Honestly, my teeth almost flew out of my mouth, and they’re not even false.
It’s surely not one of Facebook’s finest hours, welcoming Trump back into the fold. But that’s not what shocked me. It’s the Science & Astronomy group, boasting 1.2 million members. It’s been taken over by Flat Earthers.
A poll they’ve posted asks people to vote on the shape of the earth: round, cube, flat, or donut. Encouraging: 92% of respondents voted “round.” Discouraging, a plethora of comments such as this one: “NASA brainwashed 92% of the people who voted on this pool (sic).”
Meaning that they believe the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the U.S. faked the moon landing in 1969, whose photos clearly show the earth is round.
At first I thought such comments were satirical, but no. They’re dead serious. The Flat Earthers’ responses to science-based reasoning are harsh and mean.
It’s scary: A similarly named Facebook group, Astronomy and Science, whose content really reflects its name, has less than one-third of the Flat Earthers’ group’s.
This topic leaves me speechless. How can you respond to someone yelling insults, denying reason and physical reality?
It’s reminiscent of facing someone in a state of psychosis, who is clinging to an intractable belief in a desperate attempt to defend their ego, their personhood. Let’s leap ahead here to suggest LEAP, the approach Dr. Xavier Amador advocates.
First: Listen. Listen closely. Truly try to understand what the person is saying and how they are feeling. Then: Empathize. Try to reflect the person’s emotions or fears. Next: Agree. This is the hardest! I prefer to use the word “Accept” here. I tell my friend I accept their belief, and will not argue with them. (In return, I ask they accept my beliefs too, and we still love each other.) That brings us to P for Partner. We are in this together.
It dismays me that we are on this earth together with truth-denying Flat Earthers. But I accept this reality, and try somehow to engage with them. A LEAP of friendship. The alternative is scary.
MENTAL ILLNESS? LEAP!
Dr. Xavier Amador wrote one of the most popular books in the library of Mental Health Estrie. It’s entitled I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment. He will be speaking via Zoom on Wednesday, February 22, at 6 p.m. Mental Health Estrie offers this 1.5-hour workshop.
His book is a resource for family and friends of loved ones experiencing psychosis, a symptom that may be part of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder illness. Helping his brother undertake treatment for schizophrenia, plus his work as a therapist, have inspired him to write this book as well as to found The LEAP Institute. LEAP stands for Listen-Empathize-Agree-Partner, with a goal of building relationships with someone who lives with a serious mental illness.
You can hear Dr. Amador at Youtube.com/@LEAPInstituteOrg, or by joining the February 22nd Zoom. For information, contact Emily McBurney at outreach@mentalhealthestrie.com or 819-565-2388.
BRRR
It’s still on, this year’s HUGS for the Homeless campaign by Mental Health Estrie. Spring is not here yet! For the rest of February, Mental Health Estrie accepts donations of “NEW Hats, Underwear, Gloves, Socks, Scarves, and other warm articles of clothing.” Drop off your items at Mental Health Estrie, 3355 College, Lennoxville. Deposit them in the beige bins next to Door #2. To make a cash donation for the HUGS campaign, please email info@mentalhealthestrie.ca, or call 819-565-3777. Receipts will be issued for donations of $10 or more.
THE SUN’S UP
Right now. Your February Townships Sun is shining brightly beside the crossword books on the magazine stand just before the cash registers at the Cookshire IGA. New! Now you can also pick it up at the Dépanneur C.P.L. in Sawyerville, 2 Cookshire Street.
Can you recognize the 22-year-old on the front cover, tending to his well-drilling rig? Hint: His last name begins with S.
The youngest contributor in this issue was 13 years old. See if you know her! And let anyone in their teens or twenties know: If you enjoy writing, photography or art, you can win a cash award and get published in the Townships Sun. Visit townshipssun.ca/Townships-Young-Voices for details. Deadline: February 28.
WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW!
Bishop’s University Lifelong Learning Academy offers these free, fun workshops and events on Zoom for lifelong learners like you:
Theme and Structure in Fiction Writing, with Rebecca Welton, on Wednesday, February 8, 1:30 p.m.
How to be a Goldfish, by Jane Baird Warren: A virtual book launch of this novel for students in middle grades, on Saturday, February 11, at 1:30 p.m.
Flash: Writing Short Prose, with Jane Draper, on Thursday, February 16, at 1:30 p.m., featuring turning an event from life into a memoir.
Nonfiction Writing for Magazines, with Rachel Garber, on Friday, February 24, at 10 a.m., about personal essays.
Overseas Adventures, by Arthur Shears: A book launch on Saturday, February 25, at 1:30 p.m., from Afghanistan to Zambia and Points In-Between.
Fugue Forum: U is for Unreal, with Etienne Domingue, on Monday, February 27, at 7 p.m., on Discord, on magical realism.
For information or to sign up for any of these free workshops, please email bulla@ubishops.ca.
CHURCHES
Anglican. No Anglican services are planned in Cookshire until the spring of 2023. For the schedule of services at the St. George’s Anglican Church, 84 Queen St., Lennoxville, visit deaneryofstfrancis.com and click on the “Calendar” link. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services are at 10:30 a.m., at the Sawyerville United Church, 42 Principale N., Sawyerville (before Bédard Road). Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.
Baptist. In-person Sunday services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m. All services are at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 rue de Cookshire. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-640-1340 or email rawrites@gmail.com by February 6 for publication February 15 or by February 20 for March 1.