This is a Youth Voice of the Liberal Party?!
As I said in my response to the following comment, I'm enormously glad that I'm too old to be a Young Liberal, not living in British Columbia, and not affiliated with the Liberal Party. If I were still in Kelowna shucking corn, this comment would be the view of someone who "represented" my interests in the BC-YLC:
The Liberal Party is stronger without these violent Zionists in our party. I am glad for them to cease influencing our foreign policy so we are free to promote Canadian values of peace. It amazes me that this community is so absurdly selfish. The only issue that matters to them is the defence of a "state" that survives on the blood of innocent people. Shameful.
Excellent that Warren's got mention of it on his site, and I sincerely hope that other people who represent the future of this country find the above comment as repugnant as I do. I've almost lost track of how many times I've said it now, but it is my view that Canada's position should always be to support fellow democracies in their efforts to combat terrorism. To suggest that Israel "survives on the blood of innocent people" is the most vile and repugnant manifestation of anti-Semitism, and hopefully remains confined to a very, very small portion of Canada's population.
8 comments:
RGM:
The Conservatives are courting Pierre Mailloux for their party and you are worried the comments of a 16 year old kid.
Devin, I'm far from the only one that's concerned about this "16 year old kid" you speak of, given that Scott Brison has put out a press release demanding the young man's resignation. Also, I don't know too many 16 year-olds in university, do you? He's got to be at least voting age, and that makes him a full-fledged adult who should know better, particularly given his position within the Liberal Party.
I'm not familiar with the individual you're referencing; what's his story and why's he got you worried?
A quick Wiki check shows that this Mailloux individual is someone to stay far away from. A lot of the stuff there, predictably since it's Wiki, is pretty vague, but such racist comments as "native americans and blacks people from the Americas were born less intelligent than whites because of artificial selection from slavery (he said europeans used to kill the smartest of them), and that accounts for their poverty and high unemployment rate", much like young Robert's anti-Semitism, has no place in mainstream Canadian politics.
Consider my concern about the Liberal case a sentimental one given my past affiliation with the party and continued disenchantment with their current (lack of) direction. Like I said in my original post, if I weren't out here doing the Dal thing, I'd still be in B.C. and that guy would be speaking, in some capacity, "on my behalf." And that ain't cool.
I don't think he's 16. Although, I also don't think he's an anti-Semite. Just a young guy being a bit too "anti-establishment", and Israel is part of the "establishment" in his eyes. Poorly informed opinions, but I really think he's been humbled and is re-considering his thoughts.
What the $&^% is ANY party doing recruiting this Pierre Mailloux guy?? Tell me that's just a rumour - please please please. I don't want any party at all to have this clown in it.
Jason,
If he were truly "anti-establishment" as you suggest, then why the hell was a member of the Liberal Party's youth executive?? If he were anti-establishment, wouldn't he be with the Green Party or a fringe movement like the Communist or Marxist-Leninist parties? To suggest that a Liberal executive member, even a youth one, is anti-establishment is like saying that Mats Sundin hates the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You don't think the kid is anti-Semite Jason? Hmmmm, OK. Well combined with Boris Wrzesnewskyj and Ignatieff's carbon tax ideas, the Libs are in for a bit of ridicule in Alberta. These were not accidental words. He was proud to indicate that he was a "real" Liberal. So he is. If he is anti-establishment, why was the kid part of the natural governing party?
"If he were anti-establishment, wouldn't he be with the Green Party"
Whoa Richard, I almost missed that. Hey, there is the granola side to the Greens but hey, you're from B.C. The Greens have campaigns on to become more professional and mainstream. The party has good ideas, it just needs to silence the hemp activists, which actually aren't so extreme after what we've seen over the past few months.
Brian,
The comment about the Greens is in a positive sense, which is why I was careful to distinguish them from the fringe parties. I should have elaborated on that a bit more. In seeking to change the status quo and get Canada on a much greener, more environmentally friendly course, they're challenging the "establishment" as represented by the Liberals and the Conservatives. There's a lot of complacency at the top, and some new, fresh ideas are never a bad thing...unless they're out of the Stalin or Hitler playbooks, but I digress.
I've had both good and bad experiences in conversations and forums involving the Greens. I met a woman in Kelowna who was going after the provincial leadership, and she seemed quite intelligent and represented a lot of the positive aspects of the Green platform and agenda. On the other side of the coin, some of the folks at Dal's security & defence policy forum during the election campaign were definitely of the "granola" variety. Like with any party, there's bad mixed in with the good when it comes to the Greens. I wish them well, and I hope that, as you say, they're able to come more into the mainstream and relegate the extremists within their ranks to the fringes of the Party.
I haven't seen enough out of Thomas to say he's an anti-Semite definitively, and I'm more than willing to give him a few years to get on his feet.
His words out of 35 year old would be very different - he's 17 and he's still growing up.
He has been thoroughly castigated and reprimanded and is really shocked at the outrage he caused and is mulling over his opinions and thoughts. That's good enough for now.
If he says the same idiocy in a year's time - let's talk. Til then - he's got ample chance to be a better person, and I for one am very happy to try and help him do so.
I think that saying, "Thomas, your views are incorrect, and here's why - ", as I have done, and which he's responded to very adult-like, is more productive than just labeling him an anti-Semite, in which case he'll probably become one.
Post a Comment