Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci for Friday Favourites. 

To begin, I wanted to be serious for a minute - I didn't even watch the video of Philander Castile's girlfriend after he was shot by police, but I heard part of it, and along with knowing that there was a four year old in the car at the time is enough to break my heart.  It seems absolutely unfathomable that this is a reality in one of the most progressive nations in the world, in 2016 no less!!  But not only is it fathomable, it is an almost daily occurrence that someone is shot by police, and the risk is so much higher if you're black. 

Most of us don't get it and we can't get it.  We don't know what it is like to be black in America (and Canada) and we never will. But that doesn't mean that we should ignore it.  This is our society, and change is required but it will be slow and it can be hard to figure out what can be done.

This article from The Atlantic talks about police training and that seems like a tangible change; it's not enough, but it's a start.  Recently the Ontario ombudsman examined police training in Ontario with respect to how officers deal with people with mental health issues.  The recommendations were basically more training on de-escalation methods.  See an article about that here, and the full slate of recommendations here.  This type of thing should be applied in all scenarios, clearly this isn't just an issue for people with mental health issues, it's a real issue for black men in particular in the US.  The Atlantic article says that cops shoot first because they are afraid of hesitating and losing their own life.  If they are properly trained, then they will feel more comfortable employing these tactics and you'd think they would be less likely to reach for their gun or taser. 

So instead of just having your heart broken by these events and just being empathetic, try doing something. Write a letter to your city council person, your mayor, your sheriff's department, your county office, etc. and demand better and improved training for police officers.  That alone will not sovle the problem, but it helps, and it something you can do, since you can't wipe out racism by yourself.

I saw this picture on Twitter and thought I'd share.

Now, onto some more fun Friday Favourites!!

E has been enjoying summer camp at High Park this week.  They got to go on some hikes to look for plants and animals, made salsa from garden ingredients, went to the splash pad and other fun things. 

This was the first day.

This morning our Canadian tennis star is playing in the semi finals at Wimbledon against Roger Federer.  This has been a great tournament for him but it's not over yet, would love to see him in the finals!!

Earlier this week I shared photos from our camping trip.  The post is here.  We had such a great time enjoying the great outdoors!

I love the hot weather, but you know it's hot when the weather network gives up on the temperature!! (remember these temperatures are Celsius!)

Have a happy Friday and weekend!