The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

Actually, you guys have it reversed: Trans women (pre-SRS) have balls; JK Rowling doesn't.

(Was the use of this expression intended? I wouldn't put it past rousseau )

LOL

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

In the US, the MeToo Democrats/left side of the spectrum shot themselves (and, in a very real way, the world) in the foot by essentially forcing Al Franken out of politics for a tasteless but harmless one-off prank involving pretending to fondle a sleeping acting colleague's boobs while on an army jet to their next show as part of a tour for US military forces. It happened years ago, and he otherwise has no record of harassing people, but the purity police deemed him expendable, so he had to go.

I'm no Christian, but in our otherwise salutary march toward secularism it seems we've forgotten some of the important Biblical parables about being sinless and casting stones. And meanwhile, the current White House bunker occupant, a childish, lying, sexist, sexually-harassing, fraud-committing, nasty, evil asshole with no redeeming qualities that I can think of, sallies forth with nary a twinge of conscience.

Franken would have made a good president. Hell, in the year 2020 anybody with a fucking pulse would make a better president than the current orange douchebag in chief.

So yeah, the mass hysteria has real world consequences.

What happened to Al Franken is I suppose tragic for him personally and also for the Democratic party. If we want to push it it might be tragic for the U.S. given that for what I know of him, I'd agree with you he would have made a good presidential candidate and maybe a good eventual POTUS.

That said, you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

I don't know about him personally but in the months prior to that his political friends, allies and supporters went all-in in terms of suspected sexual misconduct of *any* kind being the kiss of death.

People that had far less "on them" than he did have had their careers and often also their personal lives destroyed by simple, unproven allegations.

So if you're going to play that game against others, don't be surprised if people play that game against you.

My personal views on the seriousness of the booby grab picture on the plane are irrelevant. (Though to me it actually looks like he's touching her chest BTW.)

But Acajack the socio-political commentator can't come to any other conclusion that if you're caught in a photo like that these days, and the woman doesn't say it was staged with her consent, "you're dead meat".

[Acajack]

I'd add that although I am not in the comedic field like Franken was, I am known for being a bit of clown in my entourage.

The last time I would have even *thought of maybe* pulling that type of stunt, I would have probably been around 18 years old.

[someone123]

I was hearing from friends in Seattle that a 6 block area of Capitol Hill has now been abandoned by police. It is being managed at least in part by a quasi-militia of local gun nuts with AR-15s who operate check points, questioning people who come and go (there are a number of residential buildings within this glorious freedom zone). There are demands posted that involve disbanding the police and letting locals police themselves.

Others have posted about how they now feel so much safer without police around. Yet they still have "police"; they're just even less trained and accountable than before. How's it going to work when there's some disagreement between the gun nuts or the gun nuts make mistake and shoot somebody?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The last time I would have even *thought of maybe* pulling that type of stunt, I would have probably been around 18 years old.

It's true that a lot of these events are weird, like JT's parties or performances where he painted his face to play Aladdin or sing Day O. Maybe I am just not cool enough to get invited to the fake-groping-and-makeup themed parties of our cultural elites.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by rousseau

This is exactly what people were saying in the 50s and 60s to anyone who expressed sympathies for civil rights and antiwar protesters. The attitude was exactly the same. Fer crissakes, do you not see that?

Huh? You're equating some talking head of a "fashion" show to civil rights protesters in the city?

Look, I don't care what she said, but if she didn't know her job would be on the line by making those comments at this time, you can't read the room.

If you feel that strongly, then do it and suffer the consequences. If you support her, do so with your wallet.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by someone123

I was hearing from friends in Seattle that a 6 block area of Capitol Hill has now been abandoned by police. It is being managed at least in part by a quasi-militia of local gun nuts with AR-15s who operate check points, questioning people who come and go (there are a number of residential buildings within this glorious freedom zone). There are demands posted that involve disbanding the police and letting locals police themselves.

Others have posted about how they now feel so much safer without police around. Yet they still have "police"; they're just even less trained and accountable than before. How's it going to work when there's some disagreement between the gun nuts or the gun nuts make mistake and shoot somebody?

Got anything to back that up? Don't trust fox news...


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new...s-protests-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone/

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Got anything to back that up? Don't trust fox news...


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new...s-protests-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone/

Look up Raz Simone and Capitol Hill for fun.
Though I think he and his group are gone now.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Got anything to back that up? Don't trust fox news...

This was a private conversation with somebody who pointed out that he was personally stopped and is pretty stressed lately. I don't think he is anti-BLM but he understandably doesn't feel good about random people with guns wandering his area. I guess he could be lying.

I don't watch Fox news, but thanks for the continued attempts to make digs at me.

Here is a Twitter account of somebody who seems to support the state of this area: https://twitter.com/caseyworks/status/1270990666542141440

Just spoke with 2 people at #CHAZ entrances with AR-15s. They coordinate with medics & keep an eye on passing cars, people coming in, etc. They are not charging people fees to walk around. People say they feel safer with police gone & thanked this man during my intvw.

That Twitter post has a photo of a guy with a gun. Perhaps these are all elaborate fakes. I hope so, because that does not sound good at all. Yet I expect this to happen when police withdraw. The US is full of gun nuts with weird power fetishes who dream of this type of scenario. Some manage to become police, others don't. Canada has some of this too although I don't think the numbers are as high.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by someone123

This was a private conversation with somebody who pointed out that he was personally stopped and is pretty stressed lately. I don't think he is anti-BLM but he understandably doesn't feel good about random people with guns wandering his area. I guess he could be lying.

I don't watch Fox news, but thanks for the continued attempts to make digs at me.

Here is a Twitter account of somebody who seems to support the state of this area: https://twitter.com/caseyworks/status/1270990666542141440

Just spoke with 2 people at #CHAZ entrances with AR-15s. They coordinate with medics & keep an eye on passing cars, people coming in, etc. They are not charging people fees to walk around. People say they feel safer with police gone & thanked this man during my intvw.

That Twitter post has a photo of a guy with a gun. Perhaps these are all elaborate fakes. I hope so, because that does not sound good at all. Yet I expect this to happen when police withdraw. The US is full of gun nuts with weird power fetishes who dream of this type of scenario. Some manage to become police, others don't. Canada has some of this too although I don't think the numbers are as high.

I would not find any of that reassuring.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I would not find any of that reassuring.

I'm not sure I would either, but I wouldn't judge it if people down there feel safe. We'll see how long this all goes on.

The overall tone in the US seems to be more peaceful this last week.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by someone123

That Twitter post has a photo of a guy with a gun. Perhaps these are all elaborate fakes. I hope so, because that does not sound good at all. Yet I expect this to happen when police withdraw. The US is full of gun nuts with weird power fetishes who dream of this type of scenario. Some manage to become police, others don't. Canada has some of this too although I don't think the numbers are as high.

It's interesting to see the Left actually do what the 2nd Amendment fanatics on the right always talk about.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I'm not sure I would either, but I wouldn't judge it if people down there feel safe. We'll see how long this all goes on.

How is the guy with the AR-15 accountable to that community? Who decided to run the area in that way and how did they get community approval? How can we even know if people there feel safe?

Seattle police officers are accountable to the chief who is accountable to the elected mayor of the city. Some people are unhappy with that system but it doesn't follow that zero accountability is better.

I guess if you don't feel safe you can just go up to the AR-15 guy and ask him to leave.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Huh? You're equating some talking head of a "fashion" show to civil rights protesters in the city?

"Fashion show"? What on earth are you talking about?

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Look, I don't care what she said, but if she didn't know her job would be on the line by making those comments at this time, you can't read the room.

If you feel that strongly, then do it and suffer the consequences. If you support her, do so with your wallet.

I don't know who you're referring to. I'm talking about the current phenomenon of SJW mobs destroying people's livelihoods for running afoul of their ideology. What are you talking about?

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Naw, it's a witch hunt driven by mass hysteria. Twenty years from now we'll look back in horror at how deranged it was.

No we won't. Nobody will give a shit about who got canned in 20 years time. There's really nobody that is soooooo important.

Not to say that I agree with some of these terminations. But it's indeed odd that so many public figures think that are so important that the studios paying their wages wouldn't think twice about public image.

Also, I see it largely as an over-correcction to the decades of there being virtually no consequences for being a public racist. The pendulum will swing back as the generations get more diverse.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by rousseau

In the US, the MeToo Democrats/left side of the spectrum shot themselves (and, in a very real way, the world) in the foot by essentially forcing Al Franken out of politics for a tasteless but harmless one-off prank involving pretending to fondle a sleeping acting colleague's boobs while on an army jet to their next show as part of a tour for US military forces. It happened years ago, and he otherwise has no record of harassing people, but the purity police deemed him expendable, so he had to go.

The charge against Franken was led by Kristen Gillibrand. And her zealotry cost her own ambitions:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/26/al-franken-kirsten-gillibrand-2020-1014697

But people forget that at the time there were all kinds of accusations against Trump. And Democrats didn't want to look like hypocrites defending a sexual harasser while accusing Trump of being one. Welcome to the world of "both sides are the same".

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

No we won't. Nobody will give a shit about who got canned in 20 years time. There's really nobody that is soooooo important.

Not many people remember Nelson Algren or Tsien Hsue-shen today but lots of people are familiar with the anti-Communist witch hunts of the 1950's. These days the witch hunts in North America tend to revolve around social justice issues.

Note that Communism was a real threat to the United States in the 1950's. Just like racism and sexism are real things today. Yet there can still be witch hunts that don't follow due process and are not based in reality.

Also, I see it largely as an over-correcction to the decades of there being virtually no consequences for being a public racist. The pendulum will swing back as the generations get more diverse.

I agree but it does not justify anything. And I think people often get the timeline wrong. Anti-racism was a progressive issue in the 1960's and 70's and was very mainstream by the 1980's and 90's. It was regressive to be publicly racist even in 2000, with groups like the KKK or neo-Nazis being shown as villains on the evening news (which they are). Barack Obama won 52.9% of the American popular vote 12 years ago. If large parts of the American population were racist it would not have been possible for Obama to win. The United States is around 76% white and 13% black.

There is, in general, a problem of activist overcorrection. It is hard for activists to accept when they have reached goals and their work is done, or to refocus on new issues that are truly the most pressing issues of the day and not merely increasingly minor versions of the old issues they fought against, or completely quixotic.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by someone123

There is, in general, a problem of activist overcorrection. It is hard for activists to accept when they have reached goals and their work is done, or to refocus on new issues that are truly the most pressing issues of the day and not merely increasingly minor versions of the old issues they fought against, or completely quixotic.

Indeed, how often is it that we hear activists at a news conference, after they have achieved a victory of some form, say something about "much more work yet to do." It seems almost invariable.

There is always another windmill to tilt at..............

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

No we won't. Nobody will give a shit about who got canned in 20 years time. There's really nobody that is soooooo important.

What a sinister thing to say. Christ. These are real people who's lives are being ruined by witch hunts. And obviously the crux here isn't how well-known any one individual hunted down by the braying mobs is, but it's the entire phenomenon that we'll remember with disgust.

Who can name any single person who was taken down by the Inquisition?

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Not to say that I agree with some of these terminations. But it's indeed odd that so many public figures think that are so important that the studios paying their wages wouldn't think twice about public image.

It's hardly limited to "Hollywood studios" or well-known bigwigs. Everyone is a potential target. There seems to be no end to how petty this movement is.

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Also, I see it largely as an over-correcction to the decades of there being virtually no consequences for being a public racist. The pendulum will swing back as the generations get more diverse.

But none of these people are racists. And this is hardly limited to the realm of ostensible racists anyway, but encompasses anyone who demurs from hard line SJW ideology. I can see how one could characterize it as a pendulum swing in one narrow respect, but clearly it's far more menacing then that.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by rousseau

What a sinister thing to say. Christ. These are real people who's lives are being ruined by witch hunts. And obviously the crux here isn't how well-known any one individual hunted down by the braying mobs is, but it's the entire phenomenon that we'll remember with disgust.

Who can name any single person who was taken down by the Inquisition?

Good example, and someone123 gave another - no need to remember specific names and cases to be aware that real lives were ruined by McCarthyian witch hunts in the 1950s (and to remember the general phenomenon with disgust).