I guess we can call them "born again, non-racist, non-sexist, non-homophobes", with the sorry excuses for "apologies" these clowns threw out today (and they did hit the "trifecta" on this by bashing Ukrainians, women, AND gay people all in one shot). We knew it was only a matter of time before Harper's Neo-Con nutjobs finally managed to speak their minds - tight PMO reins, or not. The recorded comments - found in the Saskatchewan Legislature no less - with hateful speech uttered by (now) Sask Premier Brad Wall, and (now) Federal Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski - are ignorant, angry, and NOT a "one-off" comment by someone cracking a "joke", or "an accident".
It's incredible that grown adults can be so racist, sexist, or homophobic. A shame really. It's even more shameful when conservatives stick up for them and say, "oh, it was so long ago... people change"... The statements uttered were some pretty serious and hateful stuff - not the run of the mill "joke" or "misspeak". Deep-seeded political convictions that lead you to support one political party (of an extreme "wing" - left of right), don't just "go away". It's funny that the Cons like to trot out the same "tired" old argument every time - Harper said this... "oh, that was 2 years ago. He's all grown up now...". Stockwell Day said this... "oh that was when he was a provincial cabinet minister in Alberta. He's grown up now too..."
There are some important points regarding these comments:
- That there were multiple conservatives speaking them in what appears to be an official environment.
- They made laws and influenced elected officials while uttering the words...
- They were spoken in what appeared to be an official, or Conservative Party (Sask) function
- They were made by fully grown adults (not when they were teens, or children) who were cognizant of their convictions and chose a political party based on them
- Psychology delineates some clearly defined "stages of development". Adults reach a stage of development, from whence change is rare, and really is just an oddity if or when it happens. Minor traits or habits may change, but deep felt convictions, fears, and prejudices rarely do.
It is really disingenuous for people to hide behind the, "I'm all grown up now" argument. These were not just some random comments made by a teen or "young adult" in college. These were comments made by fully grown men, in positions of relative power. A simple apology won't do. These men should be sent to racial sensitivity courses, and should be taught not to hate - because most of us probably don't believe that they do not still feel the same way about certain minorities or sexual orientations...
6 comments:
I know what your point is in the last sentence, but I have to say it comes off awkwardly.
If you are trying to say that since many of them think gays and other progressives should be sent off to camps to "change" them, we should do the same with them. That shows you are being sarcastic.
The way it reads, the emphasis is all on sending them away for retraining because they don't like gays, women, or progressives - which even as a progressive alarmed me until I re-read the last paragraph (twice).
Just friendly observation - I like your blog a lot.
Although I take these comments very seriously and I think that Lukiwski has to prove that he has really changed, I cannot subscribe to your basic premise that adults don't change. As a lesbian and feminist I have witnessed adults change over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago the majority of Canadians did not support basic LGBT rights and certainly didn't support marriage rights. In the intervening years that changed.
If people cannot grow and change once they have reached adulthood than we progressives should just throw in the towel because change does not just come from youth, it has to also come from those who currently hold the reigns of corporate, religious and political power.
BTW - on a partisan note, what Lukiwski said was crap but don't forget that there is a significant wing of the Liberal Caucus that has voted against equal marriage and other LGBT rights and are anti-choice (Scarborough MPs to name just a few). Perhaps the Liberal Party should insist that their members undergo sensitivity training?
Although I take these comments very seriously and I think that Lukiwski has to prove that he has really changed, I cannot subscribe to your basic premise that adults don't change. As a lesbian and feminist I have witnessed adults change over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago the majority of Canadians did not support basic LGBT rights and certainly didn't support marriage rights. In the intervening years that changed.
If people cannot grow and change once they have reached adulthood than we progressives should just throw in the towel because change does not just come from youth, it has to also come from those who currently hold the reigns of corporate, religious and political power.
BTW - on a partisan note, what Lukiwski said was crap but don't forget that there is a significant wing of the Liberal Caucus that has voted against equal marriage and other LGBT rights and are anti-choice (Scarborough MPs to name just a few). Perhaps the Liberal Party should insist that their members undergo sensitivity training?
Of course progressives never make generalizations about Evangelicals or Catholics being sub-human. Nope. Nuh-uh. Never happens.
What he said was wrong. But the progressive pious hypocrisy is odius and noxious.
"homosexual faggots with dirt in their fingernails that transmit diseases."
Nicholas Little / Capital Xtra / Wednesday, April 02, 2008
http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=2&STORY_ID=4573&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=7
"Crouching in the bathtub last month waiting for the pubic lice shampoo to work its magic before fine-tooth combing the crabby buggers out of my bush, I smiled in solidarity with all the teenage girls crouching in their bathtubs across the continent.......
So what does that have to do with Ottawa gay men and the insects breeding in my pubic hair?.... For example, Ottawa syphilis rates are on the rise and the bulk of infection is among gay men. Of the 102 syphilis cases in Ottawa between Jan 2001 and Jun 2006, 97 were men and a whopping 81 of those men have sex with other men. It begs the question: why do gay dudes account for almost 80 percent of syphilis infections in our city? Well, if there is more syphilis among gay men to begin, with and if gay men underestimate or don't protect themselves from that risk when hooking up, continued syphilis transmission is bound to result."
Thanks Joseph. My comment actually didn't have anything to do with camps. When I was in the employ of SaskTel - a crown corporation in Saskatchewan - we had mandatory "Aboriginal Cultural Awareness" training (forgot the specific name of the course). I found the course VERY enjoyable, and definitely informative for everyone involved, and am suggesting the Parliament of Canada institute such a program - to ensure that MPs who have to work with constituents of all backgrounds, races, genders, and sexual orientations. ALL MPs should take such a course, BUT these MPs who've made the disparaging comments should be tops on the list of required attendees.
Nothing to do with sending people off to "learning camps" or anything like that, just an informative sensitivity course, of the same type that many employers send all their employees to. But, I do hear you when you say that many right wingers (read another blog earlier today) think a lot of us should be put in nasty places, or sent back to where we came from). Just wait until the trolls hit this blog (some already have)...
Thanks for the feedback.
Post a Comment