As of today we have approximately 68 signs up across Gabriola, from the first email on April 14th. The campaign is growing and I want to ask three things of you.
This email is just to those who have a sign up on their property or thinking about it.
Before I get to the requests, someone wrote on X that "The world is now divided between those who oppose the deliberate massacre of children and those who support it." You are on the right side and in the right place. Now we need to make others aware of what we are trying to say.
I have been hampered the last couple of weeks by a medical issue and some logistical setbacks, so I have not been getting out much. Which is why I need your help.
1. Reply and let me know if you are comfortable having your email address visible to others in this group, the same way mine is. If you prefer to remain blind copied, that is completely fine, no explanation needed. If you have already written to me about this, no need to write again, I have your preference noted. This would let all of us communicate ideas and thoughts directly with each other.
2. I sent an email called "Email landing test" from my MailerLite account to this same list. Can you tell me where it landed, primary inbox, promotions or spam? If it didn't land in your primary inbox please move it there and tell your email software to always do so. It helps enormously.
3. I can't get to 250 signs alone. Think of one person, a neighbour, a friend, anyone on Gabriola you think might say yes, and ask them directly. Not a forward, not a post. A personal ask. That's how this grows.
My father tells me I am waving at windmills. I don't believe that. You were brave enough to put a sign on your property and publicly state your point of view. Now I'm asking you to tell one person. When we get to 100 signs that might be a Sounder story. If anyone wants to write to them before then, please do so.
I watched an interview with a man in Gaza and the host asked him: what can we in the west do? Speak, speak up for us, don't let us suffer and die in silence, the man said.
That's what this sign does. It speaks. No explanation necessary. It says you are not looking away.
One sign on your property is all it takes.
Being silent is becoming less of an option.
If you want a sign, reply with your address. I'll bring it to your door. Free if you need it to be.
We reached 50 signs yesterday. I want to thank everyone for putting up a sign, for standing up, for speaking out and making this a real community effort.
In the last couple of weeks we have added Nigel and Alison, Jennifer and Stuart, Jewel and Margo, Katherine, Bill and Diane, George, Jerry, Tim, Tamara, Andy, Claudia, Jason, Cathy, Diane, Steve, Daryl, Michelle and daughters, Jen, Wayne, Sharon, Dodge and Lina, Penelope, Rob and Sam. Did I miss anyone?
Welcome to the Gabriola STOP GENOCIDE community campaign effort!
Our first family portrait showing support for the campaign. Steve, Daryl, Michelle and daughters. There are now 7 signs in a row on Wild Cherry Terrace with one pending. Everyone else's picture is on the website in the "Gabriola Community" section along with the map at gabriolastandsup.ca
Eight signs have been stolen so far and one was recovered that was tossed into the bushes. All 4 on North Road and 2 on Bertha were taken the night of May 12th. Two on North Road were replaced. The effort to cover Gabriola with STOP GENOCIDE signs has met with some resistance, I'm learning as I go what works, what doesn't, and how to respond to people's hesitancy.
Someone told me a STOP GENOCIDE sign is a political statement, not a moral one. I've been thinking about that. Genocide is a political failure, but asking people to stop killing innocent children isn't left or right. It's just human. The sign isn't asking anyone to endorse a party or a candidate. It's asking for the killing to stop.
Some people say they don't put up signs and aren't about to start now. Fair enough.
Some people support the cause but don't want their views publicly known. I understand that too. On a small island where everyone knows everyone, visible dissent has a social cost. You might upset a neighbour, a landlord, a colleague. You might get your sign stolen. The reasons people say no are real.
But that's exactly why the people who say yes matter so much. Every sign that goes up makes it a little easier for the next person to say yes. A neighbourhood with six signs on one road is a different conversation than one with none. You're not just putting up a sign, you're giving your neighbours permission to do the same.
Since the last email, signs have gone up on Barrett Road, Daggoo Place, Mander Drive, Blueback Drive, Queequeg Turnabout, Wild Cherry Terrace, Islands View Drive, and more. The campaign is no longer just North and South Road, it's spreading across Gabriola.
Please forward this email and website to anyone who might be interested and especially if they might be willing to put up a lawn sign.
A lawn sign on your property is a visible, public statement that you are not looking away. One sign on your property is all it takes.
Clifford Guest owns 5 acres on the corner of North Road and Bertha. He has consented to putting up 6 signs: 4 on North Road and 2 on Bertha. Thank you, Clifford!
Look at where we are now. Imagine those pins covering Gabriola. Imagine a sea of signs. That's at least a news story, maybe more. Optimism is not naive.
The new signs with the new design have arrived. If you'd like one, reply to this email or fill in the form on the website.
The last STOP GENOCIDE email was reported as spam by a very sleep-deprived computer tech guy. That shut down my Brevo account and I had to switch providers. If you'd rather not receive these updates, please use the unsubscribe link below. It's much simpler. Thank you.
Motivated and inspired by the Pope's Easter Sunday address on April 5th, 2026, when he stood before the world and asked its leaders to lay down their weapons and stop the killing. Here is an update on the Gabriola Island community effort to STOP GENOCIDE. The goal was 50 signs when we started on April 14th. We have over 20 now and will easily find another 30 people to stand up on Gabriola, so I have ordered 200 polybag signs. These only cost $5 each including shipping so I can easily give them away, cost is no longer a barrier.
This is a long term community effort. The goal is all of Canada standing up, one community at a time, in waves. But it all starts here, on Gabriola, with us. We can lead the way, not only for Canada but for the world. One person with a lawn sign is an opinion. A neighbourhood like we have now on South Road is a conversation starter. Flags, I've started calling them flags, planted across most of Gabriola are more than a news story. It's a community conscience. The more flags, the more conversations. The more conversations, the closer we come together.
Made the first video a few days ago, please watch, like and share:
YouTube: youtube.com/shorts/6feP342a7mw
TikTok: tiktok.com/@respectlistenlove
I want to apologize to Brian for my last email where I misrepresented him as "Ryan." Brian is a star for being the first flag on Taylor Road.
Shri and her son Alexander are first on Malaspina Drive.
Russel deserves special recognition for putting up the most visible flag, on North Road right next to the Taylor Bay Road intersection. Hopefully soon on Taylor Bay Road itself. THANK YOU RUSSEL.
The website has a new "Why Gabriola?" section, inspired by Russel's input. All suggestions, ideas, artwork, and anything that will help the cause are welcome.
Tamara wrote last week after seeing the sign that she would love to "support the cause." We could be at the start of inspiring a generation of young people to stop the killing that the world has allowed to continue. That's why those flags need to keep going up and those conversations need to start happening.
Something is happening on South Road.
There are now six Stop Genocide signs in a cluster on South Road alone. Yesterday Ryan became the first on Taylor Road.
These are your neighbours. Connie and Paul. Ryan. Stevie B. Taylor. Brian. Ellen. Devon. Paula. Regular Gabriolans who decided to say something. My dad put up the first sign last summer. I followed. Mine was stolen twice. I put it back up both times.
The Pope stood before the world on Easter Sunday and asked its leaders to lay down their weapons and stop the killing. I'm asking my neighbours to do the same, just put up a sign.
If you want one, reply to this email with your address. I'll bring it to your door. Free if you need it to be. I deliver anywhere on Gabriola.
If this landed in Promotions or Spam, please move it to Primary, thank you!