Some old news that may be still worth discussion: in April of this year, mayor of Vancouver suburb Port Coquitlam Scott Young allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home with a rope with the intention of assaulting her. Yikes.

It gets worse: this is not the first time Young has been charged with assault - in 2002 he was charged for assaulting his ex-wife. If you’re wondering how this guy managed to get elected in the first place, it gets worser: as far as I can tell from my internet searching, Young has refused to resign. He’s taking some time off to deal with his alcoholism, but officially he’s still the mayor. Some Port Coquitlam voters have organised rallies demanding that Young step down. Let’s hope they’re successful.

Gina Whitfield at rabble.ca has a great article about Young, where she notes that alcohol is a poor weak explanation for abuse: “Alcohol is a depressant and can make one more uninhibited. But the booze doesn’t make you a racist, a sexist or a batterer; it might just make you have trouble concealing that unseemly side. Excessive fatty foods can make one irritable. So, maybe the next time a prominent man is violent against a woman he will publicly and courageously vow to stop eating hot fudge sundaes.

Furthermore, that deeply unfashionable word, patriarchy, also probably has a little something to do with it. As in, I can’t remember the last time I had a few too many drinks and then concocted a plan whereby I broke into my ex-boyfriend’s house carrying a lethal weapon.”