It was the worst of years. The year when the crazed tyrant Stephen Harper ripped a giant hole in the fabric of Canada, chewed on its heart and its liver, and lied through his bloody teeth.
It was the year of the ugly Canadian.
“Imagine a single person who always thought they were better than everyone else—what kind of relationships would they have? What would they be like to be around? Imagine that multiplied by the power of a nation, and it can spell big trouble.”
When the morons assaulted our country and its values like a pack of wolves, made ignorance and petty chauvinism a virtue, and shamed us in the eyes of the world.
It was a year of infinite sadness.
Pretty lady from Metric please play this song for Bruce and all the other victims of bigotry...
So we can let them know that love makes us strong, we are not afraid, and we will never forget them.
And remember too that for all that sadness, it was also a year of RESISTANCE.
When the Gay Freedom Army won some major victories, and helped make the world a little safer for bullied kids.
We stopped the gun lobby dead in its tracks.
And many ordinary Canadians, young and old, took to the streets to let the tyrant know that enough is ENOUGH.
Oh great K'naan play this freedom song for them...
So the whole world can know that our spirit is unbroken. And even in Harper's ugly Canada freedom LIVES.
As for me, now that I have seen the face of fascism...
I promise to fight Cons, bigots, and bullies harder than I ever have before.
And do all I can to unite progressives so we can deposit those who would steal our country, squealing and broken, in the garbage can of history.
Hey Broken Social Scene play this song one more time for me...
For there WILL be change, we WILL get our country back, we WILL save the planet, and the truth will set us FREE. Or there will be hell to pay.
Remember Omar Khadr, and all the other victims of Stephen Harper and his ugly Canadians.
2010 was a horrible year, but 2011 will be better.
Thank you for reading this humble blog.
From me, Sébastien, and of course, our old dog.
Who is wearing his
The future belongs to us... if we are willing to fight for it.
Happy New Year everybody !!!!
Love you Simon! Happy New Year to you and your family (Sebastien and Kerouac).
ReplyDeleteK'naan's beautiful song is so perfect, so hopeful. Being in SA for the FIFA World Cup was the best moment of my year, possibly the decade.
Happy New Year to you, as well as Sebastien and Kerouac!
ReplyDeletehi Beijing...OMG. I didn't know you were in SA for the World Cup. That must have been awesome. It was certainly one of the highlights of the year for me.
ReplyDeleteSebastien and I send you our best wishes for a Happy New Year. And I'm sure Kerouac will too once he's recovered from all the excitement. For some reason whenever we throw a party the old hound thinks everybody is there to see him. And of course, when he wears his bunny hat, he IS the life of the party.... :)
hi CK...thanks a lot.I was sorry not to be in Montreal to ring in the New Year, because I've had some wild ones, and I love the way the boats in the port used to blow their horns at midnight. And then there was the night I climbed the cross on Mount Royal. But I don't brag about that one anymore in case the authorities are still looking for me. ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your loved ones !!!!
you may not like harper but he is making canada rich by harvesting the oil sands and he is responsible for millions of people having jobs. would you rather live in obama's america?
ReplyDeleteSimon, Laura K of we move to Canada just alerted us at DJ that magnolia 2000 is a long-time troll.
ReplyDeleteTroll Alert.
Hi Simon,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
I appreciate your posts on Omar Khadr.
I'm disgusted by this case and so disappointed in our government and in most Canadians who don't seem to realize what a horrible abuse of human rights and justice it is.
Thanks for writing about it. I'm sure one day everybody will recognize this case for what it is, just like we now recognize cases like this from the past, where a few good people stood up for what was right. You're one of those people.
Good for you!
Diane W.
hi Magnolia...Harper is not making us rich. The oil sands project began long before he came to power, the banks were regulated by other governments, and Harper is spending public money like a drunken sailor.
ReplyDeleteAnd no I wouldn't rather live in Obama's America. I'd rather stay right here and vote for a more competent government...
hi Fern...thanks for the heads-up. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't get many comments so I'm not usually bothered by trolls. I'm always polite to anyone who leaves a comment no matter how strongly I may disagree with them. And I expect the same from them. And if they're not I just delete them...
hi Diane...thanks and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones !!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I couldn't help thinking of Omar Khadr on New Year's Eve. As I've said many times before I consider his case to be Canada's Dreyfuss case, and one of the worst cases of injustice in this country's history. Like you I am confident that history will so record it. Decent Canadians will be vindicated, and the guilty will be shamed FOREVER. As soon as I hear anything from Guantanamo you can be sure I will be writing about it...