By: Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec
I was saddened to hear that a Montreal man, Amor Ftouhi, was arrested as a suspect in the terrorist attack that occurred at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan.
In the wake of unfortunate events like these, I feel it is important to stress that you can not disconnect terrorism from the male population as a whole.
Members of our male community must explain to their peers that testosterone does not need to be used for such acts of evil. It can be used for acts of good like building a shed, speed skating or capoeira.
I urge men to explain to their bretheren that violence is not part of being a man, although the disturbing attacks we’ve seen carried out by men again and again suggest that they are inextricably linked.
However, I want to make it clear that we are completely against the generalization that men are blood-thirsty, demon-like neanderthals biologically predisposed to large-scale, targeted attacks. That’s not what I’m saying.
I’m just saying that we can’t ignore the link between these vicious murderers and our brothers, fathers, uncles, boyfriends and mailmen. Clearly, there is a connection.
That’s not to say that there haven’t been bad moments in the history of women either. Just look at Queen Mary I, Lizzie Borden, Medusa… I feel, however, that women have done well to distance themselves from these bad apples and come back to their core priniciples and values.
I expect to see the same thing happen with the male community, although, being a man myself, I know it will take a serious effort.
