In Memoriam

In Memoriam ...so that we never forget

A few words beforehand: I have searched the web for relevant articles and postings about this tragic event in our nation's (i.e., Canada's) history, and a couple of facts have shocked and surprised me to no end. The first is that while there is a great deal about Marc Lepine out there, I have yet to come across a site or even a blurb bigger than that of what I've posted here, about the women who were killed. The second is the articles I've read stating that the newpapers at the time of the tragedy (I rarely read them back in '89. I didn't do news then, being only 12) seemed to want to downplay that this was an overt act against women and the stereotypes they are still trying to break away from. They seemed to want to explain the incident as a "senseless, incomprehensible, random act of violence." "Random" is debatable. It depends on how you look at the situation. "Senseless" I am willing to accept, but "incomprehensible"? "Incomprehensible" implies that the man was insane and there was no real reasoning behind what he did. I don't think so! The suicide note following, at least to me, seems to state the man's agenda quite clearly. He planned what he did. Perhaps the women he killed were randomly selected, but the act itself was planned quite carefully.
From what I can gather, Marc Lepine had applied to the army, but was discharged (or something like that) because of anti-social behaviour. He then applied to the Université Polytechnique, in Engineering, but was rejected. Apparently, his mindset had been that feminists were the cause of his undoing, and he decided to take some measures against them. Was he crazy? Maybe. Perhaps insanity was what drove him to the measures he took, but still his state of mind is beside the point. What is the point is that the reason behind his rampage. It was not insanity that drove him to think that women were evil. This was part of his mindset (I believe) from the beginning. Besides, insane or not, isn't the motive scary enough? "Women are trying to take the jobs that were supposed to be for men. Because of this, they must be destroyed." Makes you pause and think, doesn't it?
Marc Lepine's suicide letter
"Forgive the mistakes, I had 15 minutes to write this. Would you note that if I commit suicide today 89-12-06 it is not for economic reasons (for I have waited until I exhausted all my financial means, even refusing jobs) but for political reasons. Because I have decided to send the feminists, who have always ruined my life, to their Maker. For seven years life has brought me no joy and being totally blase, I have decided to put an end to those viragos.
I tried in my youth to enter the Forces as a student-officer, which would have allowed me possibly to get into the arsenal and precede Lortie in a raid. They refused me because antisocial (sic). I therefore had to wait until this day to execute my plans. In between, I continued my studies in a haphazard way for they never really interested me, knowing in advance my fate. Which did not prevent me from obtaining very good marks despite my theory of not handing in work and the lack of studying before exams.
Even if the Mad Killer epithet will be attributed to me by the media, I consider myself a rational erudite that only the arrival of the Grim Reaper has forced to take extreme acts. For why persevere to exist if it is only to please the government. Being rather backward-looking by nature (except for science), the feminists have always enraged me. They want to keep the advantages of women (e.g. cheaper insurance, extended maternity leave preceded by a preventative leave, etc.) while seizing for themselves those of men.
Thus it is an obvious truth that if the Olympic Games removed the Men-Women distinction, there would be Women only in the graceful events. So the feminists are not fighting to remove that barrier. They are so opportunistic they neglect to profit from the knowledge accumulated by men through the ages. They always try to misrepresent them every time they can. Thus, the other day, I heard they were honoring the Canadian men and women who fought at the frontline during the world wars. How can you explain then that women were not authorized to go to the frontline??? Will we hear of Caesar's female legions and female galley slaves who of course took up 50 per cent of the ranks of history, though they never existed. A real Casus Belli.
Sorry for this too brief letter.
Marc Lepine
(Emphasis added)
The letter was followed by a list of 19 names (not those of the women he did kill, but actually of women in prominent positions throughout the country), with this note at the bottom:
"Nearly died today. The lack of time (because I started too late) has allowed these radical feminists to survive. Alea Jacta Est."

More about the victims:

Genevieve Bergeron was 21 years old. She was in her second year in Civil Engineering on scholarship.
Helene Colgan was 23 years old. She was in her final year of mechanical engineering and planned to take a master's degree.
Nathalie Croteau was 23 as well. She was in her final year of mechanical engineering.
Barbara Daigneault was 22 years old, and in her final year of mechanical engineering. She held a teaching assistantship.
Anne-Marie Edward was 21 years old. She was in her first year of chemical engineering.
Maud Haviernick was 29 years old. She was a 2nd year student in engineering materials, a branch of metallurgy, and a graduate in environmental design.
Barbara Maria Klucznik was 31 years old. She was in her 2nd year of engineering, specializing in engineering materials.
Maryse Laganiere was 25 years old and worked in the budget department of the Polytechnique.
Maryse Leclair was 23, and a 4th year student in engineering materials.
Anne-Marie Lemay was 27 years old. She was in her 4th year in mechanical engineering.
Sonia Pelletier was 28 years old. She was to graduate the next day in mechanical engineering. She was awarded her degree posthumously.
Michele Richard was 21 years old. She was in her 2nd year in engineering materials.
Annie St-Arneault was 23 years old and a mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte was 21 years old. She was in first year of engineering materials.

May 31, 1997

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