In the aftermath of a very successful 1 Million March 4 Children, the director of the Waterloo District School Board (WDSB) has posted an off-the-wall video message claiming there’s been a rise in “hateful and violent incidents” targeting members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Waterloo.
The 2:50 minute video, at times incoherent and consistently dramatic, calls on everyone to “come together” to support friends, families and “all those” around them and “uphold the human rights” of those in their community.
In a plaintive voice, Jeewan Chanicka, more activist than educator who regularly plays the victim, contends that it has been a “difficult moment” for everyone.
“The reality is that we’re all feeling and experiencing a whole variety of emotions,” he claims, dressed in his trademark Nehru jacket, his stringy hair bouncing behind.
“We’re all experiencing this in very real ways in our bodies,” he says, noting those affiliated with the alphabet soup of identities now used to describe the gay community are feeling it most.
He doesn’t say what “it” or “this” is but I’m guessing he’s trying to allege that the efforts by parents to fight the secrecy of school boards indoctrinating their kids about gender ideology – and having sexual conversations with minors – is hateful and is making kids feel terrible.
I suspect this activist, in my view a zealot who should not be in the role of education director, is damn annoyed that parents are starting to speak up and fight back against the board’s indoctrination efforts.
Chanicka, who has regularly thrown out inflammatory and emotional comments about increases in “hateful and violent incidents” and suicides among supposedly gender-confused students, never provides any sort of data to back up his claims.
He contends that their goal is to make things “safe” for students, staff and all families in the region and to allow them to “show up in dignity.”
“There is no room for hate in schools,” he says, adding that there should be a province-wide strategy to address hate in schools.
“You belong here,” he says, referring to the fact that their classrooms and the region welcomes 2SLGBTQIA+ people. “We all belong here together…show up for your neighbours, show up for one another.
We have an opportunity to be the best ancestors we can be for future generations.”
Yes he says, ancestors.
I’ve seen many whacky initiatives from Chanicka. Who can forget the menstrual health video he created a year ago, in which he tried to allege that both genders menstruate?
But this one is beyond the pale.
If Chanicka is so worried about hate in the region, perhaps he should consider stepping aside and turning the job over to someone who wants to make Waterloo students literate enough to compete successfully in the world.
He seems not to think that is his role.
As for hate, I’ve watched many times how the NDP-dominated board – with Chanicka pulling the strings in the background – has tried to muzzle anyone who disputes their woke narrative.
Former board teacher Carolyn Burjoski is still fighting her $1.7-million defamation lawsuit against the board and trustee Scott Piatkowksi who shut her down rudely and dismissively 1.5 years ago when she tried to speak about highly age inappropriate sexualized books in school libraries.
Piatkowski spent days after that Jan. 2022 board meeting labelling Burjoski “transphobic” in the media, among other things.
After David Todor spoke earlier this year about the sexualization of books in school libraries and census asking students as young as eight about their gender, an open letter was posted on the board’s website defaming him.
Chanicka refused to take responsibility for directing that open letter.
The response from Todor and other parents to this latest video was swift.
In this highly amusing video of his own, Todor says Chanicka creates a “sob story narrative” and in true fashion “plays the victim.”
“Students have had enough of all of this garbage,” Todor says. “I think he (the director) is getting a little bit desperate because people are finding out what’s going on in the schools.”
He adds that the board has no interest in free speech, noting that not allowing comments on this latest video is a perfect example.
