“Victory” defined by Merriam-Webster is:
the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist
achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties
What does victory mean to you?
At the end of every summer, CiTR / Discorder and partners throw the Victory Square Block Party, a free outdoor music festival that for all purposes, has nothing to do with “victory” except that it is the name of the park. When people consider the concept of “victory” in relation to Victory Square, most associate it with war, the cenotaph supposedly marking the exact spot where people would have enlisted for World War I when that site was still a provincial courthouse. I read about it on Wikipedia, as one does, and learned that it used to be called Government Square. The southwest corner of the park was the location of the first survey stake by which L. A. Hamilton mapped out the street system that is now Downtown Vancouver. And in that context, victory is not without a colonial underpinning. I read that Victory Square was once West Coast rainforest and that a small creek used to run through it.
As I write this, the Federal Court of Appeal has just ruled that in approving the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, the Trudeau cabinet did not adequately consult with Indigenous nations or consider the consequences on West Coast marine life, and that work on the project must stop. For many people, this ruling is a victory.
Since becoming Editor-In-Chief, the way I perceive being victorious has changed. It isn’t the publication of a single piece of writing, but the receiving of validation over time. The fact that people continue to read the magazine and find value in the content we produce, and that Discorder Magazine continues to publish in an era where magazines are phasing out print, is a victory.
Victory belongs to those who endure.
In this issue of Discorder Magazine, you’ll read about the collaboration between improvisational artists, Katie Duck and Ben Brown; Andrea Warner’s experience writing Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography; the founding of Commercial Drag; the News Collective’s podcast, Seeking Office; the making of Sean Devlin’s film, When The Storm Fades; and plenty of reviews of live shows, albums and books.
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