CanPol Thread: the United Right etc.

[notyoueither]

Yeah, I guess Mulroney's failed attempts at patching up Confederation after Trudeau and the PQ are worthy of destroying the Tories and shutting the right out of power for another 20 years or more. Hey, Mexico had one party for 40 years! Why can't we?

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
OH, and by free trade, I thought you meant the first Free Trade agreement with the US.

That was what that election was fought on, IIRC. The Tories won a majority. That then led to NAFTA. Their opponents have never forgotten. Neither has much of the bitterness that came out during that campaign been left in the past. Afterall, we want Refooooooorm.

[Ben Kenobi]

To the econo folks, they can show just how much NAFTA has helped Canada. Why would back in 1992 they consider the deal to be a bad one?

Lots of people in Central Canada hated the constitutional amendments.

[notyoueither]

Free trade was a bitter and divisive issue. That election was a barn burner for that very issue alone. Mulroney won a second majority (something not done very often to that date) but it set the stage for the following years to be less than calm. As I said, I had beer thrown in my face for merely being a Tory. That was by a PHD in Philosophy who had been a President of the Graduates Students Association at a major University. People were wound up.

[notyoueither]

As to why it was bitter and divisive? It had unions, nationalists, and opponents of the Tories united in opposition. On his side, Mulroney had business, economists, and most Canadians as it turned out. However, the people who lost never forgot, nor forgave.

Recently I heard someone on radio say that Mulroney was an activist PM, and that he stirred up hatred by doing too much. Comparatively, Chretein was fine for most people until he started adopting too many issues himself, and when he did too much his support began to slip as well. It was an interesting POV.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Ever hear of tourism?

Saying that they burn crosses in a community is a huge indictment! You better make sure they actually burn crosses before you go making a statement like that.

It's not that she got the place wrong, there were no crosses burnt to speak of. She lied to make a point about the intolerance of northern communities.

If you're going to make enemies like that you'd better have the facts to back you up.

A friend of mine was a reporter in Williams Lake and one of the stories he did was about racists terrorising an Indo-Canadain family, including a burning cross on the family's front yard. I hate to say it, but this sh!t happens, even in good old BC.

Fry's mistake was to embellish her comment by saying it was happening "as we speak".

But the essence of her comments are true. Racism is alive and well in Canada, whether it is whites who hate natives, or natives who hate whites, or Chinese-Canadians who look down on whites.

What Fry was saying is we have seen what racism can inflame violence in other parts of the world and let's recognise that racist attitudes exists in Canada. This was not an attack on Northern Canadians, nor on British Columbia. And anyways, BCers are the last one who should get self-righteous about being labelled racist given the history of the province.

[Uncle Sparky]

So... since none of us seem to really like the Liberal option, are the rest of you members of http://www.fairvotecanada.org/ ?
If not, why not ?

... and BenKenobi - remember your avatar bet ! I'll probably take you up on it closer to election date.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by notyoueither


Because the Conservative movement has had it's guts ripped out and put on display during the last 20 years in Canada. It all started with this guy named Mulroney, who thought free trade was a good idea...

God bless him. He was the best man the Left ever had.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Tingkai


A friend of mine was a reporter in Williams Lake and one of the stories he did was about racists terrorising an Indo-Canadain family, including a burning cross on the family's front yard. I hate to say it, but this sh!t happens, even in good old BC.

Fry's mistake was to embellish her comment by saying it was happening "as we speak".

Can you post a link to any news story about any such events? Failing that, can you provide a publication, volume and issue number or date for any of us who care to run down to the library?

I would be genuinely interested since the only things I have read were that her slander was a total fabrication.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Can you post a link to any news story about any such events? Failing that, can you provide a publication, volume and issue number or date for any of us who care to run down to the library?

I would be genuinely interested since the only things I have read were that her slander was a total fabrication.

No weblinks for the paper, Williams Lake Tribune. As for the specific date of the story, I'd have to check with the guy.

If I recall correctly, the question everyone asked was had there been any recent cross burnings in Prince George, and the RCMP there said we have no records of any hate-related crimes in the past two years.

Fry claimed she got the info from the PG mayor and the mayor denied that.

Then the story died.

[notyoueither]

Oh no, it did not die. It raged here for quite some time. Thanks anyways for the unsubstantiated continuation of the slander.

[Ben Kenobi]

Wow.

Everybody seems to be up late tonight.

Uncle Sparky:

The bet has to do with the number of seats for the united Conservatives and the NDP. If the new party wins more seats than the established NDP party, then I win the bet. If it goes the other way, than you would win.

So if these are palatable terms, then I am willing to stand by them.

And anyways, BCers are the last one who should get self-righteous about being labelled racist given the history of the province.

Consider the example of an alcoholic who has reformed and gone sober. Would not the alcoholic be justly angered if someone slandered him by saying he fell off the wagon?

Slander is slander, regardless of the target.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Oh no, it did not die. It raged here for quite some time. Thanks anyways for the unsubstantiated continuation of the slander.

Oh so if it ain't on the web, it ain't true.



And there's nothing slanderous about saying there are white extremists in BC, just as these idiots exist in the rest of Canada. Organised groups of Neo-Nazis, KKK and similar ilk are well-documented. Salmon Arm was a hotbed for these fools when I lived in the Okanagan during the 90s.

[Ben Kenobi]

Still doesn't make Hedy's statement any less than slander. I'm willing to bet that she never contacted the mayor of Prince George like she said she did.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Still doesn't make Hedy's statement any less than slander. I'm willing to bet that she never contacted the mayor of Prince George like she said she did.

Legally, you can't slander a group, only individuals. That's why Canada created hate crimes.

What Fry said is not hate speech, because all she claimed was that a crime was committed in a community. She did not say anything to suggest that Prince Rupert is full of racists. If I said there was a murder committed in Penticton, obviously I am not saying everyone in Penticton is a murderer.