Don Martin - Chief of the emotion police
Whatever you might think about Helene Guergis’ efficacy on the Brenda Martin file, Post columnist Don Martin has lobbed some pretty cheaps shots in today’s column:
For very different behaviour, consider the video taken by Global News four weeks ago, which can be viewed on the National Post Web site.
The 1992 Miss Huronia is caught giving a scripted Ottawa welcome to a handful of women parliamentarians from Afghanistan. Suddenly Ms. Guergis breaks into tears.
“I promised I wouldn’t do this,” she sobs. “I love you guys. You’re the highlight of my careerÂ…. This is just the beginning of a long-lasting friendship for all of us and I can’t wait to see you all again.”
It might be heartfelt emotion, except that this is the same Ms. Guergis who seems curiously unmoved by the plight of Mexico-imprisoned Brenda Martin, a suicidal Canadian yet to be tried after two years in a cramped jail.
How is that relevant? The two events aren’t even related.
And is Don Martin trying to say that he should be the judge of how she feels about things and how she expresses her emotion? How does he even know what she is thinking and how she really feels?
This kind of sexist attitude is very typical of certain controlling, misogynistic men that seek to undermine a woman’s self-esteem in marriages where the woman becomes a slave.
And Martin’s public excoriation of Guergis’ perceived emotional reaction enables certain types of abusive relationships to seem socially acceptable.
Don Martin owes Ms. Guergis and all woman an apology for trying to tell them what is acceptable in terms of how they feel and how they display honest emotion.
Or is it only men who are allowed to have this freedom?
…Abandoning partisan politics, Mr. Cotler, who got involved in the Itzhayek case about seven months ago, said Ms. Guergis “did her best, in my view. She did work hard…”
There are a few Liberal MPs whom I greatly admire, and Irwin Cotler is definitely one of them.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:29 pm
[...] when he was telling Helena Guergis how she should be acting under certain circumstances and when she was allowed to show emotion, and [...]