WhatFinger


If you actually know Love, then you too, knew Rob Ford

Fighting the real monsters that seek to demonize regular people



I have been a little quiet over the last few days. The passing of one of our dearest friends and most inspiring men, Rob Ford, has literally hit me like a ton of bricks, as it has for so many of us. His smile and his life story flooding my Facebook feed became dizzying. Watching posts pop up from people I have never heard of in my life, reminding us all to "Never forget how this man embarrassed Canada!", hurt my heart and made me feel sick to my stomach. Do these people actually think anyone is going to forget the few slights of Rob Ford, after he was the centre of a mass public lynching for more than 5 years? Really? ...come on.
The opportunism has been so thick, I've hardly been able to see through it. Everyone standing up to say their piece about the 'tragedy of cancer', how "Rod Ford did not deserve this", and barfing out their feigned love for a "great man", a "great councillor", a "great father", a "much loved husband, brother, son"--has quite literally, turned me inside out. Though each of these things is true, the people I'm referring to, such as; Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Wynne, John Tory, Norm Kelly, Shelly Carrol, Janet Davis and on and on and on, were the exact people that continuously degraded Rob Ford's character repeatedly. These are the people that wear pink t-shirts as a statement against bullying, while at the very same time, they bully a man on a public stage, to the extent that I cannot even support the "Anti-bullying" movement myself anymore, since they have sabotaged my trust in those responsible for the movement itself. Sickening. Did Rob Ford make mistakes? Of course. Don't we all? The answer for anyone with the ability to self-reflect (self-reflection being the one thing that separates humans from nearly all other species on earth!), is "Yes." Was Rob Ford a "crackhead"? No. He wasn't. He was a man with an intolerance to the effects of alcohol. Of course, that isn't a catchy headline, is it? Every person who reads this either knows someone or is someone with the exact same intolerance. One shot turns into 10. Self-control goes out the window. Memory of what one did or said while under the influence, is obsolete. If you do not know someone with such intolerance, thank your lucky stars, because it is heart-wrenching to stand and bear witness to.

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Alcoholism takes on different forms

Alcoholism takes on different forms. Some cannot function day-to-day without alcohol, while others are binge drinkers with the intolerance I just described. My family was riddled with both. Do you think my mother wanted to die before I reached the age of 30? If you do, you are stupid. She died due to systems failure after a 30 year battle with alcohol that she failed to win. Do you believe a fun-loving woman with a heart of gold, willing to do anything for anyone, actually wanted her only daughter to sit here, over a decade after her demise, stuck with memories of being called 'a #' at 11 years of age, three years before her first kiss? With memories of caring for her mother like a child, when she was still just a child herself? Left with trust issues littering her ability to have faith in those who tell her they love her, with a unique disposition of becoming cold as ice to those she perceives having crossed her boundaries? If you do --you have no soul. It would break my mom's heart into a million pieces and push her to drink more in order to cover the pain and guilt associated with her own behavior, if she knew. Rob Ford had an intolerance to the effects of alcohol. His body did not absorb and process a glass of bourbon the way yours or mine might. This was his only true flaw. It led him to say things he would never have recalled if it weren't released in the "Steak Queen" video. It led him to smoke whatever may have been passed to him by those seeking a profit from his demise. This flaw he challenged successfully, maintaining sobriety for the last two years of his life.

True FACE of bullying

Rob Ford was not a 'crackhead', and I am willing to destroy the soul of anyone who projects such an absurdity, including Justin Trudeau, Kathleen "twisted psyche" Wynne, John "plastic marriage" Tory, Norm "two-faced" Kelly, Shelley "pays no mind to public nudity on Church property" Carrol, and Janet "there's not enough women employed at City Hall!" Davis. These people are the true FACE of bullying. I don't care what colour of shirt they sport. Rob Ford was adored by two kids who saw their father as a Hero. Too young to even comprehend the reality of his demons, they adore the man who hugged them good night, the man who would tickle-poke their little bellies, the man who told them "Go brush your teeth!"

He was not a monster. He adored his family and fought hard to protect them from the relentless media, including the time he found it peering at his young kids from over his backyard fence. My dad would have threatened the creep too. That is what Dads do. I love Rob with all of my heart. It has been like a punch through the chest to come to terms with the fact that we have another good man down. I will continue to fight the real monsters that seek to demonize regular people. This is my duty, and has been my entire life. If you actually know Love, then you too, knew Rob Ford.


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Susan Wilson -- Bio and Archives

Suzanne Wilson is self-employed and living in Kitchener, Ontario


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