Golly. I knew the day would come that somebody would recognize my brilliant videos eh?
I just wish my first review was a little more positive.
Personally, I don’t think that Harper is the Dark Lord of the Sith or the Devil incarnate, but I have to admit to being somewhat apprehensive about what a Harper majority government might do should things shake out that way. Even so, ridiculous, infantile scare-mongering like the video clip posted above demonizing Harper (almost quite literally), serves no good purpose whatsoever.
Now look, I like Red Tory a lot, I always have, and that review won't change anything in that regard. But I'm not apologizing for ANYTHING. Because that's MY nightmare not his.
As a gay guy who is also a strong supporter of the rights of women and poor people, I do consider Stephen Harper as the most dangerous political leader in Canadian history, I dread what he might do if he ever got a majority.
And everything I said in that video is true. He is an authoritarian thug. He has gone after women and gay people. He is in favour of the death penalty. I truly believe he wants to strangle medicare.
And if my videos appeal to emotion rather than just reason it's because I feel that if Canadians don't fear a Harper majority he will get one. And if I demonize Harper and his Cons it's because I believe in giving bullies a taste of their own medicine.
But then why I am surprised eh? Most of the other big progressive blogs, with the honorable exception of the Galloping Beaver, have never encouraged me. Just marginalized me like some dumb kid....or a faggot. When I am neither.
I'm deadly serious, I've written more than 2000 posts, and I can't help it if I'm naturally playful.
Oh well. Those pompous poobahs can ignore me, or call me infantile or hyperbolic, but I just call them BORING. And they are the ones who should be ashamed of themselves for discouraging younger Canadians from blogging .
So although I'm a bit depressed, I will continue to make to make my humble videos, because I think that videos are the best way to motivate young Canadians to vote. And if I can get ONE of them to do that I would be very happy and satisfied. And feel that I made a difference.
Which is not to say that I'm not sorry about something in my last video eh?
I really should have reduced the volume of that beeping heart monitor. Because this old guy thought it was the smoke detector.
And I found him shaking like a leaf under the bed.
Instead of ruling over it with his bunny crown...
But that's OK too. Because even he recognizes how terrible a Harper majority would be eh?
Knows that if one of his two daddies was in prison, he'd get
And with that we pick ourselves off the floor.
And on the way we go.
Stephen Harper IS the Devil incarnate.
And a Dark Lord of the Sith....
Simon I love your blog and I share your fear of what that lipstick wearing dictator hateful of all that is Canada would do to this great country. He'd destroy it period. Keep up the good work! I read your blog every day and cheer it on. Let the 'old progressives' whine all they like. Nice guys finish last.
ReplyDeleteThis IS the election to drop the gloves or it's all over.
If he was that miffed, why not make a comment on your blog, apparently you take them. I like your videos, fuck the assholes, juvenile on ;)
ReplyDeleteSimon,
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the best, most refreshingly unique bloggers in Canada. Keep up the great work!
p2p
Unfortunately, progressives have in their midst far more reasonable people than the right has. We also have some so reasonable they want to acquiesce to the right, allowing them to steam roll over us without a squeak. That's why we keep losing.
ReplyDeleteIt is in a liberal's psyche for us to be the adults in the room, to listen and to compromise.
That does not work with the new breed of Conservative (or Republican). We have to fight back for our survival, not just as progressives but as Canadians.
Harper may not be a monster, but he is governing like one. Pretending otherwise is irresponsible. PINOs are crawling out of the woodwork, clutching pearls at our increased aggressive hyperbole and colourful language. They are concern trolling our comments and writing posts demeaning our efforts, childish and as extreme as they may seem to be.
But we must do it. We can't keep fighting fire with a wet blanket. We're in a full on Con blaze mode now and small, prim entreaties are not going to work anymore. So, take heart Simon, fight on. It's the only way to wake up the sleeping giant of the majority of Canadians not aligned with Harper but not inspired by our formerly effete efforts to promote progress and highlight the sins and incompetencies of the Cons.
Sigh... my own father told me I should vote in the advance poles and then take a vacation in Costa Rica (where my partner is from). Then I wrote "A tyrant's job is so much easier when the apathetic populace is complicit with his plans for the demise of democracy",and I realized that even our closet family and friends are regular Canadians who eat breakfast with milk and cereal, and not with opinions of the future of our country. Let it go, you have an opinion, state it loud and clear! If someone does not agree with it, fantastic; it means you got to someone.
ReplyDeleteI said at RT's the only problem I had with this video and thought it went over the top with was the hanging references, aside from that I thought it was well done and a good hard hitting gut check on the risks of a Harper government. Your nightmares of a post Harper majority government Canada are not much darker than mine given everything I've read of yours on the topic (as I said before you don't have any darker a view of the man than I do, and I've been warning about the dangers of Harper since well before he gained the PMO, just not always as in a blunt a fashion as you, and that is as much a stylistic difference in our basic natures as anything else), and I have never mocked your views nor your right to them.
ReplyDeletePersonally I am glad your voice is out there, both as a foe of Harper and of a politically active and aware gay man who also has some serious issues with bullying. While I may think you go a little too far at times (like that is uncommon in the political blogosphere, indeed I would argue you go far less over the top in both frequency and degree than many of the impassioned voice online across the political spectrum), overall you certainly strike me as a well needed voice and one I am glad to read on a regular basis as I have been doing now for some months.
You have a more directly confrontational style than I do, which is a good thing as it is a needed quality as much as my more long winded dissertation style is also a quality that has it's place too (even if I find that a bit strange at times myself) but just because people have different styles does not make them bad, wrong, or people that should be quiet. Speaking for myself I hope you are at the beginning of a very lengthy history of such commentary and writings voices like yours are certainly needed out here. Just so you know that while I may not always agree with you on everything I certainly value your voice and what you do.
Take care and be well...
Scotian
Bye the way Simon, I proudly posted your video on my blog.
ReplyDeleteOMG, just re-watched the video, and you are freaking fantastic!
ReplyDeletehi anonymous...thank you for your support. And I agree that it IS time to drop the gloves. I realize I am far from perfect, but I was rather pleased with my latest video.
ReplyDeleteSo that review came as a rude shock.
But as I tell all my detractors, I'm poor, I've got the cheapest editing program on the market which keeps crashing all the time. And I'm too lazy to read the instructions. So waddya expect? Fellini? :)
Hi WILLY...I don't know why he didn't because it sure would have been less embarrassing. But don't be too hard on Red, I meant it when I said I'm quite fond of him...even when he's grumpy. I can see myself as a waiter serving him scones at some posh hotel in Victoria. And hoping he doesn't throw one at me. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for your support,I appreciate it,and I'll try to make my next video better...
hi anonymous two...thanks for that comment. And thanks for supporting my blog so much. I don't get many comments but I enjoy them all.
ReplyDeleteJust like I enjoy all the different progressive bloggers. Everyone has their own style, and so do I. Vive la difference !!! :)
Don't change my friend You're number one in my books and I never miss a post. Your uniqueness and passion are most welcome
ReplyDeleteSimon, Canadians lack political involvement and a passion for our democracy. You embody involvement and passion and even though you and I don't agree sometimes, I admire your lust for political justice and drive to get the word out.
ReplyDeleteYou are emotional about it sometimes, but my God, it's awesome to see somebody care for a change. :)
hi Jymn...I'm actaully I big believer in the power of reason. Believe it or not I have a scientific background. But as you point out when you're up against the Cons that can be like turning up for a gun fight with a knife or an umbrella. I think there's also something very Canadian that conditions us to avoid or look badly upon emotion. But in the communication age we're in, emotion can move voters more than just reason. And really when you think about it, whether we like it or not, this election will be largely decided by whether undecided voters consider a Harper majority a scary thing or not.
ReplyDeleteOur side should also offer hope, but if you don't wake up Canadians, it's difficult to get their attention, and that's what Harper is counting on.
We've got thirteen days to change that or this country is in real trouble...
hi James...I know how you feel. I can't believe how apathetic so many people are. Or worse. I spoke to one of my friend's mother today on the phone. She lives in a small town and a very nice person. So I was shocked when she told me she was thinking of working for the Cons. I asked her why and she repeated all the Con talking points.
ReplyDeleteThe Cons just want to help old people and families. And Mr Harper just wants a chance to govern. As soon as I hung up, I called my friend and told him to tell his mother that the Cons don't care about old people, unless they're rich, and she isn't. And that they want to put her son in PRISON !!!!! I know Red wouldn't approve of that, but at this point I'm desperate... :)
hi Scotian...yes I saw your comment. And I can understand how you might find that hanging shot a bit too much. But it's taken from a film, no humans were harmed in this video,I've been an opponent of capital punishment since the age of thirteen. And the thought that the Cons might bring it back absolutely horrifies me.
ReplyDeleteI should also say that I find your blog a very decent and very Canadian place. There are still a lot of decent Canadians left, and the fact that Harper has taken advantage of that decency enrages me because that's what bullies do.
Although you're not one of them, too many Canadians couldn't believe that something like the Harper regime could happen here, and we're all going to pay for that BIG TIME.
Finally, I do agree that sometimes I'm over the top. I started writing as part of an anger management program when I was a teenager, and although I've made a lot of progress sometimes I forget myself. I do try not to be mean to other bloggers, and I'm never rude to anyone who leaves a comment even if I strongly disagree with them. So there's still hope for me, unless the Cons get a majority, and then all bets are off... :)
hi James...I'm glad you liked my video. I can't even look at it anymore because I'm so embarrassed by what Red Tory said. However, if you and others keep saying nice things about it I might have to change my tuque, because my head won't fit in it. At least that's Sebastien's view. But I think he's just jealous... ;)
ReplyDeletehi Kev...why thank you. But your blog also embarrasses me because it's so decent and readable, and you deal with all the subjects like poverty and homelessness,and the treatment of the mentally ill, that I would like to write about if I wasn't so obsessed with the foulness of the bully Cons. The day they are defeated this blog will be very different...after I've celebrated for about two weeks.
ReplyDeleteThen people will see that I'm actually a very gentle and shy person, and not the hyperbolic infantile some people think I am...:)
hi prin...yes I must say I've been shocked by the lack of concern so many people appear to have about Harper's assaults on our democracy. I also know that you don't agree with everything I say, and when I stumble upon some of the things I've written I don't blame you. I just hope you and others realize that although I'm sometimes too passionate in a country where that is not seen as a virtue, and I badly need an editor, I care deeply about the humblest people in society, so my head may be in the clouds, but my heart is in the right place... :)
ReplyDeleteSimon,I read your blog almost every day.Never change what you're doing! Whenever I am down and depressed about politics in this country( and apathy towards Harper and just how dangerous he really is and would be with a majority) I read your words and you give me hope.Thanks for all you do. The next two weeks will be hard-waiting to see what will happen but I know I can come here and be inspired by you.Merci!
ReplyDeleteWell, here is a 66 year old Grandma who likes your blog just the way it is. These are serious issues you are discussing and the issues deserve passion. I get so tired of people who insist that we all shut up and be nice little ladies and gentlemen. Heaven forbid that we raise our voices against somethings that are just plain wrong, unfair, and unjust. Rattle their cages some more, you've got their attention. Of note: he shared your video with his crop of readers !
ReplyDelete"Although you're not one of them, too many Canadians couldn't believe that something like the Harper regime could happen here, and we're all going to pay for that BIG TIME." MS 1:15 am
ReplyDeleteI've said for many years and not just since Harper started to appear like a serious national leadership potential that one of the most dangerous of all mindsets is "well it (whatever it may be) can't happen here" and it almost seems like it is a prerequisite condition for whatever can't happen here starting to actually happen here! History is filled with such examples, and I always loved history so that is partly why I am as aware of the dangers Harper represents and has always represented since he first came to my attention back in the late 1980s.
I remember many people in this country who were even gloating about it when GWB first came to be President, how such a person and agenda could never ever succeed here, and yet we have spent the last five years with a Straussian PM who is of the same fundamental belief structure in his political views as Dick Cheney since both men clearly were heavily influenced by Leo Strauss in their developing years and since. Given that the GWB Presidency in reality was more the Cheney Presidency with a Bush stooge as the frontman the fact that it is happening here and in so few years just underscores how dangerous such thinking can be.
Thank you for your kind words about my blog, despite it having been inactive for the past couple of years (health issues alas). I chose to take the approach I did because it is measured, reasoned and as you said a very traditional Canadian approach to politics, but as you also had to notice I did not pull my punches on what I saw in the Harper government either, even if I used less blunt language than many might choose to do so with. In part that is because it is what comes naturally to me, but it also was in part to underscore just how radically out of the mainstream the Harper approach to politics truly was and is. Part of the reason so many people who are not political junkies don't see Harper for what he is is because they still think we are operating under the old rules, and that the comments calling him contemptuous of Parliament, our fundamental governing processes, and fundamentally anti-democratic are simply overblown political rhetoric and exaggeration instead of actually being reality.
It is political junkies that see this, because we do pay enough attention over the long haul, because we know we cannot trust the media to tell us anywhere near the truth about what this government truly acts like (whatever the reasons you want to list as why the hard reality is that this government gets a much less aggressive examination by our national media on average than any prior government I have ever seen in my 40+ years of life) and raise the alarm that it is truly outside the traditional norms for our political context.
It also doesn't help that the NDP doesn't act like the CPC is all that bad when they treat the CPC and the Libs the same way as they always have with the Lib Tory same old story approach. For the more detached political voters they think if Harper truly was so bad surely the party that has traditionally placed principles over politics and seats would have dedicated itself to preventing the rise or failing that bringing it down as soon as possible without faction fighting with their electoral rivals the Libs. But there again the average Canadian who does not follow politics closely does not know that under Layton the NDP has fundamentally changed form being that party of principles first to being one that places defeating the Libs for seats as the most important focus even if that allows for a Harper majority government.
It can't happen here is alas happening here, indeed already happened here for the past 5 years and will be far worse if Harper gets a majority this time.
If Harper gets a majority -- which is my nightmare too -- I'm going to blame all the people who think he's 'not so bad'. And all the people who are too bloody high-minded to vote strategically.
ReplyDeleteLook south. See what the Tea Baggers are doing. Because they can.
Harper will do the same.
Simon, keep it up.
Well...just so you know..I luff you and your blogs...in a grandmother-y way, of course. You rock! keep them coming!
ReplyDeletehi Emma...thank you so much for your sweet comment. We do live in a dark time, but if I can help encourage good people like you not to lose heart, I consider myself lucky. Remember...we are better than them, we are more of them, and if we work together to get out the vote, and vote smart, we can stop the tyrant in his tracks. Won't that be a beautiful day? :)
ReplyDeletehi Grandma...thank you for your support. I must say I have been overwhelmed by all the messages I have received. I'm pretty shy so my ears are turning red. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I'm so grateful, and so encouraged that so many people are willing to stand up against things that as you say are wrong, unfair and unjust.
I can't pretend that I haven't been a bit shook up, but I will continue to rattle the Con cage, and if we all pull together, I'm still confident we can get our country back... :)
hi Scotian...don't ever change the way you are, because you are so wonderfully Canadian. Nobody should have to shout like I sometimes do to stand up for something so basic as respect for democracy. But as you point out, one of the biggest obstacles we face is getting Canadians to believe that yes indeed it CAN happen here. I suppose it's a tribute to our country that so many feel that way, but it's also terribly dangerous. I've tried to explain that by saying that that the Harper Cons were like some new virus that the body doesn't recognize. What encourages me is that a lot of Canadians now recognize it, and are fighting back as hard as they can.
ReplyDeleteAs for the infighting among progressive parties, it deeply depresses me, because at this time in Canadian history we simply must put our country before our parties. We must be better than that or history will never forgive us...
hi Fern...like you I can't understand why so many Canadians can't seem to see what is happening south of the border, with the teabaggers going after women's rights, medicare, seniors and poor people.
ReplyDeleteThe Harper Cons are just Republican clones masquerading as a Canadian party.
Our political leaders should be incorporating all of the above into their attacks on the Harperites, but they too seem blind.
I commend your efforts to get people to vote strategically because I also believe that is probably the best way to stop the Cons. Also like you I have no time for progressives who would put their party before the Canada we love at this critical time in our history.
So if you keep it up, I will too... :)
hi anonymous...well as long as it's just a a grandmother-y way. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I am fixated on getting young people to get off their behinds and vote, but I love the support I receive from seniors most of all. Both my grannies were a huge influence in my life, teaching me to stand up for myself and the rights of women and poor people. So I'm just trying to make them proud of me, and hope that the one who is still alive forgives me for the rude words I sometimes use. ;)
Yup. All together young and old for a better Canada...
Hi Simon
ReplyDeleteAnother grandmother here who thinks your blog is great.
Do not let the nay-sayers get you down. Just keep being Montreal Simon.
We love it!!
hi anonymous...Wow. Another grandmother. I LOVE it !!! :)
ReplyDeleteOK. One more and I say we form a granny gang, and teach those Cons a lesson. :)
Seriously though, thank you for your sweet words of enouragement.
It might take me a few days to get up the courage to make a new video, but I'm feeling so much better now...