19:56
Wellness Cafe
It's not a speech, per say, but I wrote this as a public explanation for my active at work.
Dear workmate at North and further,
Why I am leaving work. A few of you have reached out to me and asked if I am okay. I appreciate that, and I am and I am not. I have decided to write one letter for all the people I work with at Burnaby North.
This brings me great sadness to be talking to you about this. I have enjoyed working at North for over twenty years. I have always loved and appreciated the staff, you all, that I spend my days with serving teens in our community. My niche is in the special ed. department, as an E.A. I love my daily work, and the people I serve and serve with. I apologise for fleeing the work scene, but I am not sorry for my choice, but I do feel bad, in that i will miss you; this is a big move for me, and I believe that I have and was impacting the teens I work with in a positive way, so I do feel sad, and mad that I feel the need to do this. I hope that the students I am working with now can be told this truth of mine, that I feel for them and will miss them.
Yes, this medical leave of mine is completely because of the Covid mandates, rules, and it all. Not at all to do with any one of the people I have worked with. You all have been civil, and submitting to these rules has been acceptable.
I am making a stand against tyranny. My stand is civil disobedience. I will not work in a space that is following such insane mandates. The real big thing here too is that I work in the education system. These are our children that are being shipped off to schools daily to be shaped into obedient people of the machine. I am done being a cog in this machine, and someone needs to stand up and say, "hello? How is this good for our children? How is this good for education, sports, music, theatre, and it all? Why are we sacrificing culture for safety from illness? Freedom for protection from an omnipresent, invisible enemy of personal health and happiness? Where did our natural immunity go, when did we stop believing that our bodies are capable of dealing with illness, and if it does not, then we go get help." Your choice too where you get your help for your personal health.
I feel (do you?) locked into a system through work that is dictating how I take care of my body, and mind. I am acting in my sovereignty when I say, "no, I do not need a job to live. I have personal value that is mine to express and share. I have skills and knowledge that are valuable and appreciated by people in society."
I am taking some time off work to pursue my dreams. I have always had these thoughts and dreams, but now society is forcing me to turn this dream into my reality. I now need to step out of this system of greed and fear and start to live my dream. I have been setting this up for decades. I am finally making a stand, and it didn’t need to be like this, but I am thankful that it is. This is way more meaningful now, because this new normal will not go away on its own accord. We must make a stand. I suggest that we all take our children out of the schools and that we all take our lives back, and we create communities that care for our children and educate them on how to be human. A new curriculum is needed that teaches Intelligent, creative, sensitive, strong, athletic, leaders.
I do not need their protection, nor is safety a priority in my life. This act is bold, and I appreciate the support that our society gives. Canada is a free country, so I can live as I believe, in peace and love with the people around me. I am not abusing anything or part of that system. I am creating new and important alternatives. If this message of hope and courage resonates with you, do not hesitate to come forward and connect with me.
Love and peace,
Chris Russell