“What effect does the horn have on you in the long run? » I asked Pascal, a primary school music teacher, who makes it a point to be outside for four hours a day, despite the December cold, since the indefinite general strike was launched by the Autonomous Federation of Education. . Because we agree that basically, in everyday life, the horn, less frequent, is a rather aggressive sound…
“We love the horn!” All signs of encouragement are welcome. But it is above all the smiles and good words added to the horns that make the difference. »
We also saw people here and there bringing coffee, snacks and sandwiches to the picket lines. At a school in Rosemont, parents were making hot dogs outside for the teachers. Some go as far as refueling hot pads for mittens and boots, a gesture which must also have a warming effect on the mind…
“ If we make it through December, everything’s gonna be alright “, sings American country legend Merle Haggard.
And we know that here, from December onwards, you shouldn’t hold your donut for too long if you don’t want, among other things, your car to be buried and end up hibernating under the ice (and parking tickets). Worse: at the pound.
My friend Christian told me: “I helped two guys get out of a snow bank by pushing their car and lending them my traction aids. When the car was released, they screeched traction aids in the middle of the street, murmured a thank you, without looking at me. »
Little curiosity: did Christian whisper to them a fuck you ?
“I told myself that, well, I will at least have completed my BA for the day before my employer announces 800 job cuts. »
I had to reread the difference between mutual aid and solidarity before writing this column. If the first means mutual aid, the second seems to imply an existing relationship between individuals – for example, practicing the same profession or having values or interests linking us to each other – thus leading to a form of moral obligation of assistance .
We will have understood that, in the last scenario, Christian’s efforts fall into the “help” box.
The fact remains that, in this harsh winter, solidarity and sensitivity could help us all gain so much. And I’m not talking about launching a GoFundMe for Marie-Andrée and Anthony from OD (even if they are also my favorites).
Let’s talk about Albert’s Guignolée, here. Albert is eight years old. Three years ago, when he saw his mother giving a few dollars to homeless people on the street, he wondered if they too would receive gifts at Christmas. Understanding that their situation would not change, even on Christmas Day, made him so sad that, at the age of five, he wanted to do a fundraiser on Facebook, which ultimately allowed him to raise 1,300 $ with his mom. Every year since, they have prepared cards and gift bags filled with goodies and essentials, and roamed the city center on December 25 to distribute everything.
In my entourage, among the gestures of solidarity that touched me the most last week, there was the cry from the heart of a colleague who was very afraid of finding himself on the street. As soon as the call for help was launched, I saw the colleagues, with sensitivity and kindness, take over. “Hey there gang, if we each put in just two dollars here, that person could keep their apartment. »
If we make it through December
Everything’s gonna be alright, I know
It’s the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow
What if we tried, everyone at the same time, not to let anyone shake for too long?