Canada: The Country of Crap I Don’t Need

very nice entry there friend. u sure u’r as uncompassionate and inconsiderate as u’ve portrayed? never! i can’t believe it!

in many ways, i couldn’t care less who wins. after all – any candidate will still be a slave to the global race: ‘the New World Order’. politics will still contain the same old bullshit: empty promises, vicious backstabbing, hierarchical values, competitive persuasion…

not being too pessimistic – I’m voting NDP – all the way!!! while i’d like to see the greens move forward, i’ll bank my ballot on sweeping the nation with a NDP majority!

YEE HAW! let’s do it! NDP!

* and as far as u go mister ‘tax cuts’, step out of the freezer, let some love flow through ur veins and get urself together! u do care about the wellbeing of ur community, and u know it!

c:

Is this what runs through your mind on a daily basis Ade? Combine this with the racially motivated voice-over that you described having in an earlier post, and I would conclude that your mind is a scary place to visit. I kid everyone – Ade is not really a bigot, nor an elitist merchant of doom. But i have to question where you’re headed with these comments.

I hope you’re not chastising Canadian voters who choose to vote blue. Further, I hope you’re not insinuating that Canadians are generally self-indulgent if they choose to appreciate tax-cuts. If you are, you would be joining the lowest ranks of the election commentarati, notwithstanding your frustration with the prospect of a Tory Prime Minister.

Last night, CTV news hyped an investigative piece that concluded many Canadians could not recognize pictures of the four front-running federal candidates. I couldn’t help but groan. I begged Claire to change the channel. Did they really expect to run a story that said “Canadian voters correctly identify federal party leaders”? Of course not. The whole thing wreaked inauthentic. It is the predictable prelude to an otherwise unpredictable electoral campaign. In the week running up to this election, all manner of pudits are emerging (as they do at the same time every election) to demonstrate how daftly uninformed the Canadian voting public really is – or to flag for our attention, how little we really care about electoral politics, electoral issues, or elected politicians.

If your entry here is intended to contribute to this stream of thought, I would suggest you redeem yourself. If it is a thinnly veiled attack on Harper’s support base – a rebuke of the “fend for yourself Canada” – I still think you are on dangerous ground.

Or maybe (after re-reading this) I am too fucking serious for this blog anymore. Seriously folks, I have a big election, and it throbs like hell.

Alevo: here I go with my redemption. But first, go take some aspirin.

When I sat down in front of my computer this morning, I started writing – in sincerity – about how I vote on the behalf of other people. It’s true that I’m white, middle-class, self-employed, young, healthy, childless and educated. I have access to clean water and reasonably clean air. Things get tight sometimes but by-and-large the bills get paid on time (thanks wemi) and I’ve never received social assistance from the government.

But when I vote, I vote with others in mind. And I don’t just vote for Canadians, I also vote keeping in mind the people overseas that might be affected by my vote. I vote knowing that the next country the US invades might be Iran, and that depending on who I vote for, my country may or may not be culpable for the deaths of innocents there, or whereever else.

Perhaps this would have turned out to be a sincere and thoughtful post. Maybe it would have had more impact on readers than the one I ended up writing. But this blog is at least as much about expression as it is about discussion. And I’m angry. In an email to a friend today I wrote:

I feel as though the “left”, if it’s useful to call them that, have failed my country. Worse, I feel as though I have failed my country.

Yes, my post is “a rebuke of the ‘fend for yourself Canada'”. I know that most Canadians vote with the best interests of their fellow citizens in mind. But I also think that many Canadians who vote Conservative are voting in a group of people whose interests are narrow and self-directed, whether they are social/religious or economic, regardless of their intentions when voting. Narrow and self-directed, just like “my thoughts” expressed in my original post.

Sure, my post is a cheap shot – no, I’m not taking the high road – yes, thoughtful, serious posts are more productive. Who cares at this point. Barring a miracle, what I believe is best for Canada is a lost cause for now. If that isn’t a good enough reason for some saracastic bitching, what is?

No, you made some good points. I value your willingness to tell me I’m wrong (and I know you knew I was satirical, it’s black-eyed-junco up there I’m concerned about).

My morning’s fiery temperament has given way to a more gloomy sentiment. It was satire but it wasn’t a joke, and it doesn’t contribute to anything.

My attitude might be untenable: it’s elitist to say that Canadians don’t know what they’re voting for – how do I know? It’s hypocritical to want Canadians to engage in democracy, and then get irritated when they do (if they are) and sweep people who I disagree with into power.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who is watching this unfold with dismay. Time to do a little soul-searching I guess.

Tim,

Am I to assume, then, that you don’t believe in electoral politics?

Sebastien,

When you write “I understand that social responsibility is necessary to help those that are truly in need but not to the extent that these services are being delivered to every lazy Tom, Dick and Harry.”

What services are you speaking of? You go on to mention, education, transportation, health care, and culture & recreation. Are these the services that you think spoil lazy Canadians?

Should poor people get together and fund their own bus system, rather than relying on hand-outs from the municipal government?

Too often, fervor-injected rants against the welfare State like your own fail to reflect on any reality but the bubble of author’s own head. Give us some examples from real life.

Alevo,

The services I mention are all essential and need to be provided to everyone, but, I should have a choice to decide if I want to contribute via Taxes or pay for these services independently. I recognize that my thinking is elitist but, I believe that public vs. private rivalry introduces a level of competition that is necessary to stimulate growth and change. Ultimately everyone benefit from this.

As for the lazy Canadians; I work in downtown Hamilton and often venture for brisk walks through the core during my lunch breaks. It is interesting how many able bodied individuals can be observed regularly doing nothing and collecting welfare for doing nothing.

There is a high school aged kid outside my office that frequently begs for money. I asked him one day why he does this? His answer, “I can make about $20 in an hour by begging and that’s how much money I need to get through the day. If I went to work, it would take much longer to get my $20 and I would only get paid every couple of weeks”

Coming from a poor immigrant background, I have had the opportunity to observe the epidemic abuse of the welfare by lazy Canadians and lazy Canadian wana-be’s. It is from this setting where my viewpoint originates. I’ve seen the welfareites who can afford luxury vacations, expensive furnishings and big screen TV’s. Everything in their apartments is on wheels so that it can be easily rolled to the next door neighbours place when the social assistance investigator rings their intercom. That’s when they pull out the plastic bottle crates that they use as a table and chairs.

I work in social services and I see the struggles people face everyday. Sebastian, I don’t think you have any idea how hard it is to live on welfare. There are so many barriers that exist in the system that prevent people from living independently.

There is a very small percentage of people “using” the system. I believe that two years ago the percentage was actually 1%. A single person receiving welfare gets $536 a month. How can anyone afford to pay rent, pay bills and feed themselves with that amount of money?

When you receive Ontario Works (Harris’ euphemism for welfare), you are required to work, volunteer or enter a work training program. You cannot receive Ontario Works unless you do. If you earn more than the legislated amount OW takes it off your cheque to insure that you do not receive more.

As a society I think we are responsible to help those in need. I am sure when you came into the country as an immigrant you and your family received help from somewhere. Perhaps this helped you become successful now? We should be thankful we can help people in need instead of judging and criticizing them.

Right on the nose Ryan. My biggest problem with arguments like Sebastian’s is that they seem to rest on the assumption that their own pursuit of wealth occured in a vacuum; that the successes they have managed to achieve thus far in life have nothing to do with the social welfare and egalitarian thinking that they now feel they are in a position to criticize.

Sebastian,

I’m calling you on your presumption, “the root of poverty … starts at the individual.” From everything I’ve experienced, observed, and learned from study, the root of poverty is growing up poor.

There’s an overwhelmingly direct positive correlation between growing up poor and being a poor adult, with very strong, plausible causal correlations between the physical, nutritional, social, and emotional environment created by poverty and the missing cultural capital, closed doors, lack of social and economic connections and opportunities, prejudgements and fatalistic dismissals, and ultimately despair that makes its perpetuation all but inevitable.

Another major problem, of course, is the official government policy that some people’s labour just isn’t worth anything. The Bank of Canada’s policy is to maintain price stability (inflation in the 0-3% range) at all costs; our trade policy encourages businesses to locate manufacturing where labour is cheapest, i.e. in the Southern US and Mexico; the minimum wage is not enough to live on, which defeats the purpose of a minimum wage; welfare provides even less money than minimum wage (despite your hyperbolic assertions to the contrary – look it up instead of falling back on your stereotypes) and actively discourages education and retraining; and the lousy $100/month that the Conservatives propose in lieu of an early childhood education/child care program isn’t anywhere near enough to pay for even third-rate child care (read: movies in the neighbour’s basement and hot dogs for lunch), let alone the kind of high-quality care that has been proven in many European countries (see the WEF study I cited earlier) to give poor children exactly the opportunities and potential that you believe they aren’t exploiting.

Canada only looks like it needs an “attitude change” toward more rugged individualism (ahem) compared to the collapsing third world banana republic to our south.

I was sick last month, and I got better. That’s why in my opinion, most Canadians who are sick, have made a life choice to be sick.

Give your head a shake. Like in a paint mixer.

Well I guess you told the world did’nt you… just how non-human you are.
Let’s hope you keep your dick in your pants for the rest of your life, so as not to create any un-wanted children because you my friend would be a prime candidate for “dead beat parent” catagory.
You certainly are angry, better watch that, you may get an ulser and have to go to a doctor you can’t afford, seeing’s how you stated you don’t have to worry about health care untill your old and by then… rich.
When I had my children I did not know that the father would become an addict and leave us stranded, no more than a person can perdict if and when they may or may not get cancer. He was educated, worked hard, etc. I supose we should all be psychic in your world.
By the sounds of it with all your whinning you can relate to that screaming child in the grocery store, and to come to the grand, Einstein conclusion that just because a mom takes a cab we don’t need public transit! wow where were you educated? at the school of white supremacy? and me, me, me.
Your just pissed because the single mom in the store took a cab instead of your offer of a ride, due to the fact she could see right through you, your angrey, vile and down right stupid, you try and rant and rave with justification but all your doing is showing why people like you were born in the wrong era, you should have been around along with Hitler and been his right hand man. A word of caution, you can expect to live the rest of your life either alone, or with a dim wit… (on par with you)due to the magnetism you exude in all facets of your life.