united, we felt the support....we felt the fire!! And there's more to come in the new year." On Facebook By Lawrence Nayally, Melaw Nakehk'o and Eugene Boulanger https://www.facebook.com/events/112403725595655/

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, wearing a headdress, takes part in a drum ceremony before departing a Ottawa hotel to attend a ceremonial meeting at Rideau Hall with Gov. Gen. David Johnston in Ottawa, Friday January 11, 2013.

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, centre, departs a Ottawa hotel to attend a ceremonial meeting at Rideau Hall with Gov. Gen. David Johnston in Ottawa, Friday January 11, 2013.

  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with First Nations leaders in Ottawa on January 11, 2013.

  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with First Nations leaders in Ottawa on January 11, 2013.

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence makes a brief statement on Victoria Island near Parliament Hill Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa. Spence is speaking out for the first time about how her reserve spends government money, saying most of what flows to her isolated James Bay reserve actually gets spent outside the community.

  • Aboriginal Chiefs stand at the main gate to Parliament Hill during a protest Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa.

  • Idle No More protesters listen to speakers during a rally on Parliament Hill Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa.

  • Gordie Odjig of Wikwemikong stands at the west gate to the Langevin Block during the aboriginal meeting in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Idle No More at UBC Vancouver

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/100001602753648/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray">Randall Gray</a>:<br />

  • Idle No More at UBC Vancouver

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/100001602753648/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray">Randall Gray</a>:<br />

  • Los Angeles Rally In Solidarity with First nations

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Melinda Gopher"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/contributors/melinda-gopher/headshot.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Melinda Gopher">HuffPost Blogger Melinda Gopher</a>:<br />Brock Conway, Blackfeet activist, with Saulteaux Actor Adam Beach and companion. Photo: Morning Star Gopher

  • Native protesters march up Wellington Street in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Four-year-old Phoenix Sky Cottrelle,from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, holds a sign as aboriginal protestors gather on Victoria Island before they march to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Aboriginal protestors hold signs as they march from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Gordie Odjig, an aboriginal protestor from Wikwemikong, shouts as he marches from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Woman's Voices

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Idle No More event Dec 30th,2012. Tla'Amin Nation Coast Salish Territories Powell River, British Columbia.

  • Idle No More Edmonton

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/AUPELOCAL6CHAIR"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4411530.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/AUPELOCAL6CHAIR">AUPELOCAL6CHAIR</a>:<br />Planned overnight and what a turn out!

  • IdleNoMore March, Dauphin, Mb

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Phyllis_Racette"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/1354341984/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Phyllis_Racette">Phyllis Racette</a>:<br />#IdleNoMOre Dauphin, Mb

  • Chicago Idle No More @ the Canadian Consulate

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jolene_Aleck"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/644015258/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jolene_Aleck">Jolene Aleck</a>:<br />Chicago's Idle No More 1.5.2012 rally @ the Canadian Consulate

  • VancouverC Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • A man waves a flags as aboriginal protesters and supporters in the Idle No More movement block the Blue Water Bridge border crossing to the United States in Sarnia, Ont. on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

  • VancouverA Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverB Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverD Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverH Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC, January 2, 2013.

  • VancouverF Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverE Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverG Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • Flag Planting

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/seawaytoday"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/seawaytoday">seawaytoday</a>:<br />Akwesasne Idle No More att Cornwall, ON

  • Dec 21st 2012 Idle No More Ottawa: Berdine

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Gail_Chicky_Gallagher"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/535670179/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Gail_Chicky_Gallagher">Gail Chicky Gallagher</a>:<br />

 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
techhie
27 Fans
03:57 PM on 12/31/2012
Danielle S. McLaughlin should be ashamed of herself. Little kids should NEVER be dragged into the fights of their parents. So she is telling us that little children have throughly thought through positions on some political issue of the day? Like a child with a placard at a strike or protest site?

Not only just plain silly, but abusive to the child's wellbeing.
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PortlandZoo
Wait... what?
2269 Fans
10:47 AM on 12/30/2012
both sides of this issue are a bit murky. I do question the thousands and thousands of dollars the unions are spending on radio and tv ads. All are entitled to air their grievances and opinions but the existence of these massive ad campaigns would indicate that far from being the working person's austere representatives, the unions come off as quite wealthy entities, and doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of the "equality" that they so fervently wish for? just my two cents - and no flames please - I support unions.
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upsidedownzebra
20 Fans
01:37 PM on 12/30/2012
So when a union grows to a size that it can influence opinion against much larger entities like corporations and governments then "equality" suffers?
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PortlandZoo
Wait... what?
2269 Fans
08:41 AM on 12/31/2012
there have been very large unions for a long time - with a lot of influence (UAW, Teamsters, PSAC, etc.) and they have been vilified for their power. That isn't my point. I have worked in the media and know what it costs to buy that much air time. Were I a member of that union, I would question an outlay of cash that big from dues paid - spending like that plows through a strike fund pretty quickly - and they might need it. Influencing public opinion is one thing but carpet bombing with (imho) aggressive and sometimes misleading advertising (print, tv, radio) seems a tad counterproductive if you're seeking support from taxpayers (like me). I've been an executive member of the largest union in the country so I'm not unfamiliar with ubiquitous "us vs. them" mentality and how distorted a dispute can get to the detriment of the very people it's supposed to help,
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LetsKeepitSimple
79 Fans
11:17 PM on 12/29/2012
Teachers like to use the students as pawns and cannon fodder........

I wish that students would be a priority for the teachers unions, instead they are always held hostage
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SeanMartin
Everything in moderation.
1411 Fans
03:28 PM on 12/30/2012
Riiiiiiiiiiight.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
EQ8Rhomes
71 Fans
11:11 PM on 12/29/2012
There is a danger in radicalizing children in political fronts. Balance is needed more than ever now.
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upsidedownzebra
20 Fans
01:44 PM on 12/30/2012
Holding a protest sign is not radical, bemoaning the right to free assembly is radical.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dennis Schmunk
3831 Fans
10:29 PM on 12/29/2012
In 1961 we organised a strike in 3 junior high schools. I was 13 and the issue was the Chant report but more importantly the schools where the strike started were located in working class east Vancouver. The right to organise (with some help from newly formed SFU students) was fundamental then as it still is among students in every country that doesn't kowtow to corporate sponsors.
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Inannawhimsey
111 Fans
09:10 PM on 12/29/2012
what's neet is that "the media" (which is being replaced by a more person-centered medium) has and is reporting on these events :3
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Vikes88
39 Fans
08:33 PM on 12/29/2012
Good. Hope they keep watching. In the words of Rick Mercer, we can't afford to be complacent, or we will be taken advantage of... good on those young individuals.
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AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
07:08 PM on 12/29/2012
Kids getting involved is exactly what is needed it's hard to lie to an informed public.
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silo6ca
0 Fans
07:47 AM on 12/30/2012
As long as they are informed. I do not expect that the government had any real representation in the information the students received. Thus it was not informed protest but rather brainwashing from the teachers.
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BlackRabbit
174 Fans
05:15 PM on 12/29/2012
"Recently, I heard a Grade 6 student explain to a radio interviewer that he and his friends had walked out of school to protest against a government measure that they believed had resulted in their teachers' rights being taken away."

I find it implausible that these students did this of their own volition. Very likely a teacher put them up to it.

Which makes the whole story rather repugnant.
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Vikes88
39 Fans
08:34 PM on 12/29/2012
Until you can back that up, there's nothing repugnant about this story at all. At the most, her assumption and your assumption cancel out.
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Inannawhimsey
111 Fans
09:12 PM on 12/29/2012
indeed, Canadian society might be coddling their children and not letting them learn calculus when they are able to in elementary school and instead holding to an outdated social game...who knows?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wendyweb47
Keeping an open mind
213 Fans
 
03:58 PM on 12/29/2012
I'm over 50, but still remember when I was about 10 participating in a protest about a dangerous road with no stop signs near my home. The neighbourhood activism got our city hall's attention and the stop sign still stands today. In high school we protested the Amchitka nuclear blasts set off by the US in Alaska - marches/petitions/speeches. Those early events shaped me into who I am today. Someone who is not afraid to speak up about injustice and lend my voice to a cause. Teaching children that they have power to make changes in their world is a good thing - we cannot afford to raise a generation of sheep who follow poor/dangerous leaders.

The world we are building will belong to the next generations - they have a say in what it looks like.
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Jim Cohoon
158 Fans
03:02 PM on 12/29/2012
As I get older I realize the truth of the old adage: use it or lose it. That is also true for our democracy and civil rights. I would rather see young people being aware politically and sometimes actually getting involved than falling into the trap of ignorance and apathy being laid for them by many of their cynical older generation of political leaders.
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hankhans
8 Fans
01:14 PM on 12/29/2012
kids are a captive audience..turning into little adults protesting away repulsive as turning into sex objects ..or consumers...the writer of this article needs her head examined big time...or one day these little tykes will be protesting her
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Vikes88
39 Fans
08:34 PM on 12/29/2012
And if they want to protest her, I hope they do... I hope they never forget they've got that right, before someone tries convincing them they don't.
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hankhans
8 Fans
11:10 AM on 12/30/2012
they have the right to be loved and cared for they do not pay taxes,drive cars,.have sex.drink.get married,,fight in the army, however if they do protest I am sure they will be as well informed as most of the adults who think they should protest in other words not informed at all
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Bianca S
You can't go trick-or-treating. Ever. For a week
191 Fans
01:09 PM on 12/29/2012
Something tells me you wouldn't be for this if the child has protested *against* teachers. Something also tells me that he is being fed only one side of the story because as with most things, they're not so black and white. When I was even younger than this kid, a few teachers told us that Mike Harris was "evil" and that we should all hate him because he hates teachers. One even went as far as telling us that if any of our parents supported him they must not care about our education! Because I thought teachers were basically the word of God, I didn't question anything. Looking back though, I'm livid that my teachers tried to brainwash us with their own political agendas, even if I might have ended up supporting their cause. Teachers know kids are impressionable and it's hugely unethical to use them as pawns in your own game.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Mike vdB
Get involved, always question, don't just exist.
106 Fans
09:10 PM on 12/29/2012
I am all for the students making their voices heard about Bill 115 but many of them don't understand what the bill is about or what both sides are fighting over. All they know is it must be the govt's fault that they don't have extracurricular activities not realizing the other side of the coin. We talked with our both our sons about it and they just reiterated half truths that they heard from their friends (and where that info came from who knows). As with anything, if you want to be a part of democracy, you should educate yourself on the issues first. Our democracy fails when we let emotion trump judgement and reason.
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:45 AM on 12/30/2012
Harris is evil... Walkerton how many dead ??


Coalition for a Public Inquiry into Ipperwash

Founded on December 10, 1997, the anniversary of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights, the Coalition has a moral mandate to move forward to press for a full investigation into the death of Dudley George. For Aboriginal partners in the Coalition, this responsibility is based on the fact that Dudley was an Aboriginal person who was killed on First Nations territory in a 50-year-old land rights dispute. For non-Aboriginal partners in the Coalition, this responsibility is based on the clear violations of human and civil rights which Aboriginal Peoples have experienced in this land since the time of European contact. The Coalition supports self-determination of Aboriginal peoples and feels an obligation to work together with the original Peoples of this land to publicly uncover the truth about how the Ontario government acted during the land rights protest at Stoney Point. The Coalition firmly believes that our destiny, our human and democratic rights, and the quality of our children's future rest on a complete exposure of the events which led to the assault on the Stoney Point People on September 6, 1995. The Coalition is committed to working to create a public process in which the full truth will come out about the events surrounding the death of Dudley George.


http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/report/index.html
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IYamWhatIYam
29 Fans
01:04 PM on 12/29/2012
Let kids be kids.
When they get to college they can make all the signs they want.
If you need to follow internet instructions on how to make a protest sign, you're too young.
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AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
07:09 PM on 12/29/2012
You are never to young to learn about power and how to use it.
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wordbased
0 Fans
06:27 PM on 01/01/2013
Power for power's sake is tyranny. And it will, for absolute sure, corrupt kids as well as adults.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Colin Speth
A Claymore for your thoughts
55 Fans
12:15 PM on 12/29/2012
Pretty easy to convince a captive audience of anything if you tell them enough times.
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AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
07:09 PM on 12/29/2012
Marketing depends on it.
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