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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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The moral injury of having your work enshittified

This Monday (November 27), I'm appearing at the Toronto Metro Reference Library with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

On November 29, I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

This week, I wrote about how the Great Enshittening – in which all the digital services we rely on become unusable, extractive piles of shit – did not result from the decay of the morals of tech company leadership, but rather, from the collapse of the forces that discipline corporate wrongdoing:

https://locusmag.com/2023/11/commentary-by-cory-doctorow-dont-be-evil/

The failure to enforce competition law allowed a few companies to buy out their rivals, or sell goods below cost until their rivals collapsed, or bribe key parts of their supply chain not to allow rivals to participate:

https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-pays-apple-36-percent-of-ad-search-revenues-from-safari-191730783.html

The resulting concentration of the tech sector meant that the surviving firms were stupendously wealthy, and cozy enough that they could agree on a common legislative agenda. That regulatory capture has allowed tech companies to violate labor, privacy and consumer protection laws by arguing that the law doesn't apply when you use an app to violate it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But the regulatory capture isn't just about preventing regulation: it's also about creating regulation – laws that make it illegal to reverse-engineer, scrape, and otherwise mod, hack or reconfigure existing services to claw back value that has been taken away from users and business customers. This gives rise to Jay Freeman's perfectly named doctrine of "felony contempt of business-model," in which it is illegal to use your own property in ways that anger the shareholders of the company that sold it to you:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Undisciplined by the threat of competition, regulation, or unilateral modification by users, companies are free to enshittify their products. But what does that actually look like? I say that enshittification is always precipitated by a lost argument.

It starts when someone around a board-room table proposes doing something that's bad for users but good for the company. If the company faces the discipline of competition, regulation or self-help measures, then the workers who are disgusted by this course of action can say, "I think doing this would be gross, and what's more, it's going to make the company poorer," and so they win the argument.

But when you take away that discipline, the argument gets reduced to, "Don't do this because it would make me ashamed to work here, even though it will make the company richer." Money talks, bullshit walks. Let the enshittification begin!

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/22/who-wins-the-argument/#corporations-are-people-my-friend

But why do workers care at all? That's where phrases like "don't be evil" come into the picture. Until very recently, tech workers participated in one of history's tightest labor markets, in which multiple companies with gigantic war-chests bid on their labor. Even low-level employees routinely fielded calls from recruiters who dangled offers of higher salaries and larger stock grants if they would jump ship for a company's rival.

Employers built "campuses" filled with lavish perks: massages, sports facilities, daycare, gourmet cafeterias. They offered workers generous benefit packages, including exotic health benefits like having your eggs frozen so you could delay fertility while offsetting the risks normally associated with conceiving at a later age.

But all of this was a transparent ruse: the business-case for free meals, gyms, dry-cleaning, catering and massages was to keep workers at their laptops for 10, 12, or even 16 hours per day. That egg-freezing perk wasn't about helping workers plan their families: it was about thumbing the scales in favor of working through your entire twenties and thirties without taking any parental leave.

In other words, tech employers valued their employees as a means to an end: they wanted to get the best geeks on the payroll and then work them like government mules. The perks and pay weren't the result of comradeship between management and labor: they were the result of the discipline of competition for labor.

This wasn't really a secret, of course. Big Tech workers are split into two camps: blue badges (salaried employees) and green badges (contractors). Whenever there is a slack labor market for a specific job or skill, it is converted from a blue badge job to a green badge job. Green badges don't get the food or the massages or the kombucha. They don't get stock or daycare. They don't get to freeze their eggs. They also work long hours, but they are incentivized by the fear of poverty.

Tech giants went to great lengths to shield blue badges from green badges – at some Google campuses, these workforces actually used different entrances and worked in different facilities or on different floors. Sometimes, green badge working hours would be staggered so that the armies of ragged clickworkers would not be lined up to badge in when their social betters swanned off the luxury bus and into their airy adult kindergartens.

But Big Tech worked hard to convince those blue badges that they were truly valued. Companies hosted regular town halls where employees could ask impertinent questions of their CEOs. They maintained freewheeling internal social media sites where techies could rail against corporate foolishness and make Dilbert references.

And they came up with mottoes.

Apple told its employees it was a sound environmental steward that cared about privacy. Apple also deliberately turned old devices into e-waste by shredding them to ensure that they wouldn't be repaired and compete with new devices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

And even as they were blocking Facebook's surveillance tools, they quietly built their own nonconsensual mass surveillance program and lied to customers about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Facebook told employees they were on a "mission to connect every person in the world," but instead deliberately sowed discontent among its users and trapped them in silos that meant that anyone who left Facebook lost all their friends:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

And Google promised its employees that they would not "be evil" if they worked at Google. For many googlers, that mattered. They wanted to do something good with their lives, and they had a choice about who they would work for. What's more, they did make things that were good. At their high points, Google Maps, Google Mail, and of course, Google Search were incredible.

My own life was totally transformed by Maps: I have very poor spatial sense, need to actually stop and think to tell my right from my left, and I spent more of my life at least a little lost and often very lost. Google Maps is the cognitive prosthesis I needed to become someone who can go anywhere. I'm profoundly grateful to the people who built that service.

There's a name for phenomenon in which you care so much about your job that you endure poor conditions and abuse: it's called "vocational awe," as coined by Fobazi Ettarh:

https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/

Ettarh uses the term to apply to traditionally low-waged workers like librarians, teachers and nurses. In our book Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin and I talked about how it applies to artists and other creative workers, too:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

But vocational awe is also omnipresent in tech. The grandiose claims to be on a mission to make the world a better place are not just puffery – they're a vital means of motivating workers who can easily quit their jobs and find a new one to put in 16-hour days. The massages and kombucha and egg-freezing are not framed as perks, but as logistical supports, provided so that techies on an important mission can pursue a shared social goal without being distracted by their balky, inconvenient meatsuits.

Steve Jobs was a master of instilling vocational awe. He was full of aphorisms like "we're here to make a dent in the universe, otherwise why even be here?" Or his infamous line to John Sculley, whom he lured away from Pepsi: "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?"

Vocational awe cuts both ways. If your workforce actually believes in all that high-minded stuff, if they actually sacrifice their health, family lives and self-care to further the mission, they will defend it. That brings me back to enshittification, and the argument: "If we do this bad thing to the product I work on, it will make me hate myself."

The decline in market discipline for large tech companies has been accompanied by a decline in labor discipline, as the market for technical work grew less and less competitive. Since the dotcom collapse, the ability of tech giants to starve new entrants of market oxygen has shrunk techies' dreams.

Tech workers once dreamed of working for a big, unwieldy firm for a few years before setting out on their own to topple it with a startup. Then, the dream shrank: work for that big, clumsy firm for a few years, then do a fake startup that makes a fake product that is acquihired by your old employer, as an incredibly inefficient and roundabout way to get a raise and a bonus.

Then the dream shrank again: work for a big, ugly firm for life, but get those perks, the massages and the kombucha and the stock options and the gourmet cafeteria and the egg-freezing. Then it shrank again: work for Google for a while, but then get laid off along with 12,000 co-workers, just months after the company does a stock buyback that would cover all those salaries for the next 27 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/10/the-proletarianization-of-tech-workers/

Tech workers' power was fundamentally individual. In a tight labor market, tech workers could personally stand up to their bosses. They got "workplace democracy" by mouthing off at town hall meetings. They didn't have a union, and they thought they didn't need one. Of course, they did need one, because there were limits to individual power, even for the most in-demand workers, especially when it came to ghastly, long-running sexual abuse from high-ranking executives:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google-sexual-harassment-andy-rubin.html

Today, atomized tech workers who are ordered to enshittify the products they take pride in are losing the argument. Workers who put in long hours, missed funerals and school plays and little league games and anniversaries and family vacations are being ordered to flush that sacrifice down the toilet to grind out a few basis points towards a KPI.

It's a form of moral injury, and it's palpable in the first-person accounts of former workers who've exited these large firms or the entire field. The viral "Reflecting on 18 years at Google," written by Ian Hixie, vibrates with it:

https://ln.hixie.ch/?start=1700627373

Hixie describes the sense of mission he brought to his job, the workplace democracy he experienced as employees' views were both solicited and heeded. He describes the positive contributions he was able to make to a commons of technical standards that rippled out beyond Google – and then, he says, "Google's culture eroded":

Decisions went from being made for the benefit of users, to the benefit of Google, to the benefit of whoever was making the decision.

In other words, techies started losing the argument. Layoffs weakened worker power – not just to defend their own interest, but to defend the users interests. Worker power is always about more than workers – think of how the 2019 LA teachers' strike won greenspace for every school, a ban on immigration sweeps of students' parents at the school gates and other community benefits:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

Hixie attributes the changes to a change in leadership, but I respectfully disagree. Hixie points to the original shareholder letter from the Google founders, in which they informed investors contemplating their IPO that they were retaining a controlling interest in the company's governance so that they could ignore their shareholders' priorities in favor of a vision of Google as a positive force in the world:

https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/

Hixie says that the leadership that succeeded the founders lost sight of this vision – but the whole point of that letter is that the founders never fully ceded control to subsequent executive teams. Yes, those executive teams were accountable to the shareholders, but the largest block of voting shares were retained by the founders.

I don't think the enshittification of Google was due to a change in leadership – I think it was due to a change in discipline, the discipline imposed by competition, regulation and the threat of self-help measures. Take ads: when Google had to contend with one-click adblocker installation, it had to constantly balance the risk of making users so fed up that they googled "how do I block ads?" and then never saw another ad ever again.

But once Google seized the majority of the mobile market, it was able to funnel users into apps, and reverse-engineering an app is a felony (felony contempt of business-model) under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a crime to install an ad-blocker.

And as Google acquired control over the browser market, it was likewise able to reduce the self-help measures available to browser users who found ads sufficiently obnoxious to trigger googling "how do I block ads?" The apotheosis of this is the yearslong campaign to block adblockers in Chrome, which the company has sworn it will finally do this coming June:

https://www.tumblr.com/tevruden/734352367416410112/you-have-until-june-to-dump-chrome

My contention here is not that Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in personnel via the promotion of managers who have shitty ideas. Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in discipline, as the negative consequences of heeding those shitty ideas were abolished thanks to monopoly.

This is bad news for people like me, who rely on services like Google Maps as cognitive prostheses. Elizabeth Laraki, one of the original Google Maps designers, has published a scorching critique of the latest GMaps design:

https://twitter.com/elizlaraki/status/1727351922254852182

Laraki calls out numerous enshittificatory design-choices that have left Maps screens covered in "crud" – multiple revenue-maximizing elements that come at the expense of usability, shifting value from users to Google.

What Laraki doesn't say is that these UI elements are auctioned off to merchants, which means that the business that gives Google the most money gets the greatest prominence in Maps, even if it's not the best merchant. That's a recurring motif in enshittified tech platforms, most notoriously Amazon, which makes $31b/year auctioning off top search placement to companies whose products aren't relevant enough to your query to command that position on their own:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Enshittification begets enshittification. To succeed on Amazon, you must divert funds from product quality to auction placement, which means that the top results are the worst products:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

The exception is searches for Apple products: Apple and Amazon have a cozy arrangement that means that searches for Apple products are a timewarp back to the pre-enshittification Amazon, when the company worried enough about losing your business to heed the employees who objected to sacrificing search quality as part of a merchant extortion racket:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-gives-apple-special-treatment-while-others-suffer-junk-ads-2023-11

Not every tech worker is a tech bro, in other words. Many workers care deeply about making your life better. But the microeconomics of the boardroom in a monopolized tech sector rewards the worst people and continuously promotes them. Forget the Peter Principle: tech is ruled by the Sam Principle.

As OpenAI went through four CEOs in a single week, lots of commentators remarked on Sam Altman's rise and fall and rise, but I only found one commentator who really had Altman's number. Writing in Today in Tabs, Rusty Foster nailed Altman to the wall:

https://www.todayintabs.com/p/defective-accelerationism

Altman's history goes like this: first, he founded a useless startup that raised $30m, only to be acquired and shuttered. Then Altman got a job running Y Combinator, where he somehow failed at taking huge tranches of equity from "every Stanford dropout with an idea for software to replace something Mommy used to do." After that, he founded OpenAI, a company that he claims to believe presents an existential risk to the entire human risk – which he structured so incompetently that he was then forced out of it.

His reward for this string of farcical, mounting failures? He was put back in charge of the company he mis-structured despite his claimed belief that it will destroy the human race if not properly managed.

Altman's been around for a long time. He founded his startup in 2005. There've always been Sams – of both the Bankman-Fried varietal and the Altman genus – in tech. But they didn't get to run amok. They were disciplined by their competitors, regulators, users and workers. The collapse of competition led to an across-the-board collapse in all of those forms of discipline, revealing the executives for the mediocre sociopaths they always were, and exposing tech workers' vocational awe for the shabby trick it was from the start.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

#pluralistic #moral injury #enshittification #worker power #google #dont be evil #monopoly #sam altman #openai #vocational awe #making a dent in the universe

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babylove007 · 3 days ago

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Vaginal Ultrasound - Toronto General Allyce Margaret Wiseman (I go by Lycee)

Ultrasound Done: Black space appearance of fingers cut off and knuckle line inserted leaving black space, with foamy white waves with streaks underneath, (Imagine 102 SAG IL/IN) White line at top left of black space, Black crack lightening down to middle of imaging with more white lines Abdomen Pelvis: XR Chest - Wheezing, ear plugs put over mouth & ingested while sleeping - phenomena decided, no further investigation

Very very painful. 17 Months walking on these images, Without a "hi, hello, how are you?" by any individual with a duty to report in Ontario.

Massage Therapists Health care professionals Teachers Lawyers Enforcement (police)

......... There is a few more.

"Well they'd stop if you didn't look like such a homeless slob."

Thanks, I wonder how many people before them they are failing the lives and purpose of, with an xmpox vaccine, cancer, and a bad faith IUD instertion.

Toronto General - UHN Imaging SAG IL - Image 102 MRN: 4403410 HCN: 4394740254VG Attending: Alberta Mallia, MD Sodium cloride stopped at 3:08pm with hair gel like bubbles in the line, and foamy cluster bubbles pockets

I requested zofran twice My insides and the balloon along the right rips started blowing up After seeing Anna Camp Cop (Stacy) in Toronto General Rapid Assesement. -> From the Whitby, Ontario Cop Shop Orgy -> From the couch of the Toronto Recording studio, Supt. Paul Macintyre walked in and said "You're going to wish she wasn't my wife" after they had set up OPP Kerry Schmidt to watch me be inappropriately touched after escorting the boys out (not last November or this year), To which I replied,

"Every single one of those boys are going to need to be tested for the mpox vaccine they don't know about getting, didn't remember why or how, followed by their loved ones with bad faith IUDs through that vaccine and cancer. "

(Paul Mcintityre/Paul Krawcywk - Bald with blue eyes, ready to betray our boys and our road ways, break our girls hearts with xmpox vaccines, cancer and IUDs through the sickness tunnels)

Pray for me, like I pray for you.

Then get a clue, because no amount of happy pills or surgery, Bring us back a full woman you wish for sex, And I'm not Helen happy with a celibate marriage.

#medicallyassisteddying #supportit

Centenary Hospital, Thank you for allowing me to sleep, something to eat, And a peaceful sleep where I'm not shaken awake and pushed out, Like Oshawa Lakeridge Hospital.

Amen

#orbit #notes at myself #toronto police service #ontario police service #kingston police service #university health network #toronto general hospital #toronto western hospital #centenary hospital #kerry schmidt #supreme court of canada

#orbit #notes at myself #kingston #ontario #toronto #ottawa

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 3 months ago

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'We don't want to know about abused men': Inside the hidden world of male victims

By: Ari David Blaff

Published: Nov 7, 2024

A residence in north Toronto in one of the rare places in Canada where abused men and fathers with children can find emergency shelter

Matt feared his wife was going to kill him. He had seen violent streaks before. Once, when he accused her of infidelities, Matt said she pulled a knife and “put it (at) my throat.”

Fleeing wasn’t an option because they had young children. He felt stuck without a safe refuge where he could take them. “As long as I had my kids, that’s all I cared about,” Matt said.

He expected the police wouldn’t take him seriously: a six-foot-tall Caribbean man scared of his wife. “If anything happens and she calls the cops, they’re going to come straight at me,” he told the National Post, requesting anonymity to protect his children.

A subsequent fight over cheating led to a similar violent encounter. Again, his partner allegedly threatened him with a knife and “said she’s gonna kill me,” according to Matt. Again, he refrained from calling the police, instead phoning a family member to tell them about the situation. The alarmed family member called the cops.

When the police arrived on the scene, Matt said he was asked to leave the premises. “The conversation went from ‘what happened?’ to ‘what did you do?’ really quick,” he said. It wasn’t until Matt, under police escort, went back into his house to get some belongings that the officers started to take his story seriously. His wife lost it, Matt said, verbally attacking him in their presence.

“I heard the police officer under his breath say, ‘Oh shit, that really happened,’” Matt said. A female police officer escorting Matt away from their house acknowledged his options were limited, but she had a suggestion for him of a safe haven in Toronto where he could stay temporarily with his kids.

“There isn’t a lot of help for men in situations like these but give this place a try. It might help you out,” he recalled her saying.

Down a stretch of York University’s student ghetto in the northern part of Toronto sits a non-descript, three-storey, red-brick townhouse that is a national treasure of sorts. It is one of the rare places in Canada where abused men and fathers with children can find emergency shelter.

“We’re the only game in town as far as family violence for fathers and children,” said Justin Trottier, who oversees the Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children. Opened during the height of the pandemic in March 2021, the shelter is an effort more than seven years in the making by Trottier and the Canadian Centre for Men and Families (CCMF).

The non-profit men’s centre has offered counselling and mental health services for male victims of abuse and violence —“filling critical gaps in men’s services” — since 2014. But the outpouring of demand for an emergency shelter pushed them to open an actual residence.

[ ‘The demand’s always been high,’ said Justin Trottier, executive director of the Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children in north Toronto, part of the non-profit Canadian Centre for Men and Families. The emergency shelter residence opened in March 2021 at the height of the pandemic. ]

“We would get calls for years before we opened and that’s what lit the fire under us to open a shelter. The demand’s always been high,” Trottier said.

There are nearly 600 shelters across Canada for victims of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV), but only four per cent of them serve men. More than two-thirds of the shelters (68 per cent) are mandated to serve women and their children, while an additional 11 per cent serve women only. According to Statistics Canada, of the approximately 24 emergency abuse shelters in 2021-22 that opened their doors to men, virtually all of them also served women. More than 99 per cent of the 46,827 residents of domestic abuse shelters in 2021-22 were women and their children.

For male victims of domestic abuse, that leaves a smattering of dots on a vast map of Canada where they might find safety. Even rarer are places where abused fathers can bring their children.

Most people are aware of the tragic consequences for women of intimate partner violence. In June, Carly Stannard-Walsh and her two children, Madison and Hunter, were shot dead in a murder-suicide in Harrow, Ont. They were killed by Carly’s husband and the children’s father, Steven Walsh.

In the five years between 2014 to 2019, police-reported data showed 80 per cent of the 500 Canadian lives lost to domestic violence were women — 400 mothers, sisters, daughters and girlfriends killed by people in their lives. Overall, in 2019, women were the victims of 79 per cent of police-reported criminal incidents of intimate partner violence.

But what is less well-known is that men are also victims of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence, including physical abuse, sexual and psychological abuse. The numbers don’t show up in police reports because, like Matt, men are less likely to call police.

Matt was one of the dads who turned up at Trottier’s doorstep with nowhere else to go. He thought about going to a motel but couldn’t afford it long-term. He also considered returning to his family in New York, but that would be too difficult with his kids. One shelter offered him a bed, but said no to the children, which meant they would be left with their mother.

About 90 per cent of residents at the Toronto emergency shelter are “male survivors of family violence and their children,” Trottier told the Post. But they also open their doors to male refugees, those suffering mental health issues and boys alienated from their families. “There is no hard rule against men in other situations,” he said.

Residents are offered a range of support, what Trottier likes to call “wraparound services,” from providing clothing and food, to emergency trauma counselling, mental health therapy, peer support and mentoring, fathering classes and legal aid. Stays are capped at 90 days. Trottier said the waitlist frequently balloons between four weeks and two months.

The majority of CCMF’s operating funds come from private contributions and institutional donations. The federal government does not provide any money, nor do most provincial governments. Alberta is one of the rare exceptions; the province gave CCMF just over $9,000 last year to help create a domestic abuse program.

On a recent visit, the shelter is a hive of activity. There are intake workers and mental health counsellors mixed in among the residents. Trottier is there most days, too, as well as graduate students in social work from neighbouring York University.

Many residents have day jobs, so they are coming and going. An observer arriving at the shelter just before lunch on a weekday, finds no kids in sight. Trottier said that children accompanying their fathers usually stick to the routines they had prior to arriving — going to daycare, babysitters and school.

From the outside, the shelter looks like any other townhouse, aside from the abundance of security cameras and signs calling for doors to be locked at all times. A rooftop patio offers panoramic views of the sprawling suburbia. But the overall aesthetic at the shelter is reminiscent of college dorms or cheap first apartments — drab-coloured walls, donated second-hand furniture. A massive kitchen has floor-to-ceiling cupboards stocked with personally labelled food. Residents buy their own groceries and cook their own meals.

[ A former resident sits in the modest library at the Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children in north Toronto. Stays are capped at 90 days. ]

The shelter can host up to two dozen people or 10 families “depending on size,” Trottier said. With the help of bunk beds, some rooms on the second floor are big enough for a father and three children. There is a kid’s room full of toys, a library and meeting space that can be converted into a bedroom, laundry facilities, even a small backyard.

A small network across Quebec, Maison Oxygène — Oxygen House — fills a similar gap in providing emergency accommodation for fathers and their children but does not position itself as a domestic abuse shelter. The non-profit is funded exclusively by donations and has faced chronic financial pains.

Outside of these options for male victims of intimate partner violence and their children, there aren’t many others, Trottier said.

* * *

Intimate partner violence, also known as spousal abuse or domestic violence, has been identified by the World Health Organization as a major global public health concern, impacting millions of people of all genders, ages, socioeconomic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds. It can range from emotional and financial abuse to physical and sexual assault. It can happen within a marriage or dating relationship, whether or not partners live together or are sexually intimate, and after the relationship has ended. It can occur in public and private spaces, as well as online.

And it can happen regardless of gender. Self-reported data through surveys, questionnaires and the like, show the less publicized, much broader picture of male victims of intimate partner violence.

In Canada in 2018, self-reported statistics on abuse from StatsCan showed that 23 per cent of women experienced some form of abuse compared to 17 per cent of men. Forty-four per cent of women reported sexual abuse compared to 36 per cent of men, with similar comparisons for psychological abuse.

And though women are seven times more likely than men to be killed by their partners, men are not absent from those harsh victim statistics. In 2021, men comprised nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of 90 intimate partner homicides. National media often overlook stories such as Blake Bibby, a 36-year-old Newmarket, Ont. man fatally stabbed by his ex-girlfriend in July.

“Spousal homicide is not a good measure of domestic abuse because it is so rare,” said Don Dutton, a University of British Columbia psychology professor who has been studying the domestic violence issue for decades and has authored several books on the subject, including Rethinking Domestic Violence.

Dutton spent part of his early career in the ‘70s as a court-mandated counsellor working with men accused of abusing their wives. Over the decades, he began to see domestic violence as more of a two-way street with female abusers often overlooked in academic and legal circles.

Dutton said there’s an obvious explanation for the chasm between official police data that shows females as the primary victims of domestic abuse, and the self-reported data that suggest the ratio of abuse between the sexes is closer than most think: Men are often too self-conscious to come forward to police.

He found that men report domestic abuse to police at a tenth of the rate as women and that their reports are not taken as seriously by law enforcement.

Erin Pizzey had a similar wake-up call during her work as a pioneering force behind the emergency shelter movement in the United Kingdom back in the ‘70s. Her work set off a chain reaction as she spearheaded the creation of spaces for women escaping abusive partners to get back on their feet.

Within four years of opening her first shelter in 1971, more than two dozen similar initiatives had sprung up across the U.K. with more in the pipeline. “She single-handedly did as much for the cause of women as any other woman alive,” one British journalist reflected in 1997.

However, Pizzey grew disillusioned with the movement and what she viewed as the mainstreaming of men-bashing among activists. Her work on the frontiers of domestic abuse changed her view of domestic violence: Men were not solely perpetrators of violence, but also victims of abuse. True equality meant helping both sexes in need.

“I was the one who was saying, ‘Hey, hang on, this is not a gender issue. Men are equally in need of refuge; men are equally in need of social services,’” Pizzey, now 85, told the National Post over Zoom from her home in London.

“Apart from those of us who work in the field of domestic violence and dysfunction, we have been brainwashed into believing that all men are potential abusers. So, no, I don’t believe that there is much understanding or interest in male suffering or abuse,” Pizzey said.

Other academics and professionals in the field of social services have arrived at similar conclusions.

Elizabeth Bates, a specialist in the topic at Cumbria University in the United Kingdom, said in an email to the National Post that the perception one draws about domestic abuse is heavily influenced by the dataset one picks. Whereas police reports show a “large majority of perpetrators being male and victims being female,” survey data from government officials in England and Wales show “that for every three victims of domestic abuse, one is male and two are female,” she said.

In the academic literature, which typically relies on “self-reported data,” Bates said the ratio of female to male victims is closer to a 50-50 split. “There are a number of reasons for this difference, but one of the main ones, I think, are around the barriers faced in reporting victimization,” Bates said.

“There are barriers for any victim” Bates continued. “But I think for men, the stigma and stereotypes are still very prominent, and it prevents men from being able to disclose and so be included within those statistics.”

Alexandra Lysova, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, told the National Post that Canada’s federally commissioned General Social Survey (GSS) victimization survey in 2019 also found “very, very close” ratios between female and male victims of intimate partner violence, both when it comes to psychological and physical abuse.

Such findings should encourage the public to move beyond stereotypes of domestic abuse that depict men exclusively as abusers, said Lysova, because a vast swath of society is being deprived of much-needed social services. “What we see is that the tip of this iceberg, and the whole large part of intimate partner violence is underwater, not known to the police,” Lysova said.

“I have this conversation so many times: ‘Oh, it’s happening more by men to women.’ But no, that’s not accurate. What is accurate is that more women are reporting than men, and more women are reporting when the perpetrator is a man compared to when the man is abused by a woman,” said Phil Mitchell, a British counsellor specializing in male abuse victims.

When asked about the differences between men and women when it comes to reported incidents of domestic violence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police directed the National Post’s request for comment to the Toronto Police Service. While the RCMP “absolutely investigates cases of domestic violence,” an RCMP spokesperson explained to the National Post by email, the matter is mostly dealt with “at the divisional (provincial) level.”

“TPS can only speak on intimate partner violence occurrences that are reported to us, recognizing that not every incident of IPV is reported to police. Reported incidents are thoroughly investigated by officers with specialized training,” Stephanie Sayer, a TPS spokesperson wrote in an email to the National Post.

“While women account for the vast majority of people who experience IPV, this issue affects individuals of all genders, ages, races, socioeconomic statuses, ethnicities, religions, educational levels, and cultural backgrounds. We encourage anyone experiencing IPV to report it to the police, regardless of gender, and to seek help from available support services in Toronto,” Sayer continued.

* * *

The Toronto shelter serves a crucial role helping male victims of abuse, including fathers and their kids, caught in the social services gap.

Peter, who asked that his name be changed for privacy reasons, was in his thirties when the fallout from a bad marriage “caused me to lose my job, my house and pretty much extinguished my family.” He turned to his extended Jamaican family in Toronto, but the situation grew intolerable. He was living with an alcoholic uncle in an uninsulated garage.

“He wanted to, I guess, take his rage out on me,” Peter said, recalling the incident which finally brought him to the shelter. When he wasn’t paying attention, Peter’s uncle punched him in the mouth.

“I wasn’t gonna do that (anymore). It was a common occurrence,” Peter continued as he spoke outside his basement room at the shelter. “I’ve seen things happen. I’ve heard of people accidentally getting hit the wrong way. I don’t want to be one of those people.

“I was desperate, you know. I was kind of skeptical about even coming… I thought, a big warehouse, cots everywhere,” Peter said. “I called this place, and they told me it was nothing like that.”

[ A former resident of the Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children. The shelter can house up to two dozen people or 10 families. About 90 per cent of the residents are male survivors of family violence and their children. ]

His time at the shelter has given him breathing room to contemplate his next steps. “As much as I like the people here, I don’t want to be here with them. Sorry guys! I hope you guys don’t want me here,” he teased as another resident, Malik, stood nearby. “I’m just gonna rebuild my life.”

Malik arrived in Canada from Japan via Sri Lanka with two children and a rocky marriage in tow. Within two months of arriving, his wife left with the kids and falsely accused him of abuse, he claims. Forced to find a new place to live in the middle of the pandemic, Malik found a bedroom in a shared apartment.

Then the roommate began showing signs of “severe mental breakdown,” he said. The roommate tried to attack Malik last Christmas. “I got the hell out,” he said, as he sat on his bed in the shelter.

A friend picked him up and he got connected with a central intake system that directed him to the shelter. There was nearly a three-week waitlist. When he was finally able to check in, “it was a huge relief. Like, finally, I was breathing after two years,” he said, smiling.

Malik recalled the first thing he did when he got settled in the shelter: “I just slept for a couple of days. I was so tired of two years of nonstop stress.” He sees his kids on weekends, taking them to the shelter, a privilege he would not have in a typical homeless or temporary housing facility.

* * *

The Toronto shelter wasn’t the first to offer a safe haven for abused Canadian men. In the 1990s, Earl Silverman trudged across Calgary fleeing a violent wife. He desperately searched for a place to get back on his feet, but whenever Silverman tried to check himself into a domestic abuse shelter, he was turned away and encouraged to seek counselling instead.

“When I went into the community looking for some support services, I couldn’t find any. There were a lot for women, and the only programs for men were for anger management. As a victim, I was re-victimized by having these services telling me I wasn’t a victim, but I was a perpetrator,” Silverman told the National Post in 2013.

He became an advocate for male victims of spousal abuse. Silverman created the Men’s Alternative Safe House, the first and only refuge in Canada at that time for male victims of domestic abuse. At its peak, the facility housed just over a dozen men and a handful of children, funded mostly through private donations but also from Silverman’s own pocket. He’d turned to the government for help but was turned away.

“Family violence has gone from a social issue to only a woman’s issue. So, any support for men is interpreted as being against women,” he told an Alberta media outlet at the time.

The battle for recognition and acceptance took its toll on Silverman. He’d fought his share of demons and trauma over the years, often falling into bouts of alcoholism. The project gave him new meaning and purpose — until the bills began piling up and he struggled to keep the door open. The finances eventually became unsustainable, and he was forced to sell his house.

Silverman was discovered soon after his 2013 National Post interview by the new owner touring the property, hanging in the garage. A four-page suicide note blamed the government for ignoring the plight of men.

* * *

Trottier seems on the surface an unlikely successor to pick up Silverman’s torch, a legacy he will make good on with the opening of a second men’s shelter in Calgary this month – more than a decade after Silverman’s closed.j

At 41, his life is dotted with seemingly disconnected initiatives. Throughout his twenties and thirties, he founded a secular organization and argued before the Supreme Court against public prayers in Quebec government meetings. He commissioned atheist bus advertisements and ran as Green Party MPP in the Toronto Parkdale-High Park riding. He lost the race but was on the right side of the Supreme Court ruling.

“I tend to gravitate to those underexplored issues that have the combination of being really critically important and yet, mysteriously, nobody’s doing anything about it. If there’s any kind of common thread that ties together all the otherwise eclectic interests that I have, I think that’s it,” he said.

A decade ago, Trottier stumbled upon men’s issues. “It’s very obvious to me anyway that these are life and death issues. I mean suicide prevention, parental alienation, workplace fatalities, homelessness, drug addiction — these things that disproportionately affect boys and men. And nobody notices that. So that really intrigued me and also frustrated me.”

The media attention Trottier previously got evaporated when he began talking about struggling men. “Mostly the media doesn’t even think this is a legitimate thing. They’re just very used to covering gender issues in a certain way and they deem the conversation to be complete when you tackle it from one, I would say, ideological perspective. There’s not a lot of appetite for more well-rounded conversation, to see things from a more … comprehensive picture.”

[ The Family Shelter for Abused Men and Children relies on the help of graduate students in social work from nearby York University. ]

Matt, Peter, Malik and others have also touched the lives of the student social workers-volunteers from York University who play a vital role keeping the shelter running on its meagre funding. “It provided me inside information on the gaps that are in the system for men who are experiencing abuse and the lack of services that are not being provided,” said Thelcia Williams, a grad student volunteer.

“It also highlighted the stigmas and the sexist and gender biases that are incorporated within the field as well, where, you know, a lot of people don’t believe that there should be a shelter for men who are experiencing abuse,” she continued.

“A lot of people don’t believe men experience abuse, right? They just believe it’s women and children but, in fact, there is a demographic of men who are experiencing abuse. That needs to be addressed.”

Justin Anger, another social work grad student from York, said he also “didn’t realize how big of an issue domestic violence for men was until I came here.” Working firsthand with male survivors has changed the way Anger now looks at his coursework. “Even in some courses I’ve taken, whenever we speak about domestic violence, it’s (about) women,” he said. “It definitely shifted my perspective.”

Men as victims is an uncomfortable reality to acknowledge, even for men themselves.

“We don’t want to know about abused men,” Janice Fiamengo, a professor at the University of Ottawa and an outspoken supporter of men’s issues, wrote in an email to the National Post. “We turn our eyes away. And we definitely do not want to know about abusive women.”

Worse still, such men are often politically and socially homeless, with few advocates willing to take on their cause. “Male victims of abuse are caught between the progressive left, which doesn’t believe men can be victims because they have power, and the chivalric right, which tells men to man up and protect women,” Fiamengo added.

Matt is painfully familiar with this tension. “When you’re strong, when you look strong, people don’t even stop to ask you if you’re OK.”

#Ari David Blaff #Erin Pizzey #domestic violence #domestic abuse #violent women #female abusers #male victims of domestic violence #male victims of domestic abuse #intimate partner violence #male victims of intimate partner violence #religion is a mental illness

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soulscribe786 · 2 months ago

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MMAC Mental Health Conference 2024

The MMAC Mental Health Conference is an amazing initiative that combines the latest research and findings in mental health and medical sciences research using holistic models. It evaluates and shares new research and findings in the field of mental field in academia in conceptualizing the growing field in mental health. There have been about 4 annual conferences of which I attended ¾ . With each one, I can see knowledge, outreach, and healthcare delivery enhancing. This year’s conference took place in the Medical Science Building at the University of Toronto.

It was a breezy winter day, both warm and cloudy with very light showers. There was a sort of calm and serenity that filled the air. I decided to walk for half an hour in the morning to enjoy the nice weather. The walk was mostly through University Avenue. Probably one of the nicer routes to take anywhere in downtown that is regularly cleaned, renovated and has significant greening initiatives. Considering that this was the road that led directly to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from Union Station, perhaps this is why it was so well maintained.

This particular location had many memories for me. This was beside the convocation hall, it was also close to the legislative assembly of Ontario where I had the opportunity of attending three times. One for a tour, for organizing at Queens’ Park with Justice for All, one for a tour of the facility through an internship program, one for the day that the Bill addressing Islamophobia was passed, and today. Aside from these formal occasions, because I used to live in Toronto in childhood, I had also frequently rollerbladed in this very park. Other events included Frosh, publishing my first research journal with a group and tourism. As a kid, I always felt either an ancient sort of presence. The old trees, ancient architecture, and something about the way the squirrels were just casually running around. I don’t think as a child, that I fully understood the role it played. Regardless, for some reason, after many milestones I found myself back here again.

This is near where the conference took place. The Medical Science Building. A very simplistic interior and old architecture. The conference was in a lecture hall. There were a few breaks in between such as for lunch, networking sessions or prayer. Different organizations were tabled outside the lecture, across the building and the upstairs section had a nice carpeted area which was helpful in creating a prayer space.

The talks had many insights and prominent speakers and thinkers from across the world trained in the healthcare field, psychology, counseling, medicine and psychotherapy, as well as faith-based leaders. Organizations included Smile Canada which assists children with disabilities, Wellnest focused on culturally based therapy addressing cultural issues, issues related to racism and being spiritually responsive, Sakeena Canada, Ruh care, Naseeha helpline and an organization partnered up with CAS (child aid services) but focused specifically on Muslim children by ensuring cultural issues and language barriers are taken into account, as well as organizations catered to those hard of hearing. Faith-based centers were also present, primarily IIT and ICNA.

Some key insights from the talk included:

Iceberg analogy

Using the iceberg analogy the speaker explained how a lot of western Psychology focuses on visible aspects such as cognitions and behavioral inclinations but with Islamic psychology the individual is understood much more deeply including having the ruh (soul), qalb (heart), and also social factors while acknowledging the role of aql (cognitions) and nafs ( behaviour)

The Islamic model is believed to be bi-directional with assessment looking at the entire individual holistically, where most contemporary models focus on observable aspects such as behavior inclinations and cognitions. The Islamic model incorporates emotional and spiritual domains.

Trauma

Usually, people try not to be provocative (sometimes, they may even try to be salty, rage bait, or be provocative) when they find out about someone's trauma. In most cases, there is a sort of aversion to bringing up difficult feelings or conversations (don't mention it, don't do something hurtful) , but in addressing trauma, careful exposure may actually be crucial to healing

Healing requires alignment

A prophetic model for healing included archery because it was a holistic intervention as opposed to simply talk therapy. For example, for PTSD, archery helps with stretching, breathing, aiming and a sense of control and a higher internal locus of control and sense of agency, as well as mindfulness.

Spiritual Abuse

An anonymous question asked ‘what about cases of spiritual abuse?’

Cases of spiritual abuse by family members, religious figures, parenting, spouses and so on can have a lasting impact where faith was used to control, manipulate or inflate one’s own ego.

MH care professionals integrating Islamic paradigms are not trying to do that and may not even talk about religious aspects unless you want to talk about something. They are just listening and assessing clients. Ultimately addressing issues related to directing the ruh (soul) back in unity with God, the source of mercy. This is not always how one would have understood God to assert one’s own ego or control but through a comprehensive understanding of who God is with divine attributes and approaching God directly.

Refugees

Experiences of refugees

Risk of violence

Post migration MH including social isolation, discrimination, integration, and cultural and linguistic components

Pre migration MH, peri migration MH, post migration (family and cultural values)

Collectivist culture

Culture shock

Social connectedness

Parenthood

Individual factors

Trans cultural elements and sensitivity which has three levels including

Ontological

Etiological

Therapeutic

Cultural humility and safety

Being politically informed about the cause of refugee status in addressing issues where political factors played a huge role

Storytelling

Conveys power

Dangers of the single story

“So this is how to create a single story show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become. It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. There is a word, an lgbo word, that I think is about whenever I think about the power structures of the world and it's the nkali, It is a noun that loosely translates to ‘to be greater than another’. Like our economic and political worlds, stories are defined by the principle of nkali. How they are told, who tells them, when they are told, and how many stories are told, are really dependent on power. Power is not just the ability to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mouris Marghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and start by “secondly, ..” - Chimamanda Ngozi - Adichie

Decolonising our practice

Philosophically and spiritually

Meeting another requires taming our own vulnerabilities

Biopsychosocial Model

Biology - genes, MH condition, substance use, neurobiology, trauma and stress and medications. For example, PTSD can actually change biological features so the person is no longer who they used to be).

Psychological

Social - networks, community, friend circles, transportation, finances (usually harder to treat)

Psychosomatic Symptoms

It usually has three components. Receptors, processors, and effectors

Receptors (photoreceptors, chemoreceptors, mechanoreceptors, nociceptors, thermoreceptors) related to things like sight, taste, smell, hearing, taste

Processors (the brain)

Effector (muscle and glands)

Our body goes through this process, and after repetitive exposure, like collecting statistical information, it processes and organizes information. The response is then in two main ways. Functional cognitive processors and functional autonomous symptoms

Functional Cognitive Processors - allocate mental energy in understanding stimuli

Functional Autonomous Symptoms which are learned after repetitive or prolonged exposure

This is complicated because instead of stimuli, processing, response the stimuli immediately goes to symptoms automatically on auto pilot and to cure the symptoms requires significant therapy and unpacking.

Complications include trauma responses and also embodied stress

It is phenomenal to think that all these receptors directly connect to the heart and there is huge potential in healing through prayer.

Reflections

I found the day and the talk to be pretty phenomenal and healing. It provided lots of valuable insights including psychosomatic symptoms, some gender biases in psychological history, understanding refugees and aspects related to spiritual abuse.

Three key components that I found fascinating in psychosomatic symptoms were about functional autonomous symptoms, looking at the body and mind holistically and interconnected, and healing through prayer. Autonomous symptoms could be that initially require significant thought and reflection but after repeated stress the body just shuts down and starts producing symptoms automatically. Whether it's nerve damage, heart rate, sweating, shutting down even when there is no significant context well after traumatic incidents. The body just gets wired to react this way and at times, prolonged stress can even lead to cancers and other stress related diseases. I found this very interesting because on a regular basis, perhaps slowly and gradually we continue to drift away from the model of cartesian dualism, the belief that the mind and body are separate. There is more and more research suggesting that the mind and body are extremely interconnected.

I also found the component of healing, alignment and resiliency fascinating because every single receptor is directly connected to the heart and through constant prayer, there is huge healing potential, provided time is taken to fully align ourselves with our higher purpose through spirituality.

I found it also intriguing that it was in the era of when women faced mental health stereotypes such as female hysteria that many advancements in the field of mental health took place. Gender stereotypes include things like toxic masculinity and female hysteria and are informed by the mental health field and can, at times, have a devastating impact on people’s lives. I believe stereotypes, biases and prejudices are very hazardous and difficult to change once they become established and can have consequences.

The talk on broadly understanding refugee health was also interesting because I had done a research on refugees in 2018 and tried to incorporate the political economy of health, intersectionality and health as a human right. The broader research in the field is wonderful to see.

All in all, I really enjoyed taking part in this conference and learned a lot of interesting things. It is amazing to join this annual conference every year and broaden my understanding related to mental health.

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masterisabelle · 11 months ago

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As native Gazans, the plight of my family weighs heavily on my heart. Trapped in our beloved city of Rafah, they sought refuge there after my grandmother's cancer diagnosis necessitated treatment unavailable elsewhere. However, the encroaching presence of a militant force has turned our once vibrant home into a battleground. Hindered by my grandmother's frail health, fleeing was not an option. Now, they are ensnared atop an apartment building overrun by militia, surrounded by danger and uncertainty. My aunts, both battling illness and injuries, along with my young cousins, are trapped in a nightmare. As a fellow Gazan and well-wishers, I implore you to extend your compassion and aid. Please, help us bring my family to safety amidst this turmoil.

Consider extending your support to my family during this hour of darkness.

I do not have money or any proper form to support you, but I can try to spread the message further

Free daily clicks

Esims for Gaza

Care for Gaza, reliable

Feminine hygiene, y’all feminists and women rights supporters should step up for the suffering the women of Palestine are facing, don’t look away

Donate

Ceasefire

This one is for individuals, they deserve help

Decolonize Palestine

Another family who needs help

This is all I can fit in, 10 links allowed, I hope your family makes it safe, continue talking about Palestine

#Gaza #Palestine #free Palestine #free Gaza #all eyes on rafah #save rafah

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beardedmrbean · 4 months ago

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TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the country will significantly reduce the number of new immigrants it allows into the country after acknowledging that his government failed to get the balance right coming out of the pandemic.

Trudeau's Liberal government was criticized for its plan to allow 500,000 new permanent residents into the country in each of the next two years. On Thursday, he said next year’s target will now be 395,000 new permanent residents and that the figure will drop to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

“In the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labor needs and maintaining population growth, we didn't get the balance right,” Trudeau said.

“Immigration is essential for Canada's future, but it must be controlled and it must be sustainable.”

Trudeau, who is facing calls from within his own party not to seek a fourth term, has endured mounting criticism over his immigration policies and the negative impact that population growth has had on housing affordability.

He said his government will reduce the number of immigrants Canada brings in over the next three years, and that this will freeze population growth over the next two years. Canada reached 41 million people in April. The population was 37.5 million in 2019.

Trudeau said Canada needs to stabilize its population growth to allow all levels of government to make necessary changes to health care, housing and social services so that it can accommodate more people in the future.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the lower immigration numbers will help with the country's housing shortage.

He also acknowledged the change in public opinion about immigration.

“That volume that we have put forward is of concern,” Miller said.

Miller said the government sees the pressures facing Canadians, and that it must must adapt its policies accordingly. He said government leaders have listened and will continue to protect the integrity of the immigration system and grow Canada's population responsibly.

“We are an open country, but not everyone can come to this country,” he said, noting that Canada will continue to welcome outsiders and that the government's immigration targets remain ambitious.

Trudeau's government has long touted Canada's immigration policy and how Canada is better than peer countries in welcoming newcomers and integrating them into the economy.

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, accused Trudeau of destroying the national consensus on immigration.

“He has destroyed our immigration system through his own personal incompetence and destroyed 150 years of common sense consensus with the Liberals and Conservatives on that subject," Poilievre said.

“He cannot fix what he broke on immigration and housing or anything else because he is busy fighting his own caucus,” he added.

Poilievre was referring to calls by some lawmakers from Trudeau's own party to not run for a fourth term. Those calls represent one of the biggest tests of Trudeau's political career, but he said Thursday that he intends to stay on through the next election.

Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said the Trudeau government messed up badly on immigration.

"The government’s logic — to grow the economy and sustain an aging Canadian population by bringing in more young immigrants — was sound. But Ottawa has little control over meeting the housing, health, education, and other welfare needs of residents, whether they are citizens or immigrants,” Wiseman said.

"These are all provincial government responsibilities, and there was little cooperation or coordination between the two levels of government," he said.

A certain percentage of Canadians have always been xenophobic, but much less so than in some other countries, Wiseman said.

“Many Canadians have turned against the recent growing immigrant and temporary worker/student influx because of the growing housing, health, education, and other welfare challenges. Ottawa has read the polls and is responding according," he said.

#nunyas news #castro jr is trying to keep #what's happening in germany from happening there #question is is it too late for him or not #hope it doesn't go as far as a afd type party getting into any power

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glambyridhimathukral · 9 months ago

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chatgptdetector · 1 year ago

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The Top 10 Jobs in Canada for 2024

Canada, with its picturesque landscapes, diverse culture, and robust economy, continues to attract individuals from around the world seeking new opportunities and a higher quality of life. As we step into 2024, the Canadian job market is brimming with exciting prospects across various industries. Whether you're a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or an immigrant looking to build a career in the Great White North, here are the top 10 jobs in Canada that should be on your radar.

Software Developer: With the technology sector experiencing exponential growth, software developers are in high demand. From cutting-edge startups to established corporations, Canada's tech industry offers a plethora of opportunities for those with coding expertise.

Healthcare Professionals: The healthcare sector in Canada is perennially in need of skilled professionals, including nurses, doctors, and allied health workers. The aging population has led to a surge in demand for healthcare services, making it an excellent field for those looking to make a meaningful impact.

Construction Project Manager: As infrastructure projects continue to dot the Canadian landscape, the demand for construction project managers is on the rise. This role involves overseeing the planning, execution, and completion of construction projects, making it a key player in the nation's development.

Data Scientist: In an era driven by data, the role of a data scientist is crucial across various industries, including finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. Analyzing and interpreting large datasets, data scientists contribute valuable insights to guide decision-making processes.

Electrician: Skilled trades, such as electricians, are essential for maintaining and expanding Canada's infrastructure. From residential wiring to large-scale industrial projects, electricians play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the country's electrical systems.

Marketing Specialist: As businesses vie for consumer attention, the demand for marketing specialists continues to soar. Whether it's digital marketing, content creation, or market research, individuals with a flair for promoting products and services are sought after in the Canadian job market.

Registered Nurse: With an aging population, there's a growing need for compassionate and qualified nurses. Registered nurses are integral to the healthcare system, providing essential care and support to patients in hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities.

Mechanical Engineer: From designing innovative machinery to optimizing existing systems, mechanical engineers contribute significantly to Canada's industrial landscape. Industries such as manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace rely on the expertise of mechanical engineers to drive innovation.

Financial Advisor: Canadians are increasingly recognizing the importance of financial planning, leading to a surge in demand for financial advisors. Helping individuals and businesses make informed decisions about their finances, financial advisors play a crucial role in ensuring financial well-being.

Environmental Scientist: With a growing emphasis on sustainability, environmental scientists are in demand to address ecological challenges. From assessing environmental impact to developing conservation strategies, these professionals contribute to Canada's commitment to a greener future.

Conclusion:

As Canada continues to thrive on its commitment to diversity, innovation, and progress, the job market reflects these values with a wide array of opportunities. Whether you're drawn to the tech hub of Toronto, the vibrant culture of Vancouver, or the economic powerhouse of Calgary, these top 10 jobs offer a glimpse into the diverse career landscape that Canada has to offer. So, whether you're a local job seeker or an international talent looking to make Canada your home, these professions could be your stepping stones to a fulfilling and prosperous future.

#Canadian job market

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hakodate-division · 2 years ago

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"The little things in life are sometimes the most important."

Timeline

Age 0:

He is born to Martha and Ted Sr. Bridges on a farm in Toronto, Canada.

Age 12:

He experiences a growth spurt; he now towers over his own parents.

Age 14:

He starts high school.

His height, stature, and general demeanor make most people afraid of him.

Age 17:

He graduates high school.

He goes off to university to get his bachelor's in business and agriculture.

Age 20:

He graduates and obtains his bachelor's.

Before he can put it to use, he hears on the news about rumors that another world war is going to start.

He decides to do his duty and join the Canadian military, which makes his father proud, though his mother would rather he stay out of it.

Age 21:

For his service and dedication, he is promoted to Major.

The Third World War starts.

His mother begs him to get a desk job instead of going off to fight, but he refuses.

His ferocity in battle earns him infamy among the enemy troops.

He is nicknamed, "The Bear" as a result.

During a break in the fighting, his men take him to get a bear tattoo on his upper right arm.

Age 22:

During his tour, he is stationed in Okinawa, where he quickly gets turned around in.

Luckily, he meets a young marine biologist named Janet Shimizu who shows him around the town.

The two become good friends with each other, often meeting up when he is not busy.

Age 23:

The constant killing and fighting start to take its toll on Ted's mental health.

Luckily, the war soon ends.

He prepares to leave to head back home, but is informed by Janet that she is pregnant with his child, which shocks him.

In response, he requests to be honorable discharged from service, which is granted.

He then asks Janet to marry him, which she accepts.

Half a year later, their son, Aiden, is born.

Age 24:

He becomes a stay-at-home dad, watching Aiden, while his wife works.

He enters several strongman competitions to pass the time.

Age 25:

He learns about his wife's gift for "speaking" with animals, which amazes him.

He tries to reciprocate; he fails horribly, making his wife joke and tease him.

He wonders if his son has the same gift.

Age 28:

He sees his son speaking with animals and finds out that he inherited his wife's gift, much to her surprise and joy.

He feels a bit left out, but quickly gets over it.

Age 30:

He receives word from his father that his mom is in the hospital.

He heads back to Canada to see her. She passes away a few days later.

Age 31:

His dad passes a year later, following his wife.

Ted becomes depressed for a bit. His wife and child cheer him up.

Age 35:

The H-Era starts as the Party of Words amasses power. Ted automatically doesn't trust them.

A month later, Chuohku officials come to recruit Janet, finding her skill with animals to be of great use.

Though she doesn't trust them, Janet accepts the offer, so long as they agree to leave her family alone.

Ted doesn't approve of her working for them, but trusts her to take care of herself.

Age 36:

A workplace accident occurs, which kills everyone inside Janet's place of work, including her.

All Ted has left to remember her by is her golden locket, which he gifted her on their 1st Year Anniversary.

Though bitter and filled with hatred at the government, he foregoes getting revenge, knowing that that's not what his wife would want.

Instead, he and Aiden leave Okinawa and head for Hakodate, where he builds a chalet for the two of them there.

He changes up his appearance and explicitly warns Aiden not to show his "gift" off in public.

He becomes a lumberjack, cutting down trees for money and wrestling with bears to keep his strength up.

He becomes friends with the local Ainu tribe after he rescues a bear cub from some poachers.

Age 37:

He meets and becomes friends with Olympic snowboarder, Kokomi Morozov after he saves her from a bear after she had injured her leg.

She asks if she can rent a room in his chalet. Though he is skeptical, he eventually gives in.

Age 38:

Present.

At first, he refuses to join Kotan's team, not wanting to get involved with Chuohku or battle ever again.

However, he relents after ██████████████████.

He becomes the second member of the Hakodate division team, Kuma no ie, alongside Kotan Anchikar and Kokomi Morozov.

Schedule

12 a.m. - 7 a.m.: Asleep

7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Freshens up and eats breakfast with Aiden and Kokomi

8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.: Walks Aiden to the foot of the mountain before seeing him off to school

8:45 a.m. - 9 a.m.: Heads back home

9 a.m. - 10 a.m.: Morning workout

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Working as a lumberjack

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Late lunch

2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: Continues working as lumberjack

3:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.: Picks up Aiden at the foot of the mountain

3:45 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Walks back home with Aiden

4 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Wrestles with bears

5 p.m. - 6 p.m.: Freshens up

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: Begins making dinner

7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.: Eats dinner with Kokomi and Aiden

8:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Sits outside, watching the moon and stars

9 p.m. - 10 p.m.: Evening workout

10 p.m. - 11 p.m.: Free time

11 p.m. - 11:15 p.m.: Sets up a tent outside

11:15 p.m. - 12 a.m.: Asleep outside in tent

Character Hashtag

Regular Hashtags

#Bear among men

#A peaceful life in the mountains

#Everything for my son

Trauma Hashtags

#Scarred mentally and physically

#They took you from me

#How much more will I lose?

Other Info

Hobby: Wrestling Bears

Weakness: Refuses to get involved

Trauma: "The memories of the past won't leave me alone."

Twitter: @lumberjackbear

Drinks: Yes

Smokes: Yes

Special Skill: "I know how to create my own beer. It's a big hit with the people of Hakodate."

Intro Quote: "As long as I have my son and peace, I need nothing else."

Trauma Quote: "Janet... why? Why did this happen? ...It's their fault! Damn you, Chuohku!!"

Ending Quote: "Be forewarned: a man is most dangerous when he has nothing left to lose."

#hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone #ted bridges #hakodate division #get more info #twitter #trauma #paradox live

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