Thursday digest
- Graffitti sprayed across downtown Ottawa this morning tells me that there's an upcoming anarchist conference, scheduled for July 15, dedicated to getting Canada out of Afghanistan.
Couldn't they have at least used Facebook instead of defacing public property, or would that just water down their anti-establishment street cred?
- Sociologists are commenting on the Driftwood Crips takedown in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto yesterday and suggesting that gangsterism is the result of poverty. While it may be a minor factor, I don't see how struggling to make ends meet explain 4-year olds getting shot in drive-bys, something which occurred there in August 2005. What's much more likely is that what's gone on in this neighbourhood is the result of passivity towards lawlessness, a culture where strong male role models are nowhere to be found and the definition of masculinity among youth is closely related to the glorification of violence and sexual promiscuity rather than achieving academic success or building a respectable career path for yourself.
As far as the bleeding hearts go, I'd say it's far more likely that attitudes create poverty rather than other way around.
It's long past time to get real about this.
- The NHL doesn't even want to meet with Jim Balsillie to discuss the future of the Nashville Predators, which may or may not include a potential move to Hamilton, Ontario.
This has TML fingerprints all over it. What is their front office so afraid of?
posted by Road Hammer @ 9:54 AM
18 comments
18 Comments:
"anarchist conference, scheduled for July 15..."
This is funny - shoulndn't anarchists, by definition, be unable to organize conferences? That's pretty contrived anarchy!
Only in Canada!
I wonder if the group has a marketing division, and that's why they are advertising so far in advance?
I found your comments on the Crips byline to be out of line.
First, it's Yonge & Eglinton. Try reading the signs sometime.
Second, how were his comments "out of line"?
Tory tax cuts are financed by cutting social housing, by cutting welfare, by cutting people's basic entitlements. You have such injustice going on in this province that it needs to be challenged massively and with a force that can actually defeat it and defeat the political forces that are responsible for it.
It starts with YOU.
Entitlements.
I love that.
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Hmmm... we've had a Liberal government in Ontario for four years (I'd argue it's actually been five, since Eves was no conservative) and for the most part the federal government has been Liberal (the last year aside). Blaming Mike Harris is a cop-out. Besides, I don't think that a lack of social housing and welfare has ever been a problem in that neighbourhood.
Sorry about that ... I had a "publish your comment" malfunction.
I strongly believe that structural concerns help to foster cultural patterns - especially in lower income areas. Blaming violence on inner city culture is only half of the equation.
And also, poverty like most things in our world is not an automatic process.
Speaking of automatic, there was another shooting there yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon. Leaving aside Mike Harris' obvious culpability, I'd like to know why other cities in Ontario such as Kitchener, Hamilton, London, Sudbury, North Bay, Windsor and Ottawa aren't infected by such an epidemic of violence if province-wide public policy choices, which, as you argue, determine one's lot in life, are to blame.
Y&E, how the F did you learn to spell - with "hooked on phonics"? Like David said, it's Yonge and Eglinton. Even if you were spelling it phonetically, it should be "Young" not "Younge". If the Ontario government has failed, it's failed you in not teaching you how to spell correctly.
My teachers were all on strike against Mr. Harris and Co. so you will have to forgive my lapsed education.
Obviously your parents didn't keep a lot of books, magazines or newspapers around the house, either.
...as to expose me to Conrad Black's propaganda?
Why read when you can watch TV, I guess ...
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