Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘Political correctness’ Category

Hot on the heels of the outrage regarding political-correctness run amok at Queens and Carleton, we have the Ghost of PC Appeasement once again knocking at our door.

Today’s Waterloo Regional Record reports that a Kitchener resident has donated a gorgeous 25-foot Blue Spruce to adorn City Hall for the holiday Christmas season.

Originally the city had dubbed it a "holiday" tree, but it apparently only took one irate resident to get it changed to a "Christmas" tree:

The tree, which had outgrown its home in front of Hutfloetz’s Claycroft Crescent home, was bound for glory — a place of honour in front of City Hall as what was initially dubbed Kitchener’s official “holiday tree”.

City officials quickly retreated late Tuesday afternoon after receiving an email criticizing the attempt at political correctness.

In a reply, corporate communications director Michael May apologized for an effort that didn’t “hit the mark.

“In an attempt to be as inclusive as possible in their choice of language, staff had originally referred to it as a holiday tree. This decision was made without fully consulting with other city staff or members of city council and it therefore did not reflect the city’s perspective,” May wrote.

“We recognize the tree for what it is - a Christmas tree.”

In a perhaps not-so-surprising move, the local CTV afflilate continued to label it a "Holiday Tree" on the evening news.

I sent an email to the CTV station asking what exactly is the origin and tradition of the "Holiday Tree"; that I knew the story behind the "Christmas Tree", but would like an explanation of the former. I’m still waiting for a reply.

Every year this kind of story rears its ugly head. We must remain vigilant.

My suspicion is that the Christmas-Holiday debate, and even the Carleton and Queen’s fiascos are less about complaints from offended multicultural groups than they are the perceived "inclusively right-thing-to-do" :  i.e. warped policies enacted by misguided white bureaucrats and do-gooders who are anxious to expunge their trendy sense of guilt.

Ironically, the result can be exactly the opposite of their goal. The resentment against innocent and non-complaining minorities may actually increase because of their interference.

Don’t give in to the PC Police.

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Update: University of Calgary Pro-Life group threatened with arrest, suspension and possible expulsion! Details in the Post.

Afternoon Update: Carleton to repeal decision to scrap fundraiser - CTV (H/T to PnR and Neil D)

Evening Update: Ha-ha.  According to the evening news at Southwestern CTV, their newsroom was flooded with complaints about the use of the term "Holiday Tree". As well, the donors of the tree said they would never have offered it had they known that it wouldn’t be called a "Christmas Tree".

SW CTV now has a poll up to the right middle of their homepage:  What should Kitchener call its tree?

Please feel free to offer your opinion.

With all the financial turmoil going on these days, it’s easy to become distracted from an insidious, but ever-growing threat that is extending its tentacles right within our own Canadian society. It is the encroachment on our liberty and freedom of thought and speech.

Ezra Levant’s blog is probably the ‘go-to’ resource for a comprehensive list of PC attacks against Canadian democracy. Political correctness has evolved from an ideology to monitoring, punishing force under the guise of Human ‘Rights’ Commissions.

And now we see young PC enforcers being groomed at Queen’s University, with their dialogue monitors patrolling the halls in search of thought errorists. (Great article, Stephen!)

As Liz J pointed out at Taylor’s blog, George Jonas touched on this assault on free speech and privacy in his column, Dalton McGuiinty’s Singapore of the North:

…Ontario is reverting to authoritarianism from a cultural tradition of liberty. This is hardly an improvement, although some people may think so.

If enough people do, Premier McGuinty will turn out to be right. Ontario is already a province where dictatorial social engineers have high expectations. At Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., they expect students and faculty to roll over when monitors, called "facilitators," butt into private conversations they deem politically incorrect. Authorities couldn’t expect this in China since the demise of Mao’s Red Guards. In Ontario, government counts on people to obey when ordered not to smoke in their own cars while transporting children. No authority could count on such a thing in China — possibly not even under Mao. (True, in Mao’s China few people had private cars, but if present trends continue, private cars will also be rare in McGuinty’s have-not Ontario.)

Dalton McGuinty truly is the epitome of the Nanny-State Daddy.

Do you see how this all ties together? If the state coddles you and looks after you and does all your thinking for you, then you don’t have to do any of that. The state will tell you what to think and what to do.  Individual responsibility is no longer required.

We have one brave political knight daring to stand up to the strangling menace against free speech: Liberal MP Keith Martin.

So as you watch the value of your stock portfolio continue to plummet and your job prospects decline, don’t forget that your freedoms are also being stealthily diminished.

Please send Dr. Martin a note of encouragement and support, before the either the PC Police or his own caucus force him to undergo some ‘thought readjustment.’

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Update: More from Steve Janke, who is fighting some free speech issues of his own.

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Shameless self-promotion: Please don’t forget to vote at Canadian Blog Awards!

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More political-correctness fallout from Lorrie Goldstein - We spent $2 million for this?

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Monday Update:  VICTORY!!

Repeal hate speech provision: Moon report - Post.

Moon Report released - SDA.

Tuesday Update: Jonathan Kay on cystic fibrosis, and the disgrace of Carleton University’s Students’ Association - Post.

Wednesday Update: Our premier’s becoming a little too paternal - Jim Coyle (Record).

Post: Revise the Human Rights Act - Dr. Keith Martin. (Man, I’m glad he won that recount!)

Important Update : Safa Rigby responds in the Comment Section on the previous post .

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The media torch for the polygamy exposé in Toronto has now been passed to the National Post . John Turly-Ewart picks up the story today, and reveals that Safa Ribgy recently learned that her husband had not one, but two other wives:

…She’d followed her husband’s advice that she leave Toronto and live in Egypt for a year on the grounds that it would be better for their children to spend more time in a Muslim country. Now she knows it was a ruse. During her time there, he married two other women…

I really don’t understand why the CBC doesn’t base a series on this story, rather than Little Mosque on the Prairie. It would seem so much more realistic and relevant. Oh my, what a politically-incorrect notion that was! The Thought Police will surely get me now.

In any case, you can see the cultural brow-beating of Muslim women in this statement by Imam Aly Hindy , when Ms. Rigby confronted him about performing a marriage ceremony when he knew that her husband was already married:

“You will have to stand beside [your husband] in these difficult times,” Hindy told her. “You should stop causing problems to him. You will not get anything by divorce except destroying your life.”

Wow! Talk about emotional abuse.

Meanwhile, the Conservative opposition raised the question in Queen’s Park. Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin replied with the following bafflegab :

“Polygamy is a serious crime in Ontario. It’s not something that’s tolerated. As you know, the best advice I can give the honourable member opposite is that if she has any evidence that someone is engaging in multiple marriages, she should report it, because our Registrar General and our official reporting mechanisms have no evidence that that’s happening. As you know, Mr. Speaker, marriage is a contract. A contract requires a licence, and once a marriage occurs, it has to be registered. There are no multiple marriages being registered in the province of Ontario.”

As Turley-Ewart points out, just because a marriage hasn’t been officially registered, doesn’t mean that a crime wasn’t committed according to Section 293 of the criminal code:

…Contrary to Mr. McMeekin’s assertion in Ontario’s Legislature, there is no suggestion that a polygamous marriage has to be registered before the government can act. Indeed, the wording of Section 293 suggests the drafters sought to render illegal exactly this sort of situation.

By turning a blind eye to polygamy, Premier McGuinty is giving licence to shariah by stealth…

Dalton McGuinty is very good at appearing to do something with his fondness for bans on minor issues, but when it comes to really important stuff like upholding the law, then he runs for cover.

Meanwhile, the Safa Rigbys of Toronto live under the shadow of his tacit acceptance of Sharia law.

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Related : B.C. launches probe into polygamous community - CTV.

Tuesday Update: Good for Lisa Macleod - Tory MPP pushes for Ontario Polygamy Probe (Star).

I must give credit to the Toronto Star for continuing to push this story-line regarding the problem of polygamy in the Toronto Muslim community, and all the incipient harm that the practice is causing.

The case of Fouad Boutaya is particularly intriguing and somewhat tragic. It is tied into a previous report on the situation of Safa Rigby whose sad tale was revealed in the Star on May 24 . It was Safa’s story that encouraged Boutaya to disclose his own, because they are both the victims in the same case of polygamy.

To make a long story short, Safa Rigby married Hossny Ismail and they had 5 children. Meanwhile, Fouad Boutaya married a woman and had 2 children with her. Then Ismail and Boutaya’s wife decided to get married, even though she was still legally married to Boutaya . The religious ceremony was performed by Imam Aly Hindy .

Need a program? I don’t blame you.

The murky issue here is that the cloak of religious rights is being used to defend a polygamous union that has hurt both Rigby, Boutaya, and their combined 7 children. As Boutaya points out:

"This is not Islamic. Nothing about this marriage was Islamic," said Boutaya, who now has sole custody of his two children. "They used Islam to hide their affair."

According to the article, NDP MPP Andrea Horwath has been trying to get the government to address the issue of polygamy for years. But governments of all levels and stripes seem reluctant to get involved.

Once again, political correctness is undermining Canadian values. And the irony is that the very people who are being hurt are the ones that come to Canada with the hopes of a better life, and a strong belief that Canada is different - That a law here means something and is not to be broken.

And now their hearts and lives are broken instead.

Via a reader - British police support worker Philip Balmforth has been removed from his duties, and faces a disciplinary meeting for talking to the press about Asian girls in the school system who go missing and often end up in forced marriages - Policeman who exposed forced marriages faces sack for ’shaming’ his city.

So the ‘honour’ and image of the city is more important than trying to lessen the incidence of abduction and rape? And if we don’t hear about it, then it doesn’t happen?

Meanwhile we get a lesson here in how our poor Western morals make us ‘hypocrites’ for suggesting that forced marriages with children are anything but noble.

Canada should take note.

There are a number of issues here.

Should any kind of head covering be allowed for school bus drivers?

Should the media report when driver of a school bus involved in a fatal accident was wearing a head covering (scarf, hoodie, whatever)?

Should a newspaper who has allowed a columnist report the fact that the media isn’t reporting the head covering issue then go and remove the story when the heat gets turned up?

Is it racism if we discuss the issue at all?

The City of Cornwall, Ontario seems to be embroiled in their own little debate about using Yellow Ribbon decals to show support for the troops.

Coun. Elaine MacDonald said emergency services like police, fire and ambulance have to be impartial, and that could be jeopardized if the vehicles are bearing a message that evokes a strong reaction.

And even if the council does vote in favour of the motion, there is some confusion over just what colour should be used.

Meanwhile, I came across an interesting article in the Edmonton Journal by Paula Simons (I’m Seeing Red over Yellow Ribbons Supporting Troops). The subtitle is, “City of Edmonton has no business importing Bush’s toxic political baggage“.

Oh, boy. There’s a tip-off right there. But wait, there’s more:

…This is a controversial engagement, and plenty of thoughtful Edmontonians disagree with it. In the midst of all the contention, it is inappropriate to use city vehicles, paid for and fuelled by municipal tax dollars, for propaganda purposes…

Propaganda?

…But now, the yellow ribbon has become inextricably linked with American patriotism and an unquestioning faith in the policies of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Why import such toxic political baggage to Canada?

(You forgot the word ‘lockstep’, Paula.)

…We don’t need to import divisive American icons to show our support for our troops. We can do it our own Canadian way, with thought, respect and pragmatic purpose.

(So, it’s really about the fear of us looking too much like those rotten Americans, I guess.)

Anyway, it’s a scary insight into how a liberal mind works.

Well, 570 News reports that Waterloo Region has opted not to support the troops with decals; unlike Toronto, who caved to public pressure.

The Record reports that Chairman Ken Seiling worries that this would be “unfair” to other groups, and cites an Ontario Human Rights Commission ruling as his excuse. (Click Record - Front - Region Refuses Yellow Ribbon. I’ll supply direct link in comments.)

Anyway, we see in the Record story that Kerry Townson is still in the news spotlight; this time with a photo. She is advocating that municipal employees be allowed the option of showing their support:

Kerry Townson, spokesperson for Families of Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan said supporting Canadian soldiers shouldn’t be lumped in the same group as “a cause” or a charity.

“We’re talking about duty, about emotions, empathy and understanding. We’re not asking for money. It’s not a campaign to get elected. It’s not about policy.

“We simply want Canadians to understand that these are men and women who are doing what we’ve asked them to do and are risking their lives doing it.“

At the end of June, Toronto city council voted unanimously in favour of extending the one-year term of yellow ribbons on ambulances and fire trucks.

Shame on you, Waterloo Region!

Totally disgusting.

An Envoy Explains Why (Ottawa Citizen):

“I fully believe in the righteousness of what we are doing in Afghanistan, whether for us Afghans to try and rebuild our country, or our international friends, who are there to lend us a hand.

(That all segued rather nicely.)

570 News Update: Police Say No To Support Our Troops Stickers. Yet London Police have found a way around it. Too bad Waterloo Regional Police can’t.

Lorrie Goldstein treats us to a very politically incorrect POV today - “No worries - We’re studying it”.

Much of the violence involves black people killing each other — which the left claims is racist to mention and the right claims nobody ever mentions … every time they mention it.

(Well, somebody has to say it, Lorrie.)

And does anyone know why Ottawa brings so many people into Canada who can’t speak English, provides almost no help to teach them, and then wonders why some turn to crime? Gee, hard to see that one coming, eh?

Finally, black men who father babies and abandon the mothers increase the chances their male sons will become gangsters, and black women who have these children, knowing the man won’t be around, do themselves, their child and society no favours.

But according to our lib/left politicians (mayor, premier, etc.) we shouldn’t discuss that.

Yep. Nobody wants to talk about that stuff.

On the plus side, in another editorial Lorrie points out that gang raids seem to work, but asks if the courts will do their part.

I’m not optimistic.

Continuing with the theme of religion on this Easter weekend, George Jonas has a very thought-provoking column in today’s Post (Throwing the Holocaust down a memory hole).

It actually ties in very nicely with yesterday’s discussion about Michael Smith’s essay, Religion in a Secular Society. If I can simply Smith’s argument, it is that a true secular society allows the free discussion of all viewpoints; not the exclusion of faith itself.

This is all related to political-correctness and multiculturalism, which George Jonas seems to feel has gone way over board trying to appease the ever-increasing influence of Muslim immigration and population growth. And if we look to Britain, we can see the writing on the wall for Canada.

Jonas points to a recent Daily Mail article citing a study that shows that British schools are “dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils“.

It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.

There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.

Jonas likens this situation to Orwell’s famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where “past events that didn’t sit well with Big Brother went into a memory hole”.

Michael Smith notes:

The trend in our country and elsewhere to consign religious communities to the private realm is, in fact, a drift toward intolerance, despite claims to the contrary.

Religious communities must continue to speak and act in the public realm and to propose policies for the common good.

Will Britain’s problems become ours someday?

If we allow ourselves to be goaded into silence, I fear that may well be the case.