Dispatch from Lawless Vancouver
This morning on CKNW, host Bill Good had one Parsha [didn't catch her last name] as a guest. She's a member of "No One Is Illegal", an activist organization that believes that anyone entering Canada should be allowed to stay here - without question.
She immediately started arguing with Bill and then started misquoting numbers, only later corrected by refugee claimant expert, Martin Collicott. But she had no respect even for him, so soaked in her own righteousness.
Here's what I wrote to Bill:
If more people start thinking like your guest, Parsha, then God help us all! She clearly recognizes no Canadian sovereignty and fundamentally believes that we should let everyone into the country who reaches our shores.
Throughout your discussion, I was reminded of Yann Martel's famous quote: "Canada is the greatest hotel on earth."
How did we ever get to this state of being that so many believe that being Canadian is simply an entitlement to get free health care and highly subsidized education? Our new national motto should be: "Ask not what I can do for my country, but tell me what my country can do for me!"
As a country we may have 140 years of wisdom but we're clearly naive ninnies about many things.
I did a little checking and discovered that their website is hosted by "Resist.ca", the same ISP that hosts that of the infamous "Anti-Poverty Committee". Reading through the main posted articles it became immediately clear that this is one of those dozen groups "against everything" that Walter Schultz frequently talks about. They are anti:
- Olympics
- Law & Order
- Development
- Capitalist
- Free Market
- Police
- American
- Progress
Labels:
anarchists,
illegal immigrant,
No One Is Illegal
11 comments:
It's unfortunate that you are so ignorant to the actual issues yet you still felt a need to address so many issues that clearly you know very little about. First of all, when you talk about "canadian sovereignty" you are clearly ignorant to the fact that "Canada" has a genocidal colonial history and that legitimate claims to sovereignty on these territories only exist for the indigenous people.
Secondly, if you heard the interview, as I did, you would have realized from the comments that Canada actually is not "the greatest hotel on earth" but that countries much poorer than canada, such as Pakistan and Chad, have excepted many more refugees than canada.
And reading over some of the "activist" groups and issues that you are addressing in your post, they are not "anti-everything" as they believe in basic human values such as equality, justice and the ability for people to be able to determine their own lives, rather than having states and corporations do it for them.
get educated!!!
Hey, I'm with you on this one, Robert.
No first world country takes more refugees than Canada. Chad and Pakistan? Give your head a shake, both of these countries have wars on their borders. Canada has nothing to apoligize for. We do more than our fair share.
The anti everything groups have this strong desire to control all aspects of our society. It's not the states or the corporations we need to worry about, it's the anti everything groups!
Hey Rob,
It's amazing how supporters of the anti-everything groups write many words with no substance behind them.
It's also amazing how they quote statistics out of context and then tell others to "get educated!!!"
If they really did believe in equality, justice and the ability for people to determine their own lives, they would see Canada as one of the best places on Earth to do just that.
Rather they define equality and justice as taking from others who have worked harder and/or smarter, and thus amassed resources, and giving those resources to those who have decided, by their own choice, not to work harder or smarter.
In Canada there is a minimum level of health care, food, clothing and shelter that all citizens can enjoy.
This is not so in the majority of places in this world. I have been to a few of these places and seen first hand what true poverty is.
By those standards there is not one person I have seen or read about in Canada that is living in true poverty.
Instead these are people who are living a very good life (compared to most of the world's population), but aren't satisfied because they see others living an even better life.
Rather than strive to increase their own lot in life, they strive to bring down the achievers to their level.
So, Mr. Anonymous of the first comment, before you spout off and tell others to "get educated," perhaps you should take a few trips to some places where basic human values such as equality and justice really are being abused and educate yourself with the real facts.
And if you live in Canada, thank God that you actually have electricity, a computer, shelter, clothing, sewers, clean water and the time to spout meaningless drivel -- things which the vast majority of this planet's inhabitants don't have.
And while you're at it, why not post your address so that all of the "homeless" and refugees can come and stay at your house while you pay for their food and clothing.
If you truly believe that's what the citizens of Canada should be doing, then let it start with you and maybe, just maybe, I'll think I was mistaken viewing your comments as self-righteous and hypocrital.
Mark.
P.S. Rob, I enjoy your blog. Keep it up.
I saw a woman the other day with an anti-Olympic sticker on her car. I was driving behind her and was unhappy to note she was anti-driving skills as well, which was somewhat frustrating.
As for Anon, I just have to compliment suggesting this: when you talk about "canadian sovereignty" you are clearly ignorant to the fact that "Canada" has a genocidal colonial history and that legitimate claims to sovereignty on these territories only exist for the indigenous people because it really is true. After all, why even have immigration discussions? We're all illegals here, really. In fact, how about we ask the real sovereigns to take over.
Interesting comments all! I particularly loved the phrase "she was anti-driving skills as well". Brilliant! I plan to use that one in the future.
Mark & Walter stole much of my thunder re our Unhappy Anon poster but I will add this:
Dear Sir/Madam:
Do you realize what a complete hypocrite you are to be espousing the socialist rhetoric you are via a computer and the Internet?!? These are inventions of the capitalist system that you so despise yet you make use of them at the extremely low cost that could only come about from a free market competitive system.
Do you ever think about the lie you're living every day when you make your hateful, angry posts?
Just last night I was watching a documentary on Stalin, focused on the years between 1917 - 1945. He provided the equitable system that you so dearly want. Except the reality is that such a system leaves EVERYONE poor and hungry!
As Mark indicated, go traveling to some truly poor countries and then maybe you'll grow up.
Robert
Well put in your post and again in the comments!!! Mark and Walter's replies to Anon are great too. I agree. You'd think that grown ups would have realized that utopia doesn't exist with any system anywhere, life isn't fair, deal with it. At least we live in a country where everyone has a chance, people in need are helped, freedom of speech is guaranteed, even for folks that lack common sense and a grasp of reality and spew venomous stupidity.
Nachtwache,
You hit the nail on the head when you spoke of "grown ups". This person clearly isn't one - as in "responsible adult". I'll go so far as to say that few in the Federal NDP are either. Many of the policies they advocate aren't responsible nor well thought out. They're mostly shot from the hip and trying to correct an apparent immediate injustice, without any thought to the big picture or the future.
Our homeless situation is a good case in point. Those on the ultra left just want to give these people everything - free housing, free drugs, etc. If that were actually to be done, do you think it would solve the problem? I don't.
Once you take away a person's incentive to strive to better themselves then you are aiming to destroy any chance they have of a positive future.
Robert
Quick responses as I don't really have time to address much to people who clearly are unwilling to question their uninformed views.
You raise several points that I've heard many times.
1) yes there is a war on the border of pakistan, and the Canadian military is responsible for displacing many of those people. I would have to say that they have an even higher burden to resolve the refugee problem.
2) some "genious" commented that the internet was the product of capitalism. I don't know where you took you're political economy 101 class, but the internet was a government funded project, as a most technologies including cancer research, hydrogen buses and electronic technologies. Capitilist merely add bells and whistles to technology and sell the products. So, I guess the hypocrite is actually sitting infront of your computer. Oh, and you might want to think about the government funded parks and roads that you might utilize everyday (don't get too down on yourself though, you didn't know so maybe now you can stop using them, because they are a socialist project).
3) about people that complain about everything... again, people that are fighting for some sort of social cause aren't opposed to everything, they are often trying to protect they good things that exist in society. I think that would be self evident to anyone that has any grasp of history or social movements that exist in their communities.
4)What statistics did I quote out of context????
5)Last thing, I have been to places in the world where people have less material wealth, but there are many places in the world existing out side of capitalist economics where people are very happy with their lives and would like to be able to continue them. But national governments like Canada have to go there (either through war or the world bank) and force them off their land so that they can extract their resources. So it is interesting that you can sit here and benefit off of this criminal act and then tell those same people that you are displacing that they can't come here. Canada has was involved in overthrowing a democratically elected president in haiti, they are a foreign occupying force in afghanistan, canadian mining companies are displacing people off of their land all around the world.
I know in the end you may not agree with me, but at least just admit that you are a racist, you would like canada to be able to exploit people and completely disregard human rights in the process so that you can live your comfortable lives. I know that most of the people commenting here are likely middle aged white men so it's not surprising that you think this way. You just have to learn to live with being a horrible human being that can think of no one but themselves.
Then again, your ignorance, which you have once again demonstrated, should allow you to live with yourself. So although I did say get educated, I'm sure all you "grown-ups" (education does not come with age) don't want to, for your own comfort.
Dear Anon:
Let me see if I understand your view of the world correctly:
1. Canadians are the aggressors in Afghanistan, not the Taliban.
2. Capitalism had little to nothing to do with the creation of the computer and the Internet. In other words, these technologies could have just as easily have been created in the USSR, Cuba, or North Korea.
3. Groups the APC are trying to protect the good things that exist in society.
4. Canada has caused massive genocide and thus has absolutely no legal or moral ability to enforce its laws. Plus, people in Canada have little ability to determine their own lives compared with the aforementioned socialist meccas.
5. The Canadian government and its corporations have done absolutely no good for people by getting involved in industrial projects in poorer countries. Films like Mine Your Own Business are purely capitalist propaganda. The environmentalists in that film, portrayed as hypocrites, are anything but. They're actually heroic. Plus, the Canadian military's presence in Haiti was completely bad. They were much better off when the Haitian gangs were running the country.
Is this pretty accurate? Should we add that Bush & Giuliani were involved in the conspiracy to kill 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001? And that a secret Jewish cabal of neo-cons are the ones actually running the world? And that the USSR was a wonderful place that only fell apart because of those damned American capitalists? And that the hundreds of thousands of people who have left Cuba and Vietnam were simply misguided, greedy capitalist wannabes?
You see, amigo, I understand the way you think. And it disturbs me that someone who thinks like you grew up in the same country that I did.
I have many friends, of all political stripes. But someone like you is so far out there that there's absolutely no common ground in engaging in any kind of intelligent, sensible conversation.
Last response:
Never said that the USSR was a wonderful place, it was a dictatorship and if you really know anything about social structures, it did not run that much differently than a corporation (some of the most the most totalitarian institutions created by man).
Canada is a aggressor in Afghanistan, along with the Taliban AND the warlords that they are currently supporting. The most aggressive forces in that country have been either created or supported by western governments (again common knowledge to those that actually read about a conflict rather just commenting on things they don't know about). And there has never been a foreign occupying army that has liberated anyone. Liberation movements are developed at the grassroots by the people seek liberation. The don't develop by foreign armies "imposing liberation" upon other people so that they can secure the resources of the region for themselves.
The internet may or may not have been created in socialist states, but it certainly WAS NOT created by a capitalist economy. It was supported and created through state structures that could commit to funding a longterm research projects that corporations that are looking for short term and quick profits do not invest in. I don't know why this is so hard for you to grasp, ask anyone that was actually involved in the early days of internet development what the issues were.
Canada and genocide: not really a disputed fact (read your history). There are very serious issues about talking about "Canadians" and sovereignty without first addressing colonialism. But at a basic level, individuals and communities should be able to determine their own lives without corporate or state domination of their lives. I think most people that are not benefiting from these forms of exploitation and oppression would naturally agree with that.
And about Canada's "intervention" in haiti, yes, haiti was much better off. The Canadian government actually armed gangs and those who had previously been convicted of criminal acts to carry out the coup. So the gangs have been running the country since that intervention. I don't know how you can sit here and actually support a DEMOCRATICALLY elected president (with close to 90% of the popular vote) being overthrown. Read up on Haiti and Canada's involvement, you'd be surprised at how little you know.
So your blind nationalism has come shining through. Clearly you do not like many socialist states because they are run be dictators, but when the Canadian government acts in direct opposition to a democratic process you defend it. Seems to me like if you were in the USSR you would be a nationalist defending the disgusting acts of Stalin just as you are defending them here right now.
So I think you've demonstrated very well on you're own blog that you are very good at arguing in defense on Canada, but don't want to address the facts. It's sad to know that people like yourself won't actually open your eyes and see the reality around you. And I can see how the most evil regimes in the world rise to power. It's individuals like yourself the follow like sheep with blinders on behind the national flag (or the corporate flag). Those who are living in the world today with relative freedom certainly would not be enjoying it if those that fought against oppressive states and corporations had thought they way you do.
I hope you can take this as a sign that you need to find out more about the world. Or you may just continue to throw out the insults and sarcasm so that you do not have to acknowledge your own ignorance.
Once again, get educated. I can't keep coming on here and doing it for you.
Oh, sorry forgot to respond to one thing. Thanks for the feel good mining link, but understand that one feel good story does not do much for the millions that are effected by a single issue. And most NGO and Corporate Responsibility stories are often a response by corporations to try to stop dissent against their other projects. here is some information about Canadian mining. Of course if you read this and decide to ignore the facts, you can choose to continue living in your bubble world where you can continue arguing without the facts (or with selected facts while ignore and not looking at the whole picture).
http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/Metallica/cdn_mining_mexico
many more stories from around the world on the site.
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