Why I was hated in Quebec and abandoned in Toronto

“In a way, the onslaught I experienced was reminiscent of China’s Cultural Revolution, whereby victims would stand, heads bowed, while others spewed invective, hate and spittle. But then, I thought: No, this was merely an Internet stoning. Of course I would be fine. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

 

Jan Wong – National Post – May 2012

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15 minutes of shame

“Hal Hannaford sits in a wing chair in his book-lined study in a former manse, with its worn Oriental carpet, antique oak pulpit and stained-glass window of St. George the dragon slayer, mounted on a white horse. In a crisp mint shirt, brown tie co-ordinated with his mustard wool blazer, he looks calm and poised, the way the headmaster of an elite Toronto boys school should. But it has been a terrible week. Mr. Hannaford, 49, has expelled three boys and suspended four others from Royal St. George’s College. He has held four student assemblies, chaired an emotional parent-information night and met with the director of community relations for the Canadian Jewish Congress. He also has faced a daily onslaught of media fascinated with the convergence of upper-crust schools, anti-Semitism, the 60th anniversary of Hitler’s defeat and an unmanageable beast called cyberspace.”

Jan Wong – The Globe and Mail – May 2005

Maid for a Month

“On Feb. 1 (2006), Ontario’s minimum hourly wage rose to $7.75 from $7.45. For reasons that now escape me, I thought the best way to tell the story of that 30-cent raise was to work — and live — at the bottom of the food chain. I would find a low-paying job, a low-rent apartment and, single-mom-like, take my boys with me for the month and see how we survived.”

Jan Wong – The Globe and Mail – April 2006