The issue is not guns, it’s civil liberties

black panthers

Viva Frei on Trudeau’s gun ban on “assault-style” weapons:

Global News, what a ban on “assualt-style” weapons means for legal gun owners:

Brian Lilley, Trudeau’s gun ban will do nothing but cost us money:

CBC (2013), Gun Culture in Canada:

CTV News, Premier Ford criticizes federal assault rifle ban, buyback program:

True North, Scapegoating lawful gun owners:

Michelle Rempel, Trudeau’s firearms confiscation must be stopped:

CCFR, Trudeau Assault Weapons Ban:

 

 

Civil Liberties

 

Let’s just get right into this. We are two months into the biggest violation of Canadians’ civil liberties as we all try to #stayhome during a government imposed lockdown. Now for lack of better tools, it has served to battle the Covid19. But with still no end date to this isolation mandate, it has felt more like Covid1984. There has been a lot of positives to come out of this lockdown and it may be necessary to save lives. But while people are getting ticketed, for walking dogs or sitting on benches, by Gestapo-like police task forces Trudeau came out this week curtailing our freedoms even more by effective immediately making 150 guns illegal to own in Canada. Once again, Canadians are less liberal by this “liberal” government.

 

Ezra Levant covers Ontario mom handcuffed after taking daughter to playground:

 

While no one is really surprised by this, because the liberals campaigned on gun bans, it just falls so tone deaf and opportunistic that I believe it’s truly revealing the depth of the modern liberal ideology. With people forced to stay home we cannot discuss this among our friends and peers. We would be mocked and condemned if we attempted to form a protest that disrespected the physical distancing guidelines in any way. MPs have been told to conduct their parliamentary duties virtually as glitches and literacy issues compromise any useful content. The official opposition leadership has been suspended up to now and there’s no way that Canadians would accept an election right now with everything going on so it would be political suicide to bring forth a non-confidence vote. Combined with these emergency measures that have empowered this government, they implemented this new legislation without passing it through the house of commons for debate and critique.

We can agree to disagree on gun bans themselves but that’s a totally separate issue from what we can agree is a completely undemocratically implemented law from a minority government whos new law affects a majority of Canadians who would not have voted Liberal in the first place. This isn’t just a debate, by the way. This is something that affects 2.2 000 000 Canadians. These are real, living, breathing people who are directly impacted by these bans. That deserves a debate in the house of commons at the very least. But with the stroke of a pen Trudeau declared many of these people criminals. With a 2 year grandfather clause and buy-back initiatives but that doesn’t change the fact that these weapons have now been criminalized. It’s really not that the Trudeau government dislikes disparities themselves, they just want to ensure that the disparities travel in only one direction.

 

CCFR Channel on legal gun owners:

CTV News with Erin O’Toole wanting gun control measures to go through the house:

 

 

Canadian VS American Gun Culture

 

Now I’ll just be totally upfront. I don’t own a gun nor do I feel the need to own a gun. I don’t sport shoot or hunt even though I have been to shooting ranges several times for fun and would love to go hunting someday. I don’t know that I can sufficiently build the most appropriate defence for gun ownership but as a free individual this ban still affects me as it still infringes on my freedoms. And in many circumstances in the past, Canadians have been put in seriously compromising and dangerous situations.

 

TVO Steve Paikin in discussion with Christie Blatchford on her book Helpless:

 

Situations like Caledonia as thoroughly documented by Christine Blatchford’s book Helpless. Where police, at the behest of politicians and political agendas, refused to enforce the law and put hundreds or law abiding Canadian lives at risk. Perhaps things would’ve gone differently if they had formed their own local militia. But despite all odds, locals appealed to their better nature and did not devolve into a tribalized gun culture seeking to emancipate themselves from civilization at the first sign of trouble.

It’s important to note that often when we see politicized coverage of gun culture, most of that comes from the states. Where there is a big difference between gun rights and gun issues than here in Canada. The biggest difference being that gun ownership is an actual constitutional right whereas here in Canada is it a privilege in the same way that obtaining the licensing to drive vehicles is a privilege. Which are two totally different conversations. I think we do a piss poor job at protecting civil liberties and after seeing how easy it is for politicians to bully law abiding innocent people, I believe it serves to argue in favour of the American model more than the Canadian.

The problem with honour systems and privileges is that authoritarians love trampling all over them. Establishing a privilege as a constitutional right builds in protections for the people against the government. But It seems to me that Canadians have generally become reliant on government to the extent that we like being controlled. We like being told what to do because then we don’t need to think for ourselves. It’s no wonder that politics has become about as tribalized as professional wrestling because if you’re going to forfeit your liberties you want your team at the helm.

That’s ok. We just need the right politician leading the country to make liberals regret this more than ever for them to wake up to the reality of the value of independence. We’re seeing that in America right now. America’s republic has much better controls in place to prevent abuse of power by authorities but with the expanding the power of executive orders over years has now backfired against democrats there as Trump has leaned on executive orders to govern basically however he wishes, regardless what senators say on matters. So be it, they get what they deserve. Maybe they’ll scale back executive orders once Trump is out of office.

In one country if you’re arguing for gun control you’re arguing against individual constitutional rights. That’s different than regulating a privilege. I personally feel that Canada has the better approach to guns. If someone abuses their privileges then those privileges can be taken away. But a free and democratic society acknowledges individual sovereignty and so to curtail those liberties is an extremely serious thing. This is why I am so disturbed by modern liberals who seem hell bent on constantly lecturing us all on what type of Canadian is a “good” Canadian. Modern liberals who regard our social safety nets to be more of a kind allowance by daddy politician, as moralized budgetary spending items continue to trend.

Most Canadians are not gun owners. And an unfortunate side effect to that is a lot of ignorance around guns, gun laws and gun owners. And like everything else, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that something should just be banned when you have little expertise to draw from when evaluating complex issues. It’s no different than censoring free speech. We all want to have the freedom to express ourselves but the second we hear something we don’t like we want to condemn it, deplatform it, contest it in every way possible. It’s the laziest method of debate but we all engage in it because we’re all scared that just maybe we’re the ones who are wrong. That could reveal some disturbing details about ourselves that would be far more comfortable to ignore.

“Facts don’t care about your feelings,” -Ben Shapiro

Styxhexxenhammer666 speculates on Trudeau’s Gun ban:

 

Gun Issue(s)

 

What I want to invite everyone to do here is to attempt to broaden the conversation that’s being had. If we’re going to discuss negative gun issues then we can’t also ignore the positive gun issues. Just think to every social justice movement of the past. What if the black panthers didn’t have access to guns. Could they have been as effective? Were lives lost as a direct result of their actions? Yes. They were effectively domestic terrorists. But they forced all of America to have a very uncomfortable conversation. A conversation that America struggles to have even today. I don’t think removing the use of the word “nigger” from Huckleberry finn is going to produce the same results. Gun rights are black rights.

And while we’re reviewing the days of old, let’s rate how successful the prohibition was. I mean, it made for great business for Canada and started organized crime in America. Just collateral damage for a greater cause. They argued back then too that nobody “needs” booze. And now the LCBO is an essential service. And this all coming from the guy who legalized weed. Now Trudeau is demanding a border shut down while Trump is calling for open borders. What the actual fuck is going on? This truly is clown world.

The whole necessity argument liberals make is precisely the slippery slope gun owners worry about. Who “needs” alcohol? Who “needs” weed? Who “needs” cigarettes? Access to public discourse, sugar, tanning salons, harmful cosmetics, excessive caffine, etc, etc, etc? Amidst a morbid obesity epidemic it would seem totally reasonable to ban unhealthy eating habits. You can make a case for why you don’t need anything but air and sustenance. But this isn’t about needs, is it? It’s about wants. And what I want is to have complete control of my life and my life choices. Who needs a ruling elite constantly deciding for you what your needs are?

One of the many differences between men and women is that women are far more vulnerable to domestic violence than men. There are women who check the back seat of their car every time they get in. They experience anxiety from merely having someone walking behind them in confined spaces like parking garages. Some women check every room of their home when they walk in. Personal security is a women’s issue. It’s always confused me why women weren’t more supportive of female gun ownership. If she’s packing, now it’s the dude who’s at the disadvantage. Gun rights are women’s rights.

This to say nothing about sports and hunting and farming and animal population control. You can actually be a gun collector and not Hitler at the same time. This is not so different from the abortion debate or drug legalization and others. These are complicated issues that require more voices not less. I’ve said many times before and I’ll say again that I have no right to tell an Albertan not to own a gun and an Albertan has no right to tell me not to get an abortion. Not to say that I, personally, would ever require one. I’m sure there’s a better example out there somewhere.

Sweeping blanket solutions often fail to work for anyone. And this is where I fall back on my libertarian sentiments and believe that it is not the role of the federal government to dictate terms to the provinces. In fact it should be the other way around. The feds should embody what it is the provinces are championing. Policy making should be a bottom-up approach, not top-down. Quebec has decided to prioritize it’s cultural identity of secularism and francophone language and tradition over pluralism. You are allowed to practice your personal faith and traditions within your own home, within your community but when you are representing the government in any way you must convey Quebec values first and foremost.

There’s no doubt that it is discrimination and if this is truly something Quebecers want then they should put it to a vote and then respect the outcome of the referendum. Using the non-withstanding-clause is no way to implement such significant policies. But if that’s truly what Quebec wants, we should all be prepared to respect the outcome of that referendum. Part of the agreement during confederation was that Quebec was to keep it’s language, culture and traditions. That was the day Canada became a multicultural country. On the basis of acknowledging provincial sovereignty.

That is the only way we’re going to produce the most ideal outcomes to these complex issues. It needs to be left up to the provinces. And from there it’s up to those within the province to sort out. Right now the government is telling the entire country what to do based on a mandate given to them by Ontario. How’s that for a disparity? Would today’s Canada allow Quebec to keep that culture? Is that very tolerant? I think Quebec could find a much better way of handling other faiths and religious symbols and I hope they do strike a better balance to respect individual freedoms as I do feel this is in conflict with the federal charter of rights to practice one’s faith freely. But again, that is not my battle. As a Canadian I am a voice in that discussion but as an Ontarian, it’s not my place to dictate terms to Quebec. That’s all Ontario is doing with gun bans. Toronto is free to ban whatever gun it likes as cities should be in control of their own destiny. But it should end there.

News and narratives

 

Notice that I have yet to really talk about guns. Because I don’t need to be a gun owner to be impacted by this curtailing of freedom. But I suppose it’s time to more specifically address the elephant in the room. And that has to start with the wolf in sheep’s clothing, the head of the G20 debacle in Toronto, Bill Blair. If you know anything about guns or gun laws as they existed prior to this new ban, you can easily see right through Blair as his overt mischaracterizations and outright lies are totally transparent. He has placed himself as the authority over otherwise non-partisan police departments.

 

Sheila Gunn Reid covering CCFR interview with Bill Blair back in Oct. 2019:

True North, Politicizing a tragedy:

In this True North clip specifically at 15:15 – 18:20 you see the moment the spokeswoman for the RCMP actually turns to Bill Blair for him to take control of questioning to interject the political narrative. Both Trudeau and Blair talking about how important it is for a non-partisan RCMP investigation and statement and yet the RCMP directly taking a back seat to the political narrative that would go on to support Trudeau’s gun ban. And of course the question at hand was towards the legality of the Nova Scotia shooters guns. It’s shit like this that is driving people crazy. Everywhere we turn our news media is not informing us, they are managing us.

The Weekly Briefing with Wendy Messly interviewing Tony Bernardo:

Canadas gun lobby agrees with NRA

It’s important to observe people’s reactions to media’s reporting on guns and gun violence. It’s generally pretty split in terms of likes and dislikes and the top comments tend to flow against the grain of the messaging the media is trying to propagate. But it doesn’t stop them from promoting their one sided reporting anyway. To get better coverage you literally have to travel back in time to watch older content when they at least allowed contrarians on the show to rebut their propaganda. These days you don’t even get that. The only devil’s advocate they play are ridiculous straw man arguments and the only people they feature are the typical weaker, more controversial pundits that they can easily contend with in debate. The people out there making the best arguments has effectively been deplatformed by partisan media outlets.

 

You Can’t do Moore with Less

 

John Moore, morning show host of Moore in the Morning on Newstalk 1010, is a good example of the kind of Ontario liberal who seems to have adopted this god complex where everything liberal equals good and everything conservative equals bad. He used to be a voice that I relied on to make sense during the Harper years when he actually worked to understand both sides of the argument. Now it seems like in his later years he’s lost the appetite for a good debate and feels obligated to tow the party line and only argue in one direction. Some of the most absolutely most ridiculous straw man arguments around conservative perspectives has come from John’s mouth. And it makes me very sad as a guy who admired him for so many years and widely regarded him as a sense maker who could shake off the tribal filters.

John writes in the Toronto Sun in an article titled “gun owners, you’re on your own“. He basically spends the whole article whining about how mean Twitter is to him. John, seriously? You can’t post a bunt cake recipe without expecting at least a handful of threats. Twitter is not representative of reality. It’s the birth place of trolls of all stripes and more divisive than 4chan. What the fuck did you expect? You don’t get to brag to your friends that you have a million followers and then try to complain when those million individuals take exception with something you posted.

John tweeted, “I support gun rights for hunters and target shooters. I don’t know why anyone needs automatic weapons.” It’s easy to understand why this shouldn’t be a controversial statement. But John Moore, whether he acknowledges it or not, is a prominent voice in Toronto and he, like most liberal media covering this issue, is getting his facts wrong. The guy who constantly harrangs on and on about “science and facts” can’t even bother to look into this issue enough to realize that this is not a ban on automatic weapons. there is already restrictions in place on automatic weapons.

This is addressing semi-automatic weapons. And it highlights the very reason the word assault-“STYLE” is being paraded around. Because to liberals ALL guns are assault weapons. Hell, to liberals WORDS are assault weapons. And so to embrace this vast generalizing vagueness around material property that people own is nothing more than an all out war on guns in general. They don’t like guns and they just want to take them away from you, regardless whether data and science support it.

John’s tweet just reeks of the same ignorance that gun owners hear around the clock by the media, mischaracterizing the entire reality of the situation. Just like when John always references Australia’s gun ban while totally ignoring that Australia doesn’t share a border with one of the largest gun producing countries in the world. The same border that is used to smuggle illegal guns into the country on a daily basis. Australia doesn’t have that border problem because it is an island, John.

London has a gun ban and are now effectively trying to ban all knives because of stabbings. It’s almost like there’s a criminal element at play that’s not getting discussed. And as innocent as your tweet appeared to be, John, maybe people are just sick and tired of others refusing to have the whole conversation. Not just the parts liberals want to talk about. So I’m sorry your words didn’t illicit the claps and props you liberals trade for currency. I’m sorry you didn’t get your daily dose of dopamine from the usual suspects who agree with everything you say.

Funny how when you’re away from the microphone sometimes it becomes your turn to listen and you discover that really you just like when it’s your turn to talk. But this is why I don’t have twitter. It’s too anonymous and encourages the worst aspects of tribalism and enables bullying and toxic mob justice group think. It’s not a legitimate consensus of reality nor does it facilitate effective dialogue. I’m not saying you deserved that abuse John, but I do think if you’re too tired to participate in the discussion then maybe you should just retire your position to a more honest broadcaster.

To write off 2.2 million gun owners because a handful of them are mean on twitter is the laziest excuse to write off a group of people you clearly already had every intention to write off. It genuinely pains me to see John Moore become just another partisan hack. I genuinely had a man crush on him when he was on the cocktail hour. I’m sorry that rant was way too long for the likes of John Moore but I think it speaks to my absolute heartbreak over just how much it hurts to see someone I always referenced and looked up to as a sense maker now fall from grace. But this is what liberals do when they realize they have lost the argument. They decry victimhood and attempt to discredit the opposition in place of forming better arguments. I guess that’s it, John, I’m done with you too.

 

Discerning between Evidence and Emotions in the Face of Tragedy

 

And I suppose the other elephant in the room we must address is what happened in Nova Scotia. And gun violence all together. Because none of this is to suggest in any way that we don’t have a gun problem. But what we have more precisely is an illegal gun problem. And this is the greatest sleight of hand played by the vast majority of Media. They report on firearms statistics as though there is no difference between illegal and legal gun owners.

Canada has some of the strictest gun regulations in the world. It’s not the wild west as the media portrays it as while showing footage of Americans shooting at hurricane Irma. Or they would infer that legal gun owners if anything facilitate the illegal activity. The reality is that the opposite is true. Convicted felons have more rights than legal gun owners. Pedophiles are not tracked like legal gun owners are tracked by police.

 

The Free White North Debunking the Gun Ban:

True North in discussion with CCFR Gun Lobby:

Bill Maher in conversation with Colion Noir about America’s gun culture:

TVO’s Steve Paikin sits down with Ed Burlew on gun rights:

 

In the Globe and Mail article, “Toronto Sees record number of shootings in 2019, but fewer deaths,” Tom Cardoso goes on to explain that Toronto alone saw 490 shootings in 2019. Contrasting that to 2005’s “year of the gun” with 262 shootings. What the article leaves out are how many of those shootings were from legally owned guns and which of those were illegal. I know anecdotally from the daily news I follow I have yet to hear of a single shooting that was from a legal gun owner. This is backed up by the account of retired OPP Mark Mendelson when speaking to Jerry Agar on news talk 1010. Mendelson had a 14 year career with Toronto Police as a lead homicide squad investigator and now owns a consulting firm. He claimed (anecdotally) that from his experience 99.99% of gun crimes committed were done so with illegal guns. Though Mendelson supports the gun ban he’s made clear that this ban will do nothing to curb gun violence as it only targets legal guns.

 

 

The Globe article goes on to point out that both the city and the police know exactly the neighbourhoods that are ripe with gang activity that is contributing to the black market of illegal guns and the gun violence that is terrorizing the city. The Jane and Finch community, the Rexdale and Regent Park communities. It was after the Danforth shooting that the province dumped millions into a special police task force to deal with gangs and guns. Aside from arrests and seizures Toronto Police also held 18 town halls across the city in 2019. Toronto Mayor John Tory initiated a gun buyback program which resulted in 3,100 firearms being turned in.

Some of the findings that came out of those initiatives was that Ontario courts need to reform bail. Police accounts of arresting individuals who have discharged an illegal firearm, booked them and brought them before the court for judgement just to, later on that day, respond to yet another shots fired 911 call only to discover the exact person whom they had arrested and booked previously that same day.

Gang bangers operate with such impunity and brazenous that in a townhouse complex (named Acorn place) 5 minutes from where I live. Despite John Tory and Mark Saunders proclaiming in their press conferences, “this isn’t Toronto, this isn’t the GTA, etc,” the reality is we’ve been trending upwards since 2014 with shootings spiking over the last 4 years. The reality is this IS Toronto, this IS the GTA. And the real problem here is a reluctance in this province to hold criminals to account. And continually legal gun owners are being blamed for the brazen actions of criminals with illegal guns.

Since 2014 we’ve seen many changes within the GTA. Political correctness has fostered a toxic anti-cop sentiment to grow through our communities. Cops have been booted from their presence in schools for the absurd reason that they “target” black students. Carding practices have been banned for accusations of racism. Let’s be clear, there have been credible accounts of abuses of power by police with citizens. We can have that discussion, not so dissimilar to the one had in New York around stop and frisk laws. But to write off the entire practice itself as systematically racist in nature rather than a rooted in the poor judgement of the individual officer enforcing it, is nothing more than grossly misrepresenting reality and ignoring all of the positive outcomes from the practice.

Peel Regional Police Chief Jennifer Evans spoke out herself to attribute the spike in violence to be directly related to the carding ban specifically. And of course you had all the media unilaterally come out to condemn her as a racist and a bigot and calling for her to be fired. Because it’s perfectly fine to entertain controversy or have difficult dialogue as long as it supports the agreed upon narrative. Because political correctness is apparently more important than saving lives.

 

CityNews, interviews Peel Police Chief Jennifer Evans on the Carding Ban:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/iframe/593482582001/SyxzIeNcgb/5803295136001?auto_play_switch=false

 

Coffee with Cops

 

So interested for me to watch this lockdown unfold with people cheering on gestapo-like police harassing people for just being outside of their homes. Yet when it comes to gang violence it’s just purely racist and fascist and cannot be tolerated. We can absolutely collapse our economy because “saving lives is more important than your mani-pedi.” But I guess lives are just collateral damage when it comes to police walking the beat in known problematic communities.

A virus justifies overcompensating to address the threat but when an Arab man shoots up the Danforth, with a little girl and teenager among the dead, we just have to shrug our shoulders and decry the plight of mental illness. Okay, fine, as long as we’re being consistent.

But there’s just no doubting at this point that these things have contributed to the problem rather than improving anything. The Pride Parade has banned police now for several years in a total rejection of police presence outside of security details for the event. There was no path forward laid out by pride. No road to redemption for a police force needing to improve it’s relationship with the community.

It was nothing more than a complete rejection of relationship building between the gay community and police. Sending the clear message that if you’re a gay police officer you don’t get to wear both hats. If you want attend pride you must do so without a uniform. You must closet your identity to conform with the community guidelines. Because that’s exactly what Pride is all about, right? How inclusive.

As if it wasn’t clear enough that this was the product of a complete ideological takeover of Pride by radicals who do not represent the entire LBGTQ community, you began to see police ban trends in the Vancouver parade and others across the country. And even across the globe in other countries. These divisions planted the seeds for more segregation and condemnation of police. Such as the protests that have emerged from positive events such as “Coffee with a cop“.

With the absolute toxic attitude towards police today who the hell would want to become an officer in today’s political climate? You’re no longer the hero, you’re the villain. Even when you do good you can rely on the media and activists with political agendas are going to represent you as the villain regardless. Between this and the struggles with the courts, police now have developed the habit of FIDO, “Forget It, Drive On.” Where if they see a situation that could possibly backfire on them or put their employment in jeopardy they just opt out entirely rather than doing their duty.

You don’t think any of this can be correlated to gang activity or to the surge in shootings? This is why so many people are arguing right now that these measures aren’t actually aimed at decreasing violence. Because none of these politically correct motivated initiatives have ever helped the situation. They’ve only made things worse. And if all police departments across the country unilaterally agree that the issue is illegal guns, not legal guns then why isn’t trudeau targeting illegal guns? Why isn’t he cracking down on the smuggling operations going through the border? Why is he granting a native exemption to the new law when we know the smuggling is occurring at the border along the native reserves?

These are questions that aren’t just ignored by the politicians implementing this legislation, these are questions that aren’t even being put to them by the media we are relying on to report accurately on these situations. And any independent journalists who are trying to ask these questions are getting blasted as hateful and discriminatory. Convenient.

 

The Time to Act is Now

 

The reality is we will always have mass murderers among us in the same way we will continue to have the mentally ill among us. The mass murderer problem is a complex problem but to call it a gun problem is missing the point. There’s a reason why, in the bible, the first humans to be born on the earth are Able and Cain. What modern liberals fundamentally do not understand is that people are not blank slates who merely need to unlearn the patriarchy that has fostered their toxic behaviors.

 

Jordan Peterson with message to school shooters: past, present and future:

 

It’s rules and boundaries that contain the depraved sinner within. We are just animals at our core and we are all capable of evil and to dismantle the structure that comes with those boundaries is to unshackle the monsters deep within. The mass murderer complex is a deep resentment of life itself and a death wish to seek revenge against God. This is largely documented by academics like Camille Paglia and Jordan Peterson.

There’s a commonality that you can find between mass murderers from the colombine kids, the parkland shooter, the vegas shooter and now the Nova Scotia shooter. And it runs far deeper than mere guns. The Nova Scotia killer burned people alive in their homes. Are we going to ban fire? The incel driver attack on Yonge street killed 6 and injured 13 before he was arrested. Do we ban rental vans?

It’s just so frustrating because this ban will be about as effective as reducing highway speed limits to try and minimize pedestrian collisions on side streets. Yes they both have to do with cars. Congratulations, you’re a natural born detective. Clap, clap, clap. To end my epic rant here I just want to reiterate that banning things is usually more of an indication that the banner isn’t really fully informed on what it is they wish to ban. Because bans largely do not work or fuel a backlash.

Most issues are more complex than that. But it’s a typical liberal concept that everyone but them are just idiots who need to be told what to do. I, and many like minded, freedom loving, real flesh and blood, living, breathing Canadians are just exhausted at the lazy liberal argument about whether or not we “need” this or that. Do we really need those guns to hunt deer? First of all, you’re not allowed to hunt deer with restricted firearms anyway. They can only exist in secured lock boxes and on RCMP regulated sports facilities.

Aside from that, why is it liberals can only formulate their arguments around what they personally deem to be necessary for how others get to live their lives? When do I get to have a say on the necessity of renewable energy, or bike lanes or carbon taxes? These are the same people who occupy condo boards and ban pets from the buildings becuase a few assholes don’t stoop and scoop. The same “Karens” who call and complain to the bylaw officers because they can hear kids bouncing basketballs.

And it comes from the same place in our own thought processes when we become so reliant on government intervention that when we can simply see litter on the ground our first reaction is, “someone ought to clean that up,” but we never come to the conclusion that that “someone” should be us. As Canadians we are far too dependent on government and we moralize social services to justify deficit spending but does that really come from a place of compassion or from a place of greed?

We want to improve our lives but the only person who can do that is you. And while we may actually like the structure that comes with being told what to do, is that really any sustainable way to live your life? And frankly if liberals are using the “necessity” debate then I have no faith that it will end with guns. People who love freedom and liberty need to push back against this authoritarianism and reject this far left modern liberalism.

Otherwise Trudeau and those like him will continue nudging us until we find ourselves up against the wall and they will argue that we actually wanted this because when they pushed us we did not do enough to prevent it from happening. That’s consent to a liberal. They will continue to socially engineer society by “unlearning” all the things that are problematic to their political agenda and they will continue to micro manage and lecture us about being the right kind of Canadian. Whether you own a gun or not, you are less free this week thanks to the liberal party of Canada.

 

Sign this petition to tell Trudeau HANDS OFF OUR GUNS

woman draped in a flag of canada
Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

 

 

The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.

-Thomas Jefferson

Lockdown Update: Are we being manipulated?

red and white signage
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

 

First of all I want to start off by saying that it’s not my intention to spend my time during this situation playing these whackadoo conspiracy theory games. I’m pointing out what I am seeing, rightly or wrongly. I am not doctor or scientist. I am not an expert on viruses. I am also not trying to downplay the seriousness of Covid19 by comparing apples to oranges. I am merely asking what I believe to be necessary questions during an unprecedented lockdown that has brought this entire country to a halt. I am speaking from what I’m hearing from my customers as I continue to work as an essential worker, as a small business contractor. Also, I am an outspoken conservative advocate but my intention here is not to turn this serious situation into a game of politics, even if I believe the media has already done that. I will not shy away from my political opinions but my focus on this blog is on the lockdown itself first and foremost.

Spiked: Brendan O’Neill discusses the lockdown with Heather MacDonald

That being said, I’d like to share some resources I’ve been observing lately and I want to make my case for why I believe we need to set a deadline of no more than 3-4 weeks to return to work. It can be a soft return where those below the age of 45 without pre-existing health problems return first. It doesn’t even need to be all businesses necessarily. But the idea that places like the Home Depot and Canadian Tire must close their doors is totally ridiculous. I believe that the real epidemic here is uneducation. This is a virus, not an alien invasion. And this lockdown is a cure that is worse than the virus itself.

Taiwan is not locked down. Taiwan has children in school, consumers at food courts and employees going to work. Business is open and yet they are right beside China and were dealing with this sooner than Canada was. Aside from a tracing app imposed on phones that shakes my libertarian sentiments, that may be something that’s necessary. But otherwise I’m very impressed by all their initiatives they’ve taken since the beginning. They use temperature readers to assess people at all travel junctions, terminals, events and other large gatherings. Taiwan is retrofitting hotels to quarantine people which is aiding hospital ICU capacity. They’ve even implemented a neighbourhood watch type of initiative to help communities self police the spread.

worldometer

taiwan canada

While politicians who are scared shitless are telling us how unrealistic it would be to end the lockdown, in Taiwan it’s equally unrealistic to even consider a lockdown. We have heard models and projections now but one fact that is indisputable is there is no scenario where we have an outcome of zero risk. We face risks every single day from a broad spectrum of things. Even if we manage to bring our infection rate down to 0%, this virus is widespread around the world. Through trade, travel and immigration, the risk will continue. Taiwan knows this. It has calculated those risks and it is moving forward. While our politicians are too terrified to even conduct that cost/benefit analysis. And they are failing us as a result.

Again, I am fully aware that Covid19 is much more contagious than the typical flu. But we are not getting a full context. We are sitting in our homes, locked down, while watching these daily press conferences by all levels of government. The only data they are sharing, if any at all, is Covid19 data. And even those numbers really are totally arbitrary because we aren’t testing everyone. Even with the testing, you need to tick enough boxes just to qualify for a test. So those who are confirmed are only those with severe enough symptoms.

Combined with unconfirmed reports of anywhere from 30-60% experience no symptoms at all. That means if we’re calculating a mortality rate out of who lives and dies based on who is submitted to hospital, that’s going to be a way higher mortality rate than if we were to include all of those other cases outside of hospitals. But we’ll never know that entire number because we aren’t testing everyone. So this is one way that we are not getting a clear picture on the reality of this virus.

death stats

So what I would like to do is simply share more data to contrast and to add context to what we are already hearing. In this Statista chart it shows that in 2017 we had 20.2 deaths per 100 000 people. That’s a death rate of 0.0202% or roughly 7500 deaths for the year. Did you get your flu shot in 2017? Maybe you did but most don’t. And we certainly haven’t been social distancing until now. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

death stats3

The death rate among the opioid crisis, according to Canada public health services, was 10.6 per 100 000 in 2017 from Jan-Sep at about 0.0106%. That’s roughly 3,750 deaths. From January to September of 2017. And we all know that death rate has only gone up since then. Yet we don’t force everyone into rehab. Not that that would necessarily even work. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

death stats2

The death rate for suicides in Canada, according to Wikipedia, from 2017 was 11.3 per 100 000 people for 0.0113%. Roughly comparable to the opioid numbers. We don’t have everyone on suicide watch. We do have suicide watch but I think we could all comfortably say there is so much more we could be doing to battle suicide. Contrasting that to the 2,147 deaths currently from Covid19.

According to Carsurance.net 27% of all motor vehicle fatalities are linked to speeding. That statistic would go to 0%, or close to it, if we just reduced all the speed limits to all roads to 25 kilometers per hour. But we don’t. Why? Those speed related fatalities are most likely to occur from the age group of 16-24. So why don’t we change the minimum age requirement to 25 before you can apply for a license?

Now I get it. These are apples and oranges comparisons. Speeding and opioids and suicide isn’t contagious. But if you’ve been following the Covid19 news media and listening to these press conferences then you’re hearing an emphasis on worst case scenario modelling. There is no disputing that news media is fear mongering people to stay home. But these are the same people who a month ago were mocking and sneering people for wearing masks.

Now these people are mocking and sneering at people for not wearing masks. These are the people warning about disinformation while lying to us on a daily basis, cherry picking data and platforming Chinese communist apologists. We are not being informed, we are being managed. Maybe you trust that big brother has your best interests at heart but I personally like to see the world for what it is and decide for myself.

 

Viva Frei: Why the Media is failing us now:

Viva Frei: Mass Graves in New York? How to read the news:

Viva Frei: CBC is fake news, eh? From Scheer to Trudeau:

Viva Frei: Canada to criminalize “disinformation?”

True North: Fake news journalists need to be called out for their dishonesty

 

Yes, this virus has killed a lot of people and will kill many more before we’re through with it. It’s revealed a great blindspot of incompetence in our senior care homes and in how we interact with one another on a daily basis. But there is a lot that kills us every year and we don’t let that terrify us into submission. This lockdown may have a purpose and is effective right now but we are not hearing any economic numbers alongside of the health statistics. Because there are just as many risks, if not more that can also result in death that are intrinsically tied to the economy.

To confine people to their home and even ban them from going on walks to the park is almost method of torture. To give people no sense of when this is over makes it impossible for people to plan or set goals. There’s literally nothing to look forward to. We are creatures of habit and there’s no telling how this isolation is messing with our heads. In some ways this manifests itself in domestic violence. Maybe already stressful situations now seemingly unbearable with the added stress. Maybe existing mental health situations find themselves now unable to fully access their support network. Domestic violence can result in death too. There is no approach to this situation that is truly risk free.

 

TVO: Domestic Violence during a pandemic

 

The economy is not just a long line up of people getting manicures and pedicures. A lot of these hashtags and finger wagging about people staying home is coming from people who are able to work from home or just continue to collect a paycheck. Maybe you’ve qualified for the government EI. Maybe $2000 is enough for you to cover your bills. But there’s a big difference between your rent and business rent and there’s a whole lot more of you guys than those guys. Yet it’s those guys who are the backbone of our economy. And they’re rent is still due, regardless whether or not they can be evicted. It’s not the landlord telling them to stay home. It’s the government.

If we follow the money from the business to the landlord it eventually takes us to banks. But the banks don’t seem to be taking the same hit that the rest of us are taking. Sure they’ve made concessions but unless the government can convince the banks to drastically compromise these arrangements then what the government is effectively doing is asking the private sector to die. And out of a lack of ability to build consensus due to isolation and from our hysteria around this virus we are effectively cheering it on.

And to just take one quick second to speculate even further. I can’t help but notice that this lockdown is like a socialist and environmentalists wet dream. Every day in these press briefings I’m watching Trudeau handing out billions here, billions there, billions everywhere like we have Oprah for president. And in his briefing yesterday where he announced event students would get 9 billion, including volunteers, I was just exasperated. We are beyond deficit spending. The more accurate description of what’s going on right now I can only articulate as a redistribution of wealth.

What students were handed in the guise of a “bail out” amounts to nothing less than universal basic income. And immediately I saw “experts” going to media to comment on UBI being inevitable. This is something that deserves to be debated in the house of commons and put forth to the nation during an election. You don’t just use state of emergency privileges to put forward your own personal political agenda.

We already saw the liberals try to make a power grab out of emergency budget legislating. Why would we believe that they’re going to be any less ideological with these stimulus packages. How do we not know that the liberals are capitalizing on this disaster to implement their political ambitions now that they have more power than they did as a majority government? Through the Kathleen Wynne government and now with most of those people working with the feds it’s clear that a liberal ambition is to bloat the government even further. There’s a direct link between government and union workers and the liberal voting base. I myself saw a unifor daily bulletin board with a poster that depicted Andrew Scheer with devil horns drawn on him that read “anything but Scheer” during the last election.

As the private sector dies so too does services like daycares, health related and management services. Exactly the things liberals always campaign on wanting to take care of for us. All day kindergarten and all that type of stuff. Because liberals think they’re the nannies to our children because a mother is just a CEO being denied her access to the marketplace. How am I supposed to believe that Trudeau isn’t intentionally allowing the free market to die so he can step in with a great excuse to take over these sectors once they’ve gone belly up?

We have soldiers in our senior care homes right now. Maybe that’s perfectly necessary seeing everything that’s come out of them. But Trudeau talks about making changes once this is over. Sure these failings and loop holes need to be called out for what they are. But what exactly is going to happen to this area once government takes control of it? And will there ever be a return to normal? Or will the government do us “the favour” of taking it over 100%?

Liberals have been talking for years about Alberta needing to find a new method of generating revenue aside from the energy sector. Now the energy sector is in dire straights right after blockades, protests and investor disregard. With the exception of a short term bump, Trudeau has yet to provide Alberta with any kind of long term plan.

Sure, now isn’t exactly the time to be having lengthy debates over things that aren’t the lockdown or Covid19 but I can’t help but be suspicious. Every day we’re being told the border is locked down yet more arrivals come. We’re being told that airport security has ramped up and PPE is being provided. Yet that’s been proven to be completely false. The story coming out of the Nova Scotia massacre, about the mounty who only got 2 surgical masks a day and had to drive in daily just to pick them up. This isn’t the PPE he boasts daily that he’s providing widely across the country. So what else isn’t true.

This is the government that worked to develop the 2030 UN Global Compact goals. Things that read like a communist manifesto if you dig deep into it. We were told that none of the compact was legally binding. So then why did we sign onto something if we had no intention of implimenting it’s initiatives? Why did Australia refuse to sign on citing it would compromise their national sovereignty to make independent decisions on policies? Is the whole country of Australia a bunch of hateful nazis? Blame Trump for that too?

 

TED: UN Global Compact Goals

Stexhexenhammer666: We must oppose and stop the UN Global Compact

Rebel News: What they won’t tell you about the UN Global Compact

 

Well the things that Trudeau is talking about in his daily press briefings could be pulled right out of these sustainability goals that he signed onto. After hearing his tirade on the Earth day briefing I have little doubts. At a time when the conservative party has suspended their leadership race? Who’s going to put forward a vote of non-confidence now? What party is actually going to endorse an election right now? It’s the perfect time for them to push this because for all they know the conservatives will hold true to their previous threat of an October vote of non-confidence over the handling of the railroad blockades.

I’m just saying that I think the liberals are enforcing this lockdown for ulterior motives and are arguing to stay home in bad faith. And they’re getting bad advice from experts with ulterior motives as Dr. Tam herself works directly with the WHO. And I think the politicians are scared shitless and are suffering from optimism bias. So I think it’s about time there be some pressure to push back against this concept that saving the economy isn’t worth adopting any risk at all. Because I think that’s wrong. I know it’s wrong. And I believe if we don’t act now we could see a death of the free market in Canada as the country shifts to be reshaped to be socialist.

global

These businesses represent great sacrifice, great vulnerability and great risk taking. Entrepreneurs investing everything they have on the gamble that they can make their business work. Families that are all in to do their part in keeping that business afloat. Couples who have daily conversations on costs and risks and how to pay for their children’s education. And now these businesses are sitting at $0 profit with bills continuing to come in.

The fallout of the economic lockdown represents disputes, divorces and broken homes. It represents addiction, abuse and disorder. It represents longer lines at the foodbank and those too proud to do so. It represents self harm, mental illness and suicide. Not all business owners are relaxing on their yacht while things are locked down. Most business owners do not own a yacht. Maybe we should go down to the food bank que and you can tell these people what it is they don’t understand about physical distancing.

My point is that I believe a lot of this lockdown is coming from the part of our brain that deals with disgust and fear and it’s our societal sense of entitlement that lead us to the privileged position of self preservation. We are naturally risk adverse to begin with. It’s an unusual thing for people to become entrepreneurs. That’s why I enjoy watching shows like dragons den and shark tank because you see so many rich stories of people who put everything on the line to promote their ideas. To be so bold to challenge the world to be a better place with more accommodating things in it. And to dare to be those people to make that happen.

Being commission based, myself, in my job. I’ve noticed that the vast majority of people in my line of work over the years are far more interested in receiving a base pay to offset their commission, then taking a lower commission percentage as a result. It’s always confused me because as I apply the math to my own work I find every time I would be getting paid less for doing the same work. That is assuming that I continue to get calls. Which puts me at odds with this lockdown as I’m only receiving 20-30% of the calls I normally get.

My point is that this virus is triggering our collective senses of fight or flight and due to the vast majority of us reacting with flight, we find ourselves in this indefinite lockdown. We are running out of the burning building rather than looking for a way to put the fire out. All the while the building continues to burn, becoming less salvageable by the minute. The problem with this is that that building is our home. That building is our nation.

 

True North: The economic toll of the shutdown

True North: Andrew Scheer on Trudeau, China and the WHO

True North: Why are Trudeau and the media misleading Canadians?

True North: Border Closures work!

True North: China thinks we’re idiots but Trudeau continues to appease them

True North: The deranged left screams racism

True North: Do Canadians like being controlled?

 

When we talk about a recovery, there has to be enough left to work with to rebuild. But as anyone who’s dealt with insurance companies before, there comes a point where the whole thing is just a write off. I think part of what’s rallying us all behind this lockdown is an unfortunate factor of optimism bias. I saw it when people and institutions were largely apathetic to this virus until it affected the markets. We saw it when the recession hit in 2008 and suddenly car companies were asking for bailouts after we always heard that they were “too big to fail” when in actuality they were so big they were doomed to fail. I’m saying that if we don’t return to work soon I don’t think there will be a recovery.

People like Camille Paglia have documented in detail civilizations that have collapsed under their decadence. We need to ask ourselves if we have lost our way in knowing how to run a country, a province, a city or even our own households. What I see in our leaders is a deficit in leadership. I see people scared shitless about litigation. I see people who have failed to prepare for our current challenge despite the fact that pandemics are nothing new to the human experience. Even if we’ve never experienced it within our lifetimes.

In our secular society we have divorced ourselves from the sacred concepts and virtues of God but I don’t think we’ve done so with a complete understanding of the role of worship and spirituality build within our very DNA. What I’m saying is that we can’t simply remove that guidance that has lead us for thousands of years and just instinctively know the path ahead. It’s not as simple as just being a “good person” or just “living your life” without God.

You remove God, you remove the ultimate ideal. And you can’t help but attempt to replace that ideal. But there isn’t anything adequately available to do so. Because no celebrity or mathematical equation or philosophy is perfect like God is perfect. In the same way the strong shame the weak and the beautiful shame the ugly, the ultimate ideal shames us all. It’s far more preferable to look away from the light that burns too bright. Doesn’t mean the sun’s going anywhere just because you have a problem with it.

We have effectively replaced God with “experts”. People of science and facts and peer review who we have placed at the top of our social hierarchy. But the problem with an expert is the same problem with taking your love advice from Kim Kardashian. They are only human. And humans are far from perfect and our deep personal failings permeate our better judgement. Trudeau props up Dr. Tam as the ultimate authority on this situation despite we elected him to lead us as Prime Minister. Dr. Tam gets her guidelines from the World Health Organization despite the evidence and consensus that the WHO has been compromised ideologically by the Chinese Communist Party.

 

Rebel News: Secret ballot at WHO

Global News: Canada’s top doc responds to Alberta Premier’s criticism

 

These failings manifests itself when information was coming out of China about human to human transmission, longevity of covid19 living on surfaces and in air, methods of transmission and most mainstream media and experts initially dismissed all reports simply because they hadn’t gone through some tedious peer review process. Because the tribal membership that comes with belonging to the sacred expert community is such that those in leadership positions prop up recommendations and guidelines which served to actually get people sick. In telling us all not to wear masks, to take march break into our own judgement, refusal to shut down borders, condemning people for not wanting to shake hands or visit Chinatown as racist, etc.

To go against the grain to a holy sacred system of experts and bureaucrats is nothing more than blasphemy and must be called out and condemned. And that is how it seems perfectly logical that an expert would sincerely believe that the best thing to do is to lock ourselves away until the sky stops falling. Because they’re faced with an enemy that doesn’t respect their religious-like routines and protocols and traditions. They don’t know what to make of it. Nothing about this is ideal but we now find ourselves in a situation of people running the country are playing hot potato with our very survival over a deeply ingrained behaviour of cover your own ass.

These are the same people who regularly work to rule because they’ve resigned themselves to the mediocrity of segregated duties. The kind of mentality that comes with a cushy government job with benefits like jobs for life. You just punch in the time clock and push your broom and keep your head down until it’s home time. Till the little bell rings and boss mommy lets you go home for the day. Not even any homework. Swell. They override any sense of humanity or obligation simply because it isn’t in their job description. These are the people who are more than happy to reduce their very existence to a mere job description. Who stare at the clock instead of taking their place in the greater destiny of the world. I fear that these are the people leading us now.

That probably means we’re all going to just go extinct now because it’s not our job to survive. Trudeau keeps saying that once we have a vaccine we can open back up. But for the entire time we had SARS there was no vaccine ever found. Unconfirmed, un-peer reviewed reports are saying that as this virus travels the world it’s mutating and there could currently be up to 30 different variants of Covid19 abroad. So we come up with a vaccine for this strain in Canada. And them someone comes over from Turkey to visit family and that lone traveler brings with them the second wave. Or maybe by then it’ll be the fifth wave. Do we just lockdown again until we have a vaccine for each individual new wave? That just isn’t an option. Let’s all be on the same page here for a second when I say if we don’t find a way to return to work ASAP then we are in fact committing suicide as a nation and a province. With implications that could even break up confederation. We are quite literally at the brink of collapse.

 

TVO: Planning Ontario’s economic recovery

TVO: Poverty, food and Covid19

TVO: Polly and the Pandemic

TVO: When should we restart the economy?

Power & Politics: Will Covid19 bankrupt Canadian cities?

Power & Politics: Scheer wants opportunities to question Trudeau

Pierre Poilievre: Solid economic and Covid19 analysis from senator Leo Housakos

Pierre Poilievre: The Clip the CBC didn’t want you to see

Pierre Poilievre: Stop taxing personal protective equipment

Rebel News: Trudeau’s new censorship initiative

 

What we know is that China had to lockdown Wuhan and take their economic hit. Now we’re being told to do the same. Trudeau now talks about cracking down on the spread of disinformation. Would he be referring to the WHO when they told us not to worry because there was no human to human transmission of the virus? When they delayed in deeming this a pandemic until several epicenters had formed outside of China? When they held press conferences to praise China for their lockdown despite it’s authoritarian iron fist methods. Praised China for apparently giving us months to prepare in advance when we know if China had acted sooner this outbreak would’ve affected the world 95% less? No, I’m pretty sure Trudeau is talking about the independent media that called his government out for sending PPE to China without replenishing it and for sending almost a billion dollars to the biolab in Wuhan where this all began.

The point I am trying to make in all of this is that we have been lulled into a false sense of confidence over this lockdown by our leaders, their experts and the manipulative reporting of the media. We are forgetting that what we are dealing with is a virus at the end of the day, not an alien invasion. And out of hysteria we are allowing this virus to hit us like a nuclear bomb. And we need to seriously question why the media isn’t doing more to educate us on viruses and how best to protect yourself from infection. It’s time for a giant national classroom WHIMIS discussion, so why aren’t we having it?

How many of you out there are taking the time to educate yourselves on this virus? For all your worrying about it, what can you really explain about how it functions, spreads or how to even put on PPE? We all need to be preparing for the return to work and so we must prepare for the second wave. Government isn’t our mommies or daddies. It’s up to us to protect against infection. Given how many millennials still have their parents do their laundry, I guess that’s not surprising to me. We are a generation that has been infantilized ever since the participation trophy and now is our opportunity to define our generation and to define the generations to come.

 

CDC: How does Covid19 spread?

CDC: 6 steps to protect against Covid19 spread:

CDC: What older adults need to know about Covid19:

CDC: How to properly put on PPE:

CDC: How to properly take off PPE:

CDC: How long can Covid19 survive on surfaces and in air:

CDC: Can Ibuprofen make Covid19 symptoms worse:

CDC: How to prepare for an emergency:

CDC: Can you contract Covid19 through stool?

CDC: How to tell if you have the flu:

CDC: Social distancing:

CDC: managing anxiety and stress:

CDC: Answering questions about Covid19:

 

 

Stop whining about now getting more allowance from your government and learn how to live in the world that has come upon you. Learn how to live your lives! Do something for this country to preserve what our ancestors built for us to inherit! Make a mark that you can point to the next generation as your contribution to them. Be brave! End this lockdown! Expand ICU capacity, stockpile PPE and ventilators, impliment hygiene tools and practices, practice physical distancing and let’s keep calm and carry on. Let’s be the ones who saved Canada!

 

 

Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.

-Theodore Roosevelt

Easter is a message of Love and Hope

greyscale photo of group of people carrying crucifix
Photo by Alem Sánchez on Pexels.com

 

Question: “What is Easter Monday?”

Answer: Easter Monday, also known as Bright Monday, Renewal Monday, Wet Monday, and Dyngus Day, is the Monday immediately after Easter Sunday. It is observed by many Christian groups, but primarily by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. It marks the beginning of Easter Week (Roman Catholic) / Bright Week (Eastern Orthodox).

Different cultures observe Easter Monday very differently. For some, Easter Monday is a solemn remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection marked by an outdoor procession. For others, there are Easter egg-rolling competitions. For still others, siblings and/or spouses wake each other up by pouring buckets of water on each other (hence the name “Wet Monday”). And others celebrate with a large gathering and a polka festival (Dingus Day).

Some of these observances have more Christian symbolism in them than others, but none of them are explicitly biblical. The Bible does not say anything about what happened on Easter Monday, the day after Jesus’ resurrection. The Bible does not instruct followers of Jesus Christ to observe Easter Monday, so there is no obligation to celebrate it. As with many holidays, there is nothing wrong with observing some cultural traditions, but it is important to not allow traditions to detract from the message of the gospel.

  • GotQuestions.org

 

 

Easter in Lockdown

 

During this pandemic, the Easter message couldn’t come sooner. I’ve been studying the Bible on and off over the past two years now. I’ve spent some time attending a local pentecostal church to get a taste of the christian culture I never grew up with and to help provide me some context and fruitful conversation. Although since I got my current job I have found myself working insane hours and I never make time for church anymore. But I don’t know how that I’m still totally sold on church itself.

I have been enjoying learning about the Bible and working on my relationship with God but church is religion and religion is pretty tribal. And this is also something I struggle to fully understand. The fine boundaries around what is a rich, supportive culture and what is toxic tribalism. The goal posts seem to shift with every person you speak to. But what keeps me coming back to my church is that everyone seems to be on the same page that religion itself can be a distraction when your personal relationship with God ought to be the focal point to your Bible studies.  

I would say that I am on a journey of rediscovery. Rediscovering truth and meaning in ancient wisdom. And though I have so much more to learn before I can really speak with any semblance of authority of the Bible but occasionally I can’t help but feel compared to share my findings as I go along. I may not even really have it right but I believe that when something really genuinely engages you that is a sign that you are exactly at the right place at the right time. And I don’t believe in fate but I do believe that there is a design to this world and where there is a design there is a designer.

I do believe that designer is God and we do have some sort of intrinsic linear relationship with him. I believe there is a greater destiny to this world and we all play a part in it. Our actions and even our inaction has consequences. Those consequences either tilt us closer to or further away from hell. So therefore I believe we should all at least act as though God exists. I believe doing so will improve our lives, improve our families and our communities. And that will tilt the world away from hell.

This is to say that easter seems to be one of those times of the year I’ve felt the need to share my thoughts and feelings. I was compelled to write something last Easter and I find myself compelled to write something this Easter. Unless I’m mistaken there actually isn’t any discussion over Easter as a holiday in the bible. Easter became a Christian construction to celebrate the massive event that was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It marked a turning point in history in culture and a value system that would serve as the foundation of western civilization. I believe it fostered the conceptualization of the sovereign individual. A tradition of liberty and freedom for all. And where this tradition has been embraced, countries and people have thrived.

 

The Resurrection

 

In the name Easter itself, we have the word “east”, from which the sun rises. The dawn of a new day, a resurrection where the symbolic and the physical align. And I believe it’s when the symbolic and the physical align, that’s what resonates with us. There’s a reason why we rely on certain catch phrases and word play. It “pulls on our heart strings” because that resonance strums us like the string of a guitar. And we all know how lovely the sound of an acoustic guitar is. There’s a reason it makes us want to clap and dance. There’s a reason why certain things bore us to tears and others make our hair stand.

Also at this time of year we experience a rejuvenation in nature as spring nurtures our plants back to life from the desolate winter. Every year we develop and grow into different people, we also need to let our old selves die off to embrace a renewed sense of self. “New year new me,” as they say. It’s built into our new year resolutions. With the sense that we are going somewhere with our lives, we understand that means leaving elsewhere behind. We know when we feel stagnant that we are not living up to our full potential, despite how arbitrary one’s “full potential” is when compared to any others.

Living in our pluralistic society we definitely find a lot of things we have in common. Abraham is the link between all Christians, Jews and Muslims as we all acknowledge the same God, despite books of varied teachings and disciplines. But Easter is what truly differentiates Christianity from everything else. It defined the conceptualization of God, the father, and God, the son. And though the Bible does not make direct reference to a “holy spirit” I believe the spirit was a natural byproduct of this discovery which serves as a bridge to God. Our path to God is through Christ and spirit fosters the ability to build that relationship and establish that link.

Easter is an acknowledgement of when Jesus died on the cross and three days later he rose again. This means the son of God paid the price for our sins and rose again to reconcile us to God. This symbolizes conquering death. It’s a forgiveness for our sins as we are made right with God. A reminder that God did not create the world with a balance of good an evil creatures. God only made good creatures, humanity being the best of all his creations. But our sin separated us from God so God humbled himself through Jesus to reconcile with us.

This is something I’ve spent so much time thinking about. We need to appreciate that the Bible was a series of accounts written so long ago and edited many times to be condensed into one great story. Think of how long we take to rant about how our day was. Could you distill the events of your entire day into one sentence? The entire Abel and Cain story in genesis is only 39 sentences.

 

The Meaning of Easter

 

In a time when we didn’t have science as we have it today, technology or communications, the Bible had the burden of distilling concepts and narratives by articulating them as precisely as possible. To something that has survived thousands of years we owe it the respect it deserves to be charitable in our interpretations of it and try to grasp the variable context of time. And appreciate that despite the antiquity it represents these lessons still hold true about individuals and about humanity as a whole.

Easter means Jesus is the lord of new beginnings, new days and new lives. A display of the incomprehensible power of God. For those of us who live by God’s virtues also inherit God’s blessings. Just as nurturing a seed gives root to a fruit bearing tree. Easter is a reflection on God’s intervention. From moving mountains to splitting seas and restoring life, etc.

The bible says that the poor in spirit will inherit heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.

We have been hearing a lot lately about how we will get through this pandemic together and we are all together and how we’ll get through this together. Love, love, love, etc. Hashtags of hope and kindness and love and togetherness. And I feel like there’s something about the Easter message that everyone is really hungry for right now, whether they acknowledge God or not. It’s in times like these, I feel, truly reveal to us that humanity is not a blank slate in which anything can be written or overwritten at any time (as the communists would have you believe). Humanity has an intrinsic human nature of diverse perspectives and variable curiosities.

The meaning of the resurrection is that the promises of God came true in Christ. Christ embodies the “good news” that is meant to be shared far and wide.  Easter, in many ways, is about love and togetherness. It was for love that God humbled himself by giving us his only son. The same love that motivated christ to die on the cross and ask God to forgive us. It is for love that God intervenes and interracts. The song of Solomon says that love, “burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.” Easter means where there is love there is hope.

Jesus is persecuted, tortured, crucified and murdered. He is abandoned and betrayed by his friends and family. Think about it, what would you do if you were resurrected after that? Jesus had every right to take revenge. There’s a reason why his disciples were afraid when they saw his return. How do you look a guy in the eye after all that? And yet Jesus chooses to make peace. Jesus lived a life of virtue and God said yes to Jesus. Not only resurrecting him but effectively this was the moment he adopted him as his son and empowered him to serve as our bridge to God. This is God establishing hope for us that despite our sins and our depravity we can be saved.

 

Flatten the Curve

 

And here we find ourselves desperate for hope, desperate for salvation. We wish to be saved from this pandemic and while in lockdown we await the dawning of a new day, a new beginning, free from pestilence. If we are all willing to live virtuously we might just get there. Through respecting social distancing and taking being hyper vigilant about proper hygiene and by disinfecting common points of contact, we can avoid spreading the virus. We must do our part to flatten the curve.

The lockdown sure is making us all poor and more than just in spirit but somehow knowing that this is a shared, collective pain makes it a little easier to accept. Usually when you lose your job you can’t help but blame yourself even if you know it wasn’t your fault. But together we create a solidarity that affirms what we know to be true and gives us a greater outlook to the future, whatever that future may be.

People have been calling in to radio stations to open up about how this has been impacting them. Broadcasters platforming victims of the virus to share their stories. Politicians giving declarations of thanks to those who have been burdened with tasks impossible to ask of anyone. If we mourn together we will find comfort in our collective grief. Motivating volunteers to step up and deliver food and supplies to neighbours. Or to directly assist with front line workers. The more mouths cry out the more ears are there to listen.

Desperation has a real ugly side to it. And that’s what makes this lockdown so tricky. It’s impossible to set goals when the politicians keep moving the goal post. And if we can’t feel like we’re working towards anything we feel trapped in chaos. A few weeks became a month and now a month has become several months. Now projections are saying we may be fighting several waves of this virus for what could be two years. The unknown in that is a recipe for desperation. But it is our human nature that relies on rules and boundaries to keep us in check. If we can follow the rules as best we can then we can all feel like we are a part of the solution rather than part of the problem. It’s the rules and boundaries that keep us from devolving into the animals we have the potential to be. The actions we take now will dictate the future ahead of us. If we can discipline ourselves and confront our strong emotions as pacifists then we will earn a brighter future. The meek will inherit the earth.

As Canadians, it’s especially hard to lockdown during patio season after a bitter winter. Not to mention the tradition of family reunion over a big Easter meal. It’s hard to accept that we will have to make due with what we can scrounge up out of our pantries and whatever’s left in the stores. All while watching a minority among us largely ignoring the guidelines and just being very selfish, hurting us all as a result. It’s easier now than ever to point and wag fingers at others.

But we need to stay focussed on ourselves and our own lives and look at how we can optimize our own quality of life within the boundaries that have been drawn around us. It’s important to remember that those actually sick with the virus are the only ones who need to quarantine themselves completely. We are allowed to go outside to feel the sun on our face and the grass between our toes. Look up at the clouds rather than only down at our phones. See if we can reestablish our relationship with nature. It may just reveal to us things we should be grateful for, rather than hunger and thirst over the things we’re going without. Hunger and thirst for righteousness and be filled.

If you know someone in your community who’s an essential worker or who is extra vulnerable see what you can do to help them. Not only will it give you something to do with your time but it will give you a purpose. Maybe you are within your means to donate to your local community or institutions in your community. Maybe you have the skillset to make protective gear to share with health care workers. Maybe you can volunteer somewhere for something to feel useful.

I would discourage any initiative outside government issued guidelines but if there is something you can do to step up that could result in saving lives. Maybe it’s nothing more than sharing important information over social media and promoting hashtags to spread awareness instead of spreading the virus. As hard as you have it, remember there is someone somewhere who has it worse than you. Pay it forward and someday it’ll come back around to you. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

The things so many are calling for are already well documented virtues in the Bible. I believe life is more like a game than it is a Shakespearean play where we are players. Take a game like chess. A simple board with simple criss crossing lines and several functional play pieces. Seemingly arbitrary rules however by enforcing these rules there are almost limitless of opportunities that open up to play. Rules and guidelines can create opportunities where there were none before. The social distancing guidelines hygiene practices can be that opportunity to get past this lockdown. And it could not only lead to a full recovery but with what we are learning today we can use for the next viral outbreak tomorrow. Blessed are those pure in heart, for they will see God.

 

window church crucifixion church window
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

So I guess this is my long winded way of reaffirming what you already know. We stand apart yet we stand united. Together we will win this war against this invisible enemy. We are antifragile and that means once we emerge from this we will not only be okay, we’ll be better. Let’s stay focussed on ourselves and our own lives. Let’s take time to do things we’ve always said we didn’t have time to do. Let’s cleanout those closets and cleanup those common areas and reorganize our bedrooms. Let’s accept the life we’ve been handed and improve upon it. And sooner than later the world will open back up to us. We will get through this. The new day is about to dawn. Love one another and don’t give up hope. Where there is love there will always be hope. That’s the meaning of Easter. Happy Easter everyone!

 

 

Anxiety arises from not being able to see the whole picture. If you feel anxious, but are not sure why, try putting your things in order.

We can only transform our lives if we sincerely want to.  Small changes transform our lives.

Tidying your physical space allows you to tend to your psychological space.

Tidying orders and relaxes the mind.

There are two reasons we can’t let go:  an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.

Cherish the things you love. Cherish Yourself.

  • Marie Kondo

(there were so many golden quotes I had to just pick my favourites from a barrage of sparked joy)

 

IF you are interested in learning a little bit more about the Bible, here are some inspiring resources I’ve watched which I found extremely useful and some great food for thought. And if you are considering the Bible, let me just give you one piece of advice:

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER

Audible: Jesus and his jewish influences

Audible: How Jesus became God

Audible: Philosophy, Religion and the meaning of life

Audible: Biblical Wisdom Literature

Audible: Pure Voice Audio Bible – New International Version, NIV (Narrated by George W. Sarris): Complete Bible

Audible: C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity

Audible: C.S. Lewis: The Abolition of Man

YouTube: Jordan Peterson’s Biblical Series

YouTube: Bishop Robert Barron

YouTube: T.D. Jakes

YouTube: Living Stone Christian Reformed

YouTube: Paul Vander Klay

YouTube: Logos Christian Family Church

YouTube: Archdiocese of Toronto (Archbishop Thomas Collins)

 

We need to talk about the lockdown

person holding sign
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

China lied, people died. Let me preface what I’m about to say with this, this virus has caught the entire world off guard. Except for Taiwan. But otherwise the problems we are facing here in Canada is not so dissimilar from pretty much every other country in the world. I acknowledge that the measures taken by government is in many ways an experimentation in leadership and we’re doing the best we can with what limited options are available to us.

Though I often reference my belief that Trudeau is the worst prime minister in Canadian history and I stand by that, my intention here is not to play partisan games or whataboutism cheap shots. That’s not to say the feds or the province or even municipal government is above scrutiny. Questioning is necessary in these times. But we should all be taking off our partisan hats and prioritize the truth above all in these dire times. I just feel before I form my argument I first want to acknowledge all levels of government are working their asses off for us all and I deeply appreciate all the work everyone is doing. Especially front line workers like myself and all the healthcare professionals out there. Nothing I’m about to say takes away from any of that.

 

Leaving everything up to “the experts”

So I’ve been trying to pay as much attention as possible to this whole pandemic stuff and how it’s impacting the world. I’m no economist, I’m no healthcare professional, I’m no politician, I’m nothing more than a plumber. So take that for what it is. But the thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around with this whole lockdown stuff is what happens after the lockdown? First it was for 2 weeks. Then that became a month. Now cities are cancelling all events up to August.

All the politicians are citing the “science and facts” that they’re basing their decisions on. But to me there’s just something fundamentally flawed about deferring all policy making and security decisions up to unelected individuals. Especially when there is so much mounting evidence to suggest the experts are actually getting it wrong. So what will happen if they do get it wrong? “well what do you want? I’m leaving it up to the experts. Not my fault if they get it wrong. Well, yeah, actually it is. You’re the one promoting their guidance so you own it.

What advice is that expert going to give when they’re trying to cover their ass? The only people I see at these press conferences are more scapegoats than experts. But they wear many hats, I’m told. But it’s no surprise their advice is to shut it all down. Who wants to take the blame for when someone’s kid gets sick at school or someone’s grandparent collapses during lunch at the old folks home? And so they may be an expert but they are functioning mostly as bureaucrats. We elected the people in power to lead us. not to delegate all their responsibilities away. They rightfully fear the liability of risking public health but why is there no sense of responsibility for the health of the economy?

 

True North: The Economic Effects of Covid19 explained in 8 minutes

 

I get it, no one planned for this. This thing has caught us all off guard. But panic does not make for sound policies or pilot projects. This needs to be called out as the half baked plan that’s going to do more harm than good. And if it isn’t reevaluated now, I believe things will actually be worse off once this lockdown is finally ended, defeating the entire point of the lockdown to begin with. The lockdown may be winning a battle but it’s not even thinking about the war against this super virus. We need a long term plan, not just billions of band aids. I get it, there is no plan. That’s exactly the problem.

On top of that, with everyone harping on and on and on about misinformation, I’ve found Dr. Tam has been pretty misleading herself. First when the virus first arrived here the narrative was that it was very racist for people to avoid Chinatown and chinese restaurants like “Wuhan noodle” in Markham. To blame China for the virus would be to blame a culture for the virus and that’s just racist apparently. It was Dr. Tam who came out early and discouraged social distancing in this way and who claimed that border restrictions and travel bans were not helpful. And we all know in the coming days and weeks suddenly it became necessary to close the border and shut down travel. Duh.

According to Dr. Tam masks do nothing, in fact they actually increase the risk of contracting the virus because we’re all too stupid to figure out how to wear a mask. Now she’s had to back peddle and admit that if you have access to a face shield of sorts then it would be good to use one. If you ask any other doctor not standing at a podium they’ll tell you of course it’s helpful. Why are flight attendants wearing them? Why do the doctors and nurses start their shift with them? I think we all know what Dr. Tam is really saying. She just doesn’t want everyone hoarding the medical supplies like we have been with toilet paper. So just say that. But like most modern liberals, they believe we’re all too stupid and reactive for us to know the truth. So the best approach in a crisis is to lie.

Liberals told us to lock it down while people were still arriving into the country and not receiving testing or questioning. they were to self isolate and this was all done purely on honour system. There’s no coincidence that after march break things blew up, because of the absolute lack of guidance provided by our leaders. The legacy media decided to mock and sneer anyone wearing a mask in public. Now those people are working from home and preaching to us the importance of taking this seriously. I wonder how many people contracted the virus because they were too embarrassed to wear a mask. Oh but as long as the media has Trump to blame, they don’t have to take any accountability.

 

Rebel News: Arrivals to T.O. bring own masks from Argentina:

Rebel News: International arrivals to Canada given no Coronavirus gear:

Rebel News: Pakistani arrivals to Canada surprised no one took their temperature:

 

These are complex issues that demand dramatic change that not everyone has the capacity for. Most people aren’t plugged in to what’s going on in their own community let alone around the world. The hoarding actually isn’t our fault. Are there greedy, selfish people out there taking advantage? yes. But these people aren’t the majority. In fact these people are in the fringe minority. All it takes is for half of us to go to the store and pick up only one of anything before we would see shortages of that one item. Supply chains need to step it up to compensate and stores need to place purchase limits. Naming, shaming, doxing and ridiculing others who are distressed and acting irrationally, or who are mentally ill, not only does zero good but it’s actually detrimental. This is not the time to throw empathy out the window because we’re all being inconvenienced.

 

True North: Do Canadians like being controlled?

 

Self preservation instincts kick in when you’re vulnerable and afraid and have the ability to bring the best of us low like the worst of us. As a plumber I often deal with people in vulnerable positions and I can tell you it sure doesn’t bring out the best in them. You definitely find the best aspects of humanity once we are in a semi secure state of being but we’re just animals in a habitat like every other habitat on the earth. But really, why weren’t the stores limiting supplies from the start? They have no problem limiting the sirloin roasts when they go on sale. Why wouldn’t they limit medical supplies since day one?

This is an aspect of the plan we will have to develop to tackle future outbreaks. Pandemic planning needs to be at the forefront of every election now. Because the problem with war time measures is they are often in place with the consideration that this will ideally never happen again. However we could have another pandemic next year given the right cocktail of mutation vs poverty. The measures we are taking could actually destroy our entire country. I’ve been absolutely floored watching what’s been unfolding. This virus is all over the globe and varying strains from continent to continent. Even if we do come up with a vaccine it’ll only be effective until a new strain makes it’s way here thanks to globalization. There’s no turning that back, it’s unavoidable. So I’ve been paying attention and these are my thoughts.

The lockdown is only useful to give the hospitals time to prepare for the coming surge. To replenish medical supplies and to buy time for industry to provide new ventilators, masks, gowns, face shields, etc. That is worthy of a lockdown. For the sake of those who get sick and need hospitalization, yes, we all need to do our part to flatten the curve. But once the hospitals have been prepared and perhaps other alternative facilities established (such as converting some of these empty community centres or army relief camps) then we all need to go back to work. This country needs to begin it’s economic recovery literally as soon as possible. Or else we are fucked. I just don’t see it any other way.

It’s when we go back to work, we will be entering a new world. A world where social distancing is the norm. Look at Taiwan. Their first case was January 20th. Ours was Jan 24th. Our total cases per 1 million people is at 228 and deaths per 1 million people at 3. Taiwan’s total cases per 1 million people is 14 and deaths per million is 0.2. The total cases of covid19 in Taiwan is only 322 meanwhile here our total is currently at 8,612. Why is that? Taiwan, to my understanding, is far more densely populated than Canada. We should be the ones easily able to socially distance. So what are the Taiwanese doing that we’re not?

Just looking at Taiwan really reminds us that what we are dealing with here is a virus. It may be highly contagious and that’s scary and worth taking seriously but at the end of the day it’s just a virus. Like South Korea we need to ramp up our testing to make testing available to everyone and anyone at any time. We need to be able to identify who has the virus and those people need to be quarantined. And if we can manage to get this thing under control then perhaps we can do more than the honour system to ensure these individuals are in fact respecting the guidelines. The cases we see developing are indicating these people are not respecting the rules.

and I don’t even fully blame them, the government has been a complete wet noodle more concerned about identity politics than pandemic precautions since day 1. We need to ramp up our testing greatly. We also need to ramp up the production of PPE. This may require all of us to lend a hand in making our own protective gear for ourselves and for others. Let the official stuff go to the healthcare workers. They need it most.

And if we can start implementing new protective measures then we can start going back out into the world. Measures like clear physical barriers in food courts, transit terminals, etc. Floor/ground markings to indicate where to stand in line ups to respect social distancing. Sanitizer provided at virtually every single entrance and exit and hand wash stations available at places of business, parks, etc. And above all, individual responsibility. Hand washing before touching our face or eating. Then more hand washing! Some variation of mask to use in enclosed/confined spaces/indoors to protect from respiratory droplets. Showering every time we get home after being outside.

The police need to back the fuck off. If government wants scary headlines saying those not respecting social distancing will be fined $1000 then go ahead. But to actually fine people $1000 in a time when people are facing losing their homes? You’re a sick fuck and you apparently love robbing others of their civil liberties. If you’re throwing a 50 person party then yeah in these times of crisis I believe that would constitute a crime. A night or two in a jail cell should suffice for that sort of thing. That’s much less harmful than $1000.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-bylaw-parks-fines-1.5523154

But yet we see police handing out $750 fines to people just out, sitting on park benches. If you’re respecting social distancing then you’ve done nothing wrong. If police play this game too hard you are going to see a push back that will be really ugly. Desperate people loot, steal, mug, or worse. And this love for authoritarianism is going to blow up in all of our faces in a big way. We cannot abandon our principals and values just because it’s inconvenient right now. It’s precedent setting and you’re wrong if you think the goal posts will move back once this pandemic is over. This is a democracy and police exist to serve and protect. Period. This type of crime is best socially enforced, not legally. PERIOD.

And we need accurate, truthful, uncensored flow of information. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Censorship is nothing more than a partisan effort to control and bias the flow of information. We are really being let down by the legacy media right now. This is a direct result of narrative based activist reporting. The other day the Ontario press conference went on for an hour before someone finally asked a single question about the duration of the lockdown. I’ve heard more questions about Trump than anything about this lockdown or anything to guide us through it.

 

Viva Frei: The media is failing us now:

 

TVO: Data from Polly:

 

True North: More misinformation from public health:

 

True North: The media pushes fake news left, right and centre:

 

Rebel News: China’s Virus Lab Intentionally harvested bats for their virus potential:

 

Let’s be clear. The average Canadian, whether they like Trump or not, doesn’t give a flying fuck about Trump right now. What the Americans do is up to them. They can block aid but why don’t we have the necessary supplies as it is? Why aren’t we able to produce the most absolutely necessary protective gear? Why did we allow ourselves to become vulnerable in the first place? Ask those questions instead. And while you’re at it, find out when we can go back to work so we don’t lose our homes. Instead of seeking truth everyone is just bunkered down trying to find a way to interpret reality through their narrative filter. And it’s hurting the public.

The very media screeching about misinformation are the same media praising China over this outbreak. Claiming they did us all just such a huge favour by “buying us time”. I can’t even begin to explain why that is so incredibly ignorant and obviously aimed at people who don’t follow news at all and are only tuning in to be told what to think because they’re sheep. If China acted a month sooner the virus would’ve been 95% less impactful to the rest of the world.

 

True North: China Lied, People Died:

We need to take this next month to isolate for our healthcare workers and until we can get PPE restocked and distributed but after that we MUST GET BACK TO WORK. Otherwise we are utterly fucked. I very much fear for the future of this country if we don’t begin our recovery as soon as possible. I was suspecting our kids and grandkids would have a large financial burden but this is making the future look more like mad max than anything else.

And I do not doubt that one day we will be watching an HBO mini series next to Chernobyl called “Coronavirus” and even though it’ll be a different series, it’ll be the same story. Because it’s always the same story when it revolves around a communist regime that does not value human life. China does not value human life. We don’t even know totally whether or not this was actually intentional for China to reset the global economy with them on top, amid their Trump trade war and tariffs. This isn’t even close to being over yet. And we need to decide which team we’re on. Team America and Capitalism or Team China and Communism. If you love freedom and liberty you must be team America and Capitalism. Et tu Brute?

 

True North: The economic toll of the shutdown:

 

I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to even talk about this whole thing. I decided to just share my thoughts on what has been happening and my thoughts on where we need to go from here, for whatever that’s worth. But I think what I will be working on from here on out is a chronological timeline of this pandemic. That is truly difficult. There is so much happening every single day that there is just no way to capture every single detail or do so all in one single post. So I think what I’ll be doing is covering more actions than speculation and projections and offering resources covering these developments and presenting this timeline in the form of chapters like in a book.

Still not sure how it’ll play out but I do think these times are very important to document since I believe this pandemic will change the world. And so as I wake up every day and check for updates, I will seek to record these updates through my blog. So stay tuned as I struggle to document this ongoing challenge. Also follow my instagram @The301Champ for more optimistic, fun content which I think will serve as good medicine in these times.

What we don’t have is a 10 step plan for handling viral outbreaks in the future. I think what I’d like to do while compiling all this information is work on what MY 10-point plan would be for the future and see if we can discuss the effectiveness of such plans. Like a modern day zombie apocalypse strategy. By the way, here were some very good Joe Rogan podcasts that I found extremely helpful:

 

Joe Rogan Experience: Michael Osterholm

 

Joe Rogan Experience: Dr. Peter Hotez

 

 

The 301 Champ’s 5 step viral strategy:

Phase 1: A viral outbreak appears to be at or on the verge of an epicentre in a country.

  • This country must accept experts with peacekeeper escourts to observe the outbreak and gather data/assist with containment.
  • countries must send aid to assist with containment.
  • There must be weekly press conferences to update the world on developments.

Phase 2: The viral outbreak has broken containment and has began to spread outside of the epicentre.

  • Governments hold weekly press conferences informing people how to appropriately and responsibly stockpile 72 hours worth of goods in the event that anyone needs to self isolate (and how best to utilize food delivery services in the event of prolonged quarantine).
  • grocers implement shopping limitations on goods to prevent hoarding.
  • Governments- begins PPE resource stockpiling to prepare hospitals for possible outbreaks.

Phase 3: Cases appear on home soil.

  • Social distancing guidelines are made mandatory for places of businesses, public parks, etc.
  • weekly Press conferences held from municipal, provincial and federal governments to share all projections and available data on what is current on the outbreak.
  • commercials and ads are bought on which masks are appropriate for use and  to remind people when and how to wash their hands to avoid contracting viruses. also to inform people on what viruses are and how they are spread.
  • Restaurants and public events must set in place measures to respect social distancing guidelines. (such as dine in tables being spread 6 feet apart, markings indicating where it is appropriate to stand in line ups, etc)
  • The border and airports must conduct testing on all travelers entering and exiting the country. Social distancing must be explained to travelers and masks must be provided and made to be worn for those entering the country.

phase 4: An outbreak has escaped containment.

  • Social distancing guidelines are now enforced with threat of possible fines.
  • Restaurants must close dine in options and only operate take out and delivery options.
  • Border must be closed to non-essential travelers.
  • testing must be made mandatory and accessible to everyone. those who test positive must be connected with what is essentially a parole officer to ensure they are respecting the quarantine orders.
  • Travel bans may be implemented.
  • airports and transit terminals and grocery and department stores must embrace high security measures to disinfect public spaces on a regular basis daily and be able to provide sign off sheets to confirm cleaning is being done.
  • Government issues curfew orders for all businesses to be closed collectively at a certain time and for citizens to stay indoors after a certain time. (with an exception to essential services like plumbers, hvac, healthcare workers, truck drivers, etc)

phase 5: Projections anticipate hospitals about to reach max capacity with patients.

  • Military must be called in to set up relief care spaces and to provide aid in distributing PPE and other necessary resources.
  • Military set up safe off-site testing drive through facilities to begin testing the public regularly and constantly. This may involve retrofitting hotels, prisons, community centres or other local facilities.
  • Government issues self isolation lockdown orders
  • government declare essential services and provide strict timeline for lockdown. (any financial aid or compensation or tax cuts must be determined BEFORE the government calls for a lockdown)
  • Municipal, provincial and federal governments must conduct daily press conferences to update the public on all data and projections and modelling.
  • public amenities and all community centres and services must be closed to the public but as long as the curfew and social distancing guidelines are being respected, the public can enter parks, off leash dog parks, paths and green spaces.

 

 

I am just reflecting on measures that have been taken thus far and trying to think of how we could articulate these in more structured step by step initiatives. The government could create a website that goes into deeper detail between all 5 phases. But the problem with the slow trickle down of information and word salad that’s been going on at these press conferences is that in some cases they just cause more confusion than offer any clarity. In this regard a government could just simply say we’re implementing phases 1-3 and people would know what that means. or could at least easily look it up. maybe these 5 phases could be stretched into 10 to be able to highlight features better. I just feel the government really needs to improve their communications during a crisis. This is what we are learning today. Feel free to share your thoughts or add suggestions to the list.

 

 

 

 

Life isn’t valuable because of it’s abundance. It’s valuable because it is finite. It’s the brutality, challenge and unfairness of life that allows us to shine. Whether it’s watching the home run hit bounce out of the stadium, the figure skater landing that triple axel, the basket ball finding the hoop after dribbling off the rim. These moments of greatness come from our inner greatness. Covid19 is yet another trial for us. It wasn’t the first and it’s definitely not the last. I say good. We will endure it not because we want to but because we must. And we will emerge not just alright but better. Because we have the inner greatness and antifragility to shine through our adversity.

-Me

 

Art is the process of articulating order out of chaos.

Another YouTube channel I’ve been enjoying over the last 2 years is Jonathan Pageau. I am not the artistic type. I am colour blind and tone deaf but I appreciate art. I see artists as people with the gift of internalising the chaos of the world and utilizing it for their own expression. they manifest a type of order out of the chaos they attempt to articulate through their art. That’s why I feel art is important. So society can identify themes and patterns within its own culture. Art that can celebrate what the culture triumphs or to expose what a culture tries to hide from. These are important things to break us free of our own filters and censors and routines which can hold us back as individuals or as whole communities. But it seems like art in the West, at least how it appears to me, is becoming far more ideological and political. Movies have probably been the most glaring for corruption. Movies feel like for the most part they have stopped expressing the chaos of the world and have reduced the work to mere projections of a political narrative. And the narrative seems to be along the lines of “the world is a 0 sum game of power struggle. The entire world is made up of only oppressed and the oppressors.”

And apparently the answer isn’t reform, it’s simply replacement. Not to stop the tyranny but to replace the tyrant. Not to broaden boundaries but to eliminate boundaries all together. And, to me, in an attempt to portray women in nontraditional roles, in the ambition of inclusiveness, movies now subvert femininity from females. Movies seem to now all agree that in a world of power femininity is weak. i disagree. Both that femininity is synonymous with weakness but also that the entire world is just a ridgid power struggle. I also believe that peace is no achieved through power. And those desperate to attain power are not interested in peace. And we should all appreciate the implications of that.

A woman doesn’t need to win an arm wrestling match against a man to exert power over him. We can all agree identity is a complicated thing and the roles we take in society shouldn’t be defined by anyone other than ourselves. But that’s not to say we shouldn’t play our role in society. And boundaries do matter. It brings structure and stability not only to our families and our communities but to our own individual lives. The role you play out will likely reflect the relationships you have. And that’s what we need to be focussed on, relationship building. A relationship is not a power struggle, unless it’s a toxic relationship. A good relationship is a negotiation between give and take.

The world isn’t a power struggle between oppressed and oppressor. It’s a dance of compromise so when we are able to compliment one another opportunities open to us. Your identity does not belong to a group. You are a sovereign entity and you own your unique identity. Your sexuality does not dictate who you are, your income level does not dictate who you are, your political preferences do not dictate who you are, your ethnicity does not dictate who you are. Correlation does not necessarily equal causation. Labels are useful to a degree when you are attempting to articulate your thoughts and feelings but a label is not a membership.

Who you are as an individual is for more complex than mere orientation. There is an intrinsic divinity deep within us all that separates us from every other known species. Only humans can articulate the difference between a stone, a boulder and a mountain. A weed, a flower, a tree. A puddle, a lake, an ocean. We literally create reality through our observations. We don’t live in a world of things, we create things when we assign value onto them, building reality itself. This is what resonates with us when we find ourselves staring at art, trying to understand why it strikes us so deeply.

I think this is the shred of truth behind all this post modern concepts of social constructs and the dissolving of boundaries. It may be true that society constructs and assigns roles to individuals like the way an ant colony delegates to it’s worker ants. But I have yet to hear a convincing argument as to why we’d be better off without these boundaries and these roles we’re meant to play out. This is why I’ve come to the conclusion that secularism is doomed to fail. That there’s no coincidence that the vast majority of these neo-marxist activists are also atheists. Because it’s less about whether or not God is some dude chilling in the clouds above and more about whether or not you can have a functioning society when you have removed and discarded an ideal. There is no such thing as a secular greater good. Because we all play out worship and the concept of the sacred. it’s ingrained in our DNA. Just watch people lining up for the latest NIKE pop up store or the latest iphone and you tell me there isn’t some form of worship going on there. We all do it. However God is the only thing that’s perfect and righteous that’s worthy of worship. He represents the greatest Ideal. And we seek redemption because the great ideal shames us all. The same way the strong shame the weak, the beautiful shame the ugly, the smart shame the stupid. Not people but characteristics. Some of which are out of our control but all represent a better life if we can attain it.

This is what Nitsche lamented when he proclaimed that God was dead and that we all had blood on our hands that won’t wash off. If you remove the one shared sacred ideal that is manifest as God then we can’t help but look to others for worship. And all the things we regard as sacred inevitably reveal themselves to be hollow and fake. Why do people achieve celebrity status? Did they dictate those terms to us or did we project it onto them? Celebrity politicians, chefs, musicians, actors, etc etc. We seek them out so we can partake in worship over their guidance just to inevitably be let down by any one of numerous scandals that come out. Because they’re just human like us. Why wouldn’t they be flawed, like us? Because we’re looking for God in them, but we’ll never find it. And this makes us cynical about society as a whole because we are too stubborn to admit when we are wrong.

I am not one to really be quoting scripture or speaking about God as though I know him. I never grew up with faith and was an atheist for most of my life. But seeing what secularism produces has forced me to admit that I was wrong. I am on my own journey to build a relationship with God and come to know him. But what I see now is the value in what God represents. Not just the greatest ideal but a way of life. By building a better relationship with God we also build better relationships with those around us. The virtues of the bible quickly become a compass to guide you through life.

I do believe the bible contains truisms about humanity that we fail to identify in ourselves. And I believe when it is applied properly God’s truth allows you to see past your own biases. It allows you to truly choose the path in life that actually leads you to a destination, rather than wondering through the fog of secularism. It’s only when you have purpose in your life that you actually have a destiny. And without a purpose you devolve into utter despair and drag everyone around you down with you. This is true with addicts, if you really want to be saved, you turn to God. That’s true for all of us at every stage in life but only more prominent to those at rock bottom.

It was Shakespeare who wrote “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.” I have always found that line profound and deeply true. But as I continue to observe how things have been playing out I think a better analogy is that the world is really just one big game. To where men and women are the players. With each one playing it’s own role. I say game because there’s a phenomena that plays out with games. In order to open opportunities you must first set restrictions. You must first build boundaries and everyone must abide by a set of rules. Otherwise the game cannot function. No one claps for a game without any rules.

Look at chess. You first draw eight of vertical lines on a board. then eight horizontal lines criss crossing those vertical lines. Then you end up having 64 spaces from which you can utilize to navigate your chess pieces. You have pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, a queen and a king. These pieces all have their own unique functions. Every piece plays a role in achieving the objective of checkmating the opposing team’s king. These simple boundaries may seem arbitrary but it’s by creating these restrictions that you open up millions of opportunities of combinations, maneuvers, tactics and overall strategy that has inspired thousands of books written time analyzing the game. But the game is only fun when everyone respects the rules. You can apply this to most games.

To relate today’s culture to chess, people are now questioning the rules and boundaries of society. Trans issues, race issues, gender issues, age issues, we are living in an era re-evaluation. Which, don’t get me wrong, is necessary. Nothing and no one is above scrutiny. Maybe we could re-engineer the game of life to shrink the inequalities of our minorities. But is it possible to actually achieve true equality? What does actual equality even mean? These are extremely significant changes that are being posed and it’s true that some changes may be dangerous but no change at all may be grave. But there’s a hysteria that’s been bred into today’s youth where they think if it doesn’t happen overnight the actual world will actually end. And that’s not a healthy mindset when seeking to implement change.

That’s like saying why should rooks and knights be different from pawns? Why does the victorious outcome revolve around the king solely? Why are pawns sacrificial? All valid critiques but the answer isn’t to just turn everyone into pawns. Or to turn everyone into kings. The game just wouldn’t function. The game just wouldn’t be fun. The game would lose it’s purpose. And no one would want to play it out. And that’s what’s at stake in attempting to level the game of life. It’s also fair to callout when rules are not being followed. When outside sources manipulate the game to dispossess the players. Capitalism is under assault because there are forces at play like vulture capitalists who aren’t playing by the rules. That kind of corruption doesn’t just hurt people, it brings the entire game into question. That’s fair.

However there’s no coincidence that feminist champions like Emma Watson are lonely failures, referring to themselves as “in a relationship with themselves”. An attempt to yet again change the rules to hide from the utter failure they’ve become. Feminism has always aimed at tearing down barriers and in many ways you can wisely argue that certain barriers needed to be torn down. Maybe doing so actually opened opportunities for women for the better. But an entire generation of men and women who can’t interract is not good for society. An individual can only be dispossessed for so long before they lash out. Incels are not good for society, whether male or female. Also those who find themselves walking through life literally without any friends. It’s reaching epidemic levels. We are in a relationship deficit that needs to be addressed and not be pointing fingers at one another.

These identity group alignments are hurting society. But it is in our DNA to be tribal creatures. That’s what brought us to become social creatures. But there are good, healthy tribes and there are bad, cultish, toxic tribes. The problem with tribal groups is that a mob can reduce any great individual to a mindless patsie for bad ideas. Otherwise good people actively participate in riots. Social media has only hurt our ability to form relationships but even worse it has no forgiveness over interactions. Social media really has revolutionized the way we can interact together but the problem is when it becomes weaponized for political purposes.

I do believe that a modern civil war is playing itself out. Our elections clearly indicate to us that people are using their votes strategically to wage wars against others, rather than what the votes were intended for. To vote for what you believe in. And that’s muddying the waters of our political parties when people like Trump who are by no means a conservative end up leading the conservative party. Calls for progressivism in a Canadian conservative party full of social conservatism because the Liberal leaders have forced their parties to be so rigid in their ideological niche that people become dispossessed and politically homeless.

Sure, political parties need to adapt to a changing society but we are a society that is built on a foundation of values that we cannot turn our back on. And making a conservative party less conservative and a liberal party less liberal isn’t the answer. The Canadian liberal party has turned their backs on God to embrace secularism. But here we are with a PM who is promoting the sacred ideals of modern feminism as the basis to all his policy making. We fought for the segregation of church and state just to have our highest office indoctrinated by ideology. And it is bleeding over to our institutions all over the country, including our laws.

The diversity, inclusion, equity ambitions are resulting in a mono-culture that is exclusive and engineering disparities as per “positive discrimination” initiatives. Because the ideology is consistent. It believes we live in a tyrannical society and its solution is to merely replace the tyrant. The problem is we don’t have a dictator. There is no man behind the curtain pulling strings to create barriers to access opportunities. It’s no one else’s fault that your life sucks. It’s just your fault. You may have valid grievances and may raise good arguments why some things need to change. But the harsh reality is that you are failing yourself and there are likely way more things wrong with you than there is wrong with society. And you’ll never change a single thing if you cannot change yourself. It starts with you. Then it permeates through your family. And that’s the impact you have within your community. And it’s the collective contributions of communities that shape this country. And the interactions of countries that determine the greater destiny of the world.

Tearing down society only tilts the world closer to hell. Maybe that’s what you want. But ask yourself, deep down, what exactly are you mad at? Yourself? Your family? Your community? Your country? The whole world? Or is it God himself as you generally just loath humanity itself. I believe it’s this dispossession that is what made great societies of the past crumble and die. And if we’re not careful, the exact same will happen to us. If we aren’t aligning ourselves with what’s good for ourselves then we are tilting the entire world towards hell. Until we can replace God with an equal greater good we have no choice but to fall back on the bible and it’s teachings to realign society. If meaning and purpose is what you seek then learn the bible and applies God’s virtues to your own life. Then watch your life improve. And maybe then we can all have a much more productive conversation on what needs to be changed. Until we die and the next generation forgets absolutely everything about history just like we have now. History is absolutely repeating itself and it’s up to us to decide how much bloodshed is acceptable before we’re willing to back away from that cliff’s edge.

We need art to remain organic and come from an honest place of curiosity and the unknown. As long as it’s used to promote politics and preach narratives of self righteousness, I’ll just continue to tune out and keep watching my reruns of Christmas Vacation and the Naked Gun trilogy. I mean, why do you think all these throwbacks to the past are trending now? Because people are so sick of being told how to live and have lost faith in the institutions meant to guide us through life. People want to take the road less traveled, not walk a one way street towards a dead end. That’s not the way the game is played.

 

 

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

-Thomas Merton

We need to talk about Meghan Murphy

20191029_194716

Gender Identity: What Does It Mean For Society, The Law and Women?

hosted by: Radical Feminists Unite

CBC: ‘I’m not going to reconsider’: Toronto’s top librarian refuses to bar speaker critical of transgender rights

CBC: Tory ‘disappointed’ in Toronto Public Library for hosting speaker accused of transphobia

CBC: Ontario writers blast Toronto Public Library for booking speaker accused of transphobia

NOW: Toronto Public Library facing Pride ban over Meghan Murphy event

NP: Event featuring Meghan Murphy ignites debate about libraries’ role as forum for free speech

Jonathan Kay: Meghan Murphy, the woman behind trans wars breaking out at the public library

NP: Hundreds protest as Meghan Murphy speaks on gender identity at Toronto library

Barbara Kay: How feminist Meghan Murphy fell victim to progressives’ double standards

Jonathan Kay: The silencing campaign against Meghan Murphy is a disgrace

 

20191029_202223

So who the hell is Meghan Murphy and why is everyone so upset? She’s an academic of women’s studies who writes for the website Feminist Current and others like Vice. Here are some of her works:

Canada’s New Prostitution Bill Is Far From Perfect

Japan Is Still Denying the Sexual Slavery of Chinese ‘Comfort Women’

Prostitution by Any Other Name Is Still Exploitation

It’s time for feminists and the left to support free speech before it’s too late

Women warned you: Yaniv’s human rights case is the inevitable result of gender identity ideology

 

So tonight was the Megan Murphy event and what looked like about a hundred protestors showed up and held signs that read: “Let us live, no hate in our city, binaries are for computers, Meghan Murphy hates women, fuck the binary, trans rights are human rights, fuck transmisogyny, no platform for hate, our library should be a safe, space not a hate space, turf the terf, no free speech for hate speech, support sisters not just cisters, etc.”

20191029_194223

They chanted things like “who’s library? Our Library! Trans right are human rights! Terfs go home! Hey, hey, ho, ho, these terfs have got to go! Trans women are women!” and others. Things got a little tense when the crowd swarmed the back exit when discovering the police were escorting people out the emergency exit. But luckily there were no violence or vandalism that I could see. No altercations between police or attendees.

I am not one who will ever recommend anything that comes out of feminism, regardless what denomination of feminism it comes out of. However I am not prepared to silence anyone, that includes feminists. I warn of the dangers coming out of academia but to suppress anyones free expression is to deny them their civil rights. I would not be defending someone like Meghan Murphy if we weren’t living in the upside down clown world we find ourselves in today but here we are.

Where I do agree with Meghan Murphy is that there is something disingenious going on with this latest trans movement. The thing with Trans people is that, well, they’re transitioning. You know, from man to woman or woman to man. They align on the same binary that the rest of us work with. These activists who seem to find themselves at the helm of every complaint, grievance and (micro)aggression seem to all have something in common. They’re self proclaimed “non-binary”. Which apparently means that they do not fit within biological norms. Even though most of them do.

It appears to me that this is the true defining difference within the LBGT community. The non-binary seem to be a signal of their position that biological sex is a social concept. And all that power junk that’s deeply imbedded in neo-marxism and the socialism rhetoric peddled by the far left. If this is true then Meghan Murphy has every reason to fear these people. Even the modern “feminism book” points out on page 287, “a new type of feminism,” that “cisgender feminists exclude trans women, saying they cannot know what it is to be a woman” and as such are agents of “division”.

20191029_192807

So if you believe in biological differences between women and men then you are without a doubt a perpetuator of patriarchy and white supremacy. This is what happens when progress peaks. It progresses until it inevitable progresses backwards. Modern feminism is not the bra-burning, sexual liberation movement that it was for our parents. Today’s feminism is just an extension of socialism and intersectionality. What the protestors are really saying is you’re either with us or against us and if you’re with us then you must swear allegiance to a socialist revolution of the west.

So by default if you stand for womens’ rights, for free speech, for freedom and liberty for all then you are in the conservative camp. Which may be the inevitability for progressivism. I mean, once you’ve accomplished all the things you’ve been progressing towards, you would then seek to preserve those values. When I was younger the issues were of equal rights between the sexes. Gay marriage, equal opportunities, etc. We have that now. Now in order to have pride we find ourselves celebrating pedophilia and beastiality. The LBGT community has become an umbrella party for even the most obscure deviants and once they are under that umbrella you cannot criticise any of them over anything they do at any time. Because fuck you.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against trans people. I follow several trans people over social media such as blaire white and I’m personally intrigued around trans people and trans issues. And I am happy that despite all the craziness going on, it’s still never been a better time to be trans. Everyone deserves our respect and trans people are no exception. I’m glad society has become so empathetic towards trans people. And I just hope all this assault on free speech doesn’t actually hurt trans people by painting them all with the same brush. Make no mistake, the non-binary crowd hate you, me and the entire western world and it will never stop. At least not until we begin calling out the callout artists themselves.

So I support Meghan Murphy and I applaud her for having the resilience to take a stand in such crazy times. I also believe that the protestors have the right to peacefully protest, her detractors have the right to call her a piece of shit. That’s all free speech. But no one has the right to prevent the other from talking. If what she has to say is so shit then that’s for others to discern from her speech. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. However these activists need to ask themselves why exactly she’s only gaining more followers. Maybe they’re the ones who are on the wrong side of history.

20191029_192058

Oh and Meghan is not the first career feminist who is being utterly defamed and destroyed by cancel culture. Check out these other feminists and you tell me if modern feminism REALLY has womens best interests at heart. What do they all have in common? They’re biological reality is what makes them unique and special. Sounds like what Christians preach. Sounds like conservative traditions. Sounds like women who want what’s best for women should find themselves networking within the Conservative tent.

Conservatives are the only ones who will advocate for you now. Your liberal partners have unpersoned you and exiled you along with the straight white men that you worked so hard to cancel. One says “trans-exclusionary” but another hears “pro-lesbian”. Not everything is so black and white. And we need to be able to make up our own minds about these issues. Under a conservative government you will have the freedom to express yourself. So you choose. Stand with Meghan. Stand with women.

 

Christina Hoff Sommers

Germaine Greer

Melanie Phillips

Camille Paglia

 

20191029_192753

 

 

“If we don’t believe in free expression for the people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

-Noam Chomsky

A follow up on WNTA Greta: A discussion about the environment

greta 1

One of the reasons why I post my blogs to my facebook is because I hope my friends interact with me so I can get feedback and build consensus. Usually people just opt out. But sometimes some get involved. And regardless who’s right or wrong I strongly believe any discussion around these blogs is useful and contribute to positive outcomes. I think there’s a tonne of ignorance around the topic of the environment. On all sides of the debate. I suspect the conversation I had on my facebook is probably similar to other conversations people have had so maybe it would serve useful to someone somewhere if they may learn how to find common ground with others they engage with. If nothing helps maybe you’ll find the videos I shout out here to be as useful as I found them to be.

 

Me: My take on all of this is that it is absolutely wrong to attack this girl on any superficial level. She is asking for debate, so contend with her ideas. Leave out the comments about her appearance or her gender or age. We can all appreciate young people becoming more engaged politically than ever before. But it is equally as uncivilized to refuse to participate in the debate she is literally asking for. To disqualify any argument or opinion as nothing more than attacking a minor is a lazy response to genuine reaction.

You can’t treat Greta like an adult when she wants to speak and then infantilize her when it’s her turn to listen. The only way we’re going to navigate our way through this culture war is by doing as much listening as we do talking. Questioning climate activism isn’t climate denial and propping up children to take the place of science only hurts climate initiatives. A child can never be the face of the public relations battle for trust. And by hurting real conversations around actual change, we are working against Greta’s ambitions, not towards them.

Trudeau’s blackface isn’t a question about racism but of integrity. The concerns around Greta Thunberg doesn’t actually revolve around the environment. And in hypocrisy the only thing you will ever find is comedy and that’s why hypocrisy hurts trust. I disagree with Greta that the environment is our number one issue. Not because the environment isn’t an issue. Because she claims we are doing nothing about it. We are. At least here in Ontario, Canada where we currently have more forestry today than we did two hundred years ago. These issues aren’t solved overnight and as long as you keep demanding they are, we’ll never find a solution.

I disagree with Greta but I do admire her. I am glad people are becoming more engaged with issues that impact our daily lives. I just hope Greta can live a happy life. You know how it goes, childhood celebrities never ever develop any issues into their adulthood.

 

Friend 1: Having more forestry here in Ontario for one doesn’t help the REST of the world, let alone even all the damage done to just our province. Our world is literally at a point of no return, at this point everyone needs to stop taking this personally and start thinking about the future. Who the fuck cares about money, politics, global issues, the economy, etc if we aren’t going to have a planet we can even live on most likely within our lifetime.

Maybe we have done a few things, but not enough. A call to action is needed.

 

Me: i guess pointing fingers and screeching is the best approach for the environment then. All hail Greta! this is why so many people look at progressivism as a cult. because there is no questioning, there is no pursuit of truth, there is just conformity.

ok. if I had my choice of who I would make the face of climate initiatives I would choose Bjorn Lomborg. Now I know what you’re thinking, “but he’s just a white male! I want the 16 year old autistic girl!” lol i’m kidding, just poking the bear. but Lomborg has written many books on environmentalism since something like 1998. But back around 2015 the UN wanted to set some climate goals so it took proposals from the global community. They ended up with something like 170 proposals. But instead of prioritizing the list and determining which goals were most attainable, most efficient and most effective, their emphasis was on just making sure everyone had equal say in the proposal process. because to prioritize one goal over another would be to discriminate. Shout out to the woke equity crowd. That’s the much desired equality of outcome hard at work.

unfortunately what that means is while doing some good everywhere you’re failing to do the most good in the right places. He asserts that the best way to tackle the environment as a whole would be to address global poverty and extreme poverty. he demonstrates that for a billion dollars you can save a million children a year from malnutrition and disease which translates into them spending more time in school and making more money in adulthood. This helps their community and if we can lift tariffs on trade and expand trade to encompass these communities then we empower the helpless and the vulnerable. This means giving every community the ability to tackle environmental issues around them. If you think poverty isn’t linked to the environment then you need to just watch this short documentary from vice:

 


Lomborg treats people as problem solving machines so we want to empower as many people as possible. fossil fuel taxes at the end of the day only hurt poor people. back in the 1860s we almost finished whales into extinction for lantern oil in North America and Europe. By using the logic of today’s climate activists they would’ve said hey you need to turn your lights down and use less fat. And that may have helped but it wouldn’t have saved the whales. What did was the discovery of oil. Cheaper, more efficient and better for the environment. A product of human innovation and technological advance. What has always solved every crisis in human existence has been innovation. And we will solve more problems by enabling more innovation.

We don’t actually have infinite resources to tackle these issues. we all agree that asteroids can be a massive existential crisis to us so we spend money on tracking asteroids. But even then we only spend enough to track 90% of asteroids. Because the other 10% is considered just too expensive. That’s not a result of a dude on a yacht in Florida, it’s because sometimes there are just more important and more effective use of resources.

Allan Savory has spent his life working on desertification where grasslands rich with plant life turns to desert. He points out that we all know that desertification is caused by livestock. Mostly cattle, sheep and goats. They over graze the plants, leaving soil bare and giving off methane. Everybody knows this. Except it’s entirely wrong. In Savory’s attempt to turn african farms into national parks. Only when they did the lands turned from lush grasslands to desert. While trying to understand what was going on they ended up killing 40 000 elephants because they thought the elephants were damaging the lands by trampling it with their tusks. The problem got worse.

They discovered that livestock farming actually cultivates grasslands. They act as little gardeners. Their hooves turn the soil, their poop fertilizes the ground and when it rains it stores carbon and breaks down methane. Now it’s not just any farming that will work, he’s developed an approach he calls holistic management and planned grazing. Much of our attitudes towards the environment today will be looked at in the future in the same way we look back to when everyone believed the world was flat. (let’s leave the flat earthers for another conversation).

 

But listen to what I’m saying. Capitalism, livestock farming and a booming population is good for the environment. Do you think anyone in the cult of progressivism would ever allow anyone to push those ideas? Progressive politics hurts progress. But don’t take my word for it, my grammar is shit. Steven Pinker touches on this in his latest book enlightenment now. He does a chapter on environmentalism and showcases many graphs to give a real context of the problems and contributing factors. By far the largest contributor of emissions is China. There are lots of reasons and that is largely an entire discussion in it’s own right. Yes, we can have both conversations about here at home and about China. But we aren’t having a conversation about China at all. Not even while Hong Kong loses it’s liberty.

The point I’m making is there is real progress to be made but the only thing this neo-marxist, intersectional, pc culture bullshit breeds is self hatred and it’s only goal is to destroy western civilization. It’s embedded itself in feminism, in the LGBT community, in politics, in environmentalism and it’s propped up by governments like our Liberal one here in Canada, over in the UK and through the UN. It only prioritizes initiatives that further it’s political agenda of anti-capitalism, anti-christianity, anti-tradition, etc etc. And there are more than a few people willing to prop up these toxic, regressive ideas. Whether that’s Greta Thunberg using climate alarmism to make people hysterical, or the mainstream media like the new york times or washington post writing editorials fantasizing about the benefits of human extinction.

The culture war is breeding apathy and cynicism and counter-enlightenment sentiments that are regressive, not progressive. We have broadcasters reducing human life to nothing more than the carbon footprint they represent. You can’t minimize the value of human life anymore than that. That’s like saying it’s just not worth buying a house because of the debt it represents. And there is no comparing the value of a house to that of an actual human life. And Greta’s approach to climate change is like looking at people being hit by cars and reducing that entire multi-variable issue to just “let’s get rid of all the cars!” without any discussion over the implications of that. Apathy doesn’t make people want to read books on these issues. It just makes people want to see the world burn.

I don’t blame her for not appreciating the gravity of her words… she’s 16. I blame everyone around her propping her up. She should have some kind of TV show or youtube channel or participate in some kind of group. That would foster a healthier dialogue and be more inviting to others to get on board. Probably healthier and safer for her too. Right now all that I see with Greta is people getting off on the self flagellation of her harsh critique. Collective Munchausen. It’s not healthy.

I said I admired Greta for caring about real world issues and wish more people were engaged. But with the insanity that’s being peddled by activist based narratives, people are largely better off just ignoring it all and just living their lives. I’m not saying i’m “right”. This isn’t an issue about right or wrong. These are not two opposing sides of good and evil. It’s just about truth, dialogue and a path forward. And a defence for enlightenment values and the sacred foundation that our western world was built on.

 

Friend 1: Lol dude I seriously don’t care. You have written 4 comments to my one.

Typical right wing, takes everything personally. I’m not even a liberal, I just care about my planet surviving more than I care about you.

 

Me: lol there’s nothing personal here. I appreciate your willingness to engage. that’s all i’m doing. is engaging. I care about the environment too. I think i’ve demonstrated that here. Nothing I’m talking about here is conservative or right wing. But it’s interesting that that’s the only way you’re able to frame this discussion. so is it really the environment we’re talking about or is this just more liberal vs conservative, good vs evil, right vs wrong, black vs white populism that’s tearing society apart? I posted here to talk about the environment, that’s what i’m doing.

yeah i mean i dunno why you keep thinking i’m taking personally a discussion about the environment. I really dunno what to say at this point. this is a complicated issue and needs more than a handful of sentences. But it needs to be one we all better educate ourselves about first of all. Me included. Because the problem is there are multiple options to consider but it’s super hard to build consensus around which approach is the best and most effective. Because we just don’t have the ability to implement ALL possible options to address climate change.

And Greta is actually wrong about most of what she talks about. she’s actually inaccurate when she talks about the facts. Sure we can all get on board with the sentiment of change but we don’t need more ignorance on this issue, we need less.

for example, I think nuclear power is the only real answer. We have the technology now, today. and if we all invest in research we may be able to innovate a way of dealing with the waste and minimize the risks associated with nuclear. that’s a clearly superior alternative to any and all renewables combined.

Renewables all around the world all need to be supplemented in order to supply a sufficient amount of energy to its cities. Most of which are the burning of fossil fuels. but ppl are opposed to nuclear in the same way vaxxers are opposed to vaccines. We misunderstand nuclear the same way we all seem to misunderstand GMOs in our food.

It’s money and resources and politics that is literally the only thing that CAN actually make a difference here. the fact alone that you say this world is at the “point of no return” is pretty fucked up to me. The public figures who peddle this apocalyptic narrative don’t back up anything they say with any scientific explanation. The next time you hear someone use the words “we all know _______ is true” then just do yourself a favour and stop listening. Because what they’re really saying is “i’m hoping you agree with me despite my lack of argument”.

Like politicians in the US calling on a ban to all cows and air planes. Most of the people advocating for change are like Leonardo Dicaprio who use their own private jets. The environment is nothing more than a social trend to a lot of these pseudo intellectuals who are just trying to capitalize on the environment for their own personal branding.

It just breeds ignorance and an unhealthy hysteria, anxiety, helplessness and a sense of impending doom. How hard are you actually willing to work towards a better future if you literally do not believe we have one? There’s actually a trend of young people sterilizing themselves and actually believe they’re helping the environment by doing so. That’s derangement. Would we all still be cheering Greta on if she sterilized herself? It’s like watching everyone drink the kool aid oh but this time it’s ok.

I don’t actually believe the world will end in 12 years and day by day it feels like I’m actually in the minority of those who believe this. While we all sneer at the Jesus folk for preaching their end of days doctrine. Just slap some wokeness on the Bible and we’d ALL be christians apparently.

There’s no harm in Greta caring about these issues and raising awareness to it but I worry if we prop her up for the wrong reasons we could actually hurt the cause more than help it. Like I said, a child cannot be the face of the public relations battle for trust. You wouldn’t take financial advice from a 16 year old so if you believe the environment is more important than money then don’t let a 16 year old lecture you about that either.

but if we really want change we need to look at what EXACTLY would result in the most change and get behind it. Like nuclear. Sorry I used so many words lol I dunno what else to say. 🤷‍♂️

 

Friend 2: Jesus Jonn no one is going to read all of that. My initial comment with the doctor Phil gif was because the paragraph I quoted makes no sense.

Me: Well I don’t really know what to say at this point lol. The environment is a complicated issue. I’m rambly as fuck and dunno how to condense my thoughts lol. I guess I just need to work on how to communicate better. But I appreciate your participation regardless.
Friend 2: I think the biggest piece of advice I can give is to edit your writing. It looks like you just write it and post. Give it a re-read, fix grammar and spelling problems, tighten areas, just make it presentable.
I almost guarantee that more than half of what you write doesn’t even get read.It’s like if I made a bad song with no effort, and wanted people to listen, or made a terrible movie with no effort and wanted people to watch …. they wouldn’t. Why should they if I didn’t bother to put any effort in?

If you want to ramble on like a crazy person and have nobody listen, that’s fine, but if you want people to listen and take you seriously — put some effort in, edit your writing, organize your ideas, don’t have typos and grammar problems, etc.

Me: i’d have you know i use to write songs for nickleback. well i’m really only writing the blog for myself. I just share it to see if anyone has anything to add about it. or dispute anything. but you’re right, if I expect anyone to read them I should make them easier to read. I try to cram posts in between a busy schedule. But I guess I’m better taking more time to be more precise and end up with a better piece. or i may just be worse at english than those who use it as a second language LMAO

We need to talk about Greta Thunberg

greta 4

Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old Swedish environmental activist who became famous after media coverage of her habit of skipping school to protest the Swedish government to do more about climate change. Since then she’s been hosted by multiple countries to deliver speeches about her activism and embarked on a 15-day sail boat voyage to New York City to raise awareness of climate change.

Her comments stir up reactions from all along the political spectrum. Some cheering her on for her harsh critique and others questioning how much of this is Greta’s idea or if those in her inner circle are using her as a political pawn for their own agenda. Lately conservative pundit Michael Knowles has been banned from Fox News, according to the Washington Examiner, for calling Greta “mentally ill” in a recent interview. This, although not exclusively, has sparked a debate over how one contends with Greta through the conversation she, herself, is trying to initiate. Broadcasters like John Moore and others on newstalk 1010 along with others on the political left have taken the position that to criticise Greta in almost any capacity is nothing more than a personal attack on her and amounts to bullying a minor.

 

Watch the Washington Post video about Fox News because apparently YouTube’s algorithm will only recommend content through Liberal media:

 

When black face photos surfaced of Justin Trudeau, liberals experienced cognitive dissonance.  Black face is clearly racist. Justin Trudeau was clearly an ally of racial minorities. But then how could Justin Trudeau wear blackface at multiple occasions and still not be a racist? While some of the same broadcasters and journalists who preach to us on a daily basis that Donald Trump’s racism needs to be called out, for this, they were more than keen to “listen” to what people had to say about it. While Trudeau continues to struggle to get his campaign back on track, those on the political left miss the entirety of what made his black face controversial.

Nobody believes Trudeau is a racist. Has he done or said racist things? Yes, we can now definitively say yes, he has. But is Trudeau a racist? No. He is a hypocrite. And this is something those on the left fail to even perceive. Hypocrisy is the main theme among the leftist movement as a whole. And this is why those on the left cannot understand how anyone could disagree with Greta Thunberg. So any critique of her must only be personal prejudice.

Liberals today just don’t understand anyone who disagrees with them. And contrarianism threatens them because it questions them. Maybe reading a news feed that has been 100% tailored to your individual worldview can have that effect on a person. Rationality threatens the cause and so all dissenting opinions must be suppressed at all costs. That is why instead of answering questions or making arguments they merely slander their opposition. That’s why everyone and everything is racist and bigoted. That is why anyone who disagrees with or disapproves of Greta Thunberg is attacking a minor.

nick sandman.png

Like everything else, we need context. So I think of the Covington debacle. Nick Sandman was the name of a minor who participated in a pro-life rally called the March for Life. He decided to wear a MAGA hat during the event. After the event had wrapped up and Nick gathered with his classmates to wait for their bus to take them back to their school another group of protestors confronted the group of school children. A native group and a group called the black hebrews were also there protesting that day. The MAGA hats being worn by nick and others had caught the attention of these other groups and they converged on the students.

One native protestor who was playing a native drum had noticed Nick and singled him out. He confronted the minor, banging his drum, within inches from Nick’s face. One of the black hebrews captured this image with his phone and uploaded the photo to Twitter. There for the world to see was a MAGA wearing, white man facing off with a native man. Without any context the image quickly became a symbol and it garnered explosive outrage across social media from all regions of the world. It was received as Trumpian racism and ignorance facing off against a community of marginalized, vulnerable individuals. Even if that wasn’t the reality of the situation, it’s how it was communicated.

Since CBC thinks sharing tweets counts as journalism, I will also share with you some hard hitting, in depth, journal-isms. This was some of the fallout that happened over social media regarding Nick Sandman. Remember, Nick was a minor at this time:

covington 9

The highschool had to be shut down for several days because they received multiple threats. The Sandman family experienced a multitude of harassment and had to lawyer up after media decided to feature his face and identity in their news reports. Nick and his family, and the school itself, is still dealing with the fallout of the incident. Twitter, who operates under a self imposed hateful conduct policy, did not ban any of the verified accounts who incited violence or doxing against the students or the school. They have, however, permanently banned Megan Murphy for misgendering Jessica Yaniv. The point is that some of the same people who are condemning people for criticizing Greta today are the exact same people who called for violence against Nick Sandman.

covington 1

Watch Viva Frei break down the WaPo lawsuit dismissal:

 

I also think about Omar Khadr. He traveled to Iraq, pledged allegiance to the Taliban and after helping build improvised explosive devices he was arrested and pleaded guilty to killing an American medic and blinding another American soldier with a grenade. He was 15 at the time. To us, here in Canada, he would be legally considered a minor. In Iraq he would be considered a full grown man where many that age would be either starting a family or on track to start one. He committed the worst crime possible and did so under the flag of a terrorist group who has called for the deaths of all Canadians.

Omar Khadr now lives in Canada, enjoying ten million dollars given to him from a settlement out of court by the liberal government. But that’s it’s own story not worth glossing over too many details for the sake the of conversation I’m trying to have about Greta here and now. We are also living in such a different world today than the world we lived in before september eleventh. Both in government policy, socially and technologically.

When I was in highschool I did stupid things like ride the top of my buddy’s car and steal street signs. We would make stupid jokes about everything to try and shock one another. Jokes about everything. Back when “edgy” was something that can get you arrested for today, at least in the UK. But those jokes and that behaviour is not online. Even by adjusting our conduct today to match the standards of the day, we are still the subject of scrutiny from anything that can be dug up and exposed today. In today’s climate, context does not matter.

Justin Trudeau can use his “privilege” as an excuse for a “blind spot” to justify his lapse in judgement but I guess for everyone else whos daddy wasn’t prime minister we get no second chances or get out of jail free cards for our mistakes. We get fired. We get banned. We lose our friends. Maybe rightfully so. This is exactly why we need to be extremely careful about our conduct. Because you never know what will come back to haunt you in an uncertain future.

The whole reason why there are publication bans on court cases involving minors is purely to protect the identity of those minors. So nothing can be held against these individuals before they enter adulthood. Where they will be held accountable for their actions. Their actions as adults. But social media has made that an impossible standard because everything we do online is now saved, archived, recorded and sold to anonymous third parties. On a regular basis.

Raising a child in this environment in a way that won’t affect their future is almost impossible. You can’t just cut your child off of technology until they’re an adult. You’d be raising an illiterate mess who is incompatible with almost any workplace they will enter. let alone damage their ability to socialize with others. You also can’t expose your child to everything without scandalising them. The parental tight rope gets thinner and thinner every year. So it’s easy to see how so many people view Greta as a victim.

I do not know Greta and I am not trying to speak on her behalf. I, like most everyone else, is trying to just understand where we stand today as a society. Is Greta a victim of child abuse? Is she being used by those around her? Will everything she says and does be held against her in her future? She has admitted to having aspergers and we know that people’s mental illnesses work against them in job interviews. So I think we can say there is evidence that her inclination to polarize may work against her in certain situations. And I think we can all agree that she’s too young to really appreciate the implications of that. So I think there is actual credibility in peoples concern for her.

Ultimately we will need to wait and see what becomes of young Greta. Where she ends up. If she ends up becoming some politician, this will serve to her advantage. But what if Greta kills herself? Some of us rejoice in hearing her brutal critique of governmental indifference but some also hear a hysterical young girl who has become too cynical about the world in a time when she should be smiling and laughing with friends. Does she at least have a therapist to help her cope with her cynicism, depression and celebrity status? What do you think goes on in the mind of a girl who says, “you’ve stolen my dreams and childhood from me”? Or when she talks about extinction?

There is value and developmental benefit of children having a chance to lead happy, fun, worry-free lives before entering adulthood. That may be too late for Greta and I think we could all agree we would rather our children be competent than just simply safe and you don’t do that by raising a naive child. But I can’t help but feel like some people are using Greta to help them struggle with their world view, is anyone helping Greta struggle with hers?

 

Watch Emma Gonzalez speech at the “March for our lives” rally:

 

It also reminds me of David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez. The two main student activists that rose to fame with their appearances after the parkland school shooting. In an interview with 60 minutes Emma Gonzalez mentioned that when they first gave their speech before the Parkland community they had no conceptualization that they were being broadcast for the entire world to see and react to. Now they find themselves thrust into the public spotlight. The whole thing felt coerced to me. A local rally could serve to be a part of the healing process but it’s another thing to have CNN hold a town hall and get children to go on stage and yell at politicians. And then later be given an award for journalism. It’s no wonder so many people are confused about the reality we’re living in.

There’s no doubt that Greta has achieved a certain type of celebrity status and maybe that itself is healing to her. But It sure comes with a boat load of implications that need to be considered. The reality of the situation we are faced with is simple. You cannot enter discourse without expecting there to be discourse. We can all agree that discourse should be civilized and much of it is. But as always you have liberals taking the fringes of discourse and using it to write off the whole conversation.

Regardless how you feel about Michael Knowles referring to her as mentally ill, that is actually what she is. Aspergers is now considered part of the autism spectrum and is in fact a disorder. He didn’t call her deranged or crazy, he called her mentally ill. And it brings into question the conduct of parents of children with mental illness. Parents who seem to have no problem subjecting her to the world stage. I have no doubt if this were regarding a social conservative cause such as pro-life these parents would have their children taken away. You know, like when Kathleen Wynne made it a removable offense for parents to misgender their own children. And made it so teachers must exclude a student’s parents from discussions around sexual identity. And no I can’t find a citation right now so take it or leave it.

 

Watch Matt Walsh discuss whether climate alarmism is child abuse:

 

My take on all of this is that it is absolutely wrong to attack this girl on any superficial level. She is asking for debate, so contend with her ideas. Leave out the comments about her appearance or her gender or age. We can all appreciate young people becoming more engaged politically than ever before. But it is equally as uncivilized to refuse to participate in the debate she is literally asking for. To disqualify any argument or opinion as nothing more than attacking a minor is a lazy response to genuine reaction. What it’s actually saying is that their ideas and arguments are above scrutiny. Nothing is above scrutiny. Not even Greta herself.

You can’t treat Greta like an adult when she wants to speak and then infantilize her when it’s her turn to listen. The only way we’re going to navigate our way through this culture war is by doing as much listening as we do talking. Questioning climate activism isn’t climate denial and propping up children to take the place of science only hurts climate initiatives. A child can never be the face of the public relations battle for trust. And by hurting real conversations around actual change, we are working against Greta’s ambitions, not towards them.

Trudeau’s blackface isn’t a question about racism but of integrity. The concerns around Greta Thunberg doesn’t actually revolve around the environment. And in hypocrisy the only thing you will ever find is comedy and that’s why hypocrisy hurts trust. I disagree with Greta that the environment is our number one issue. Not because the environment isn’t an issue. Because she claims we are doing nothing about it. We are. At least here in Ontario, Canada where we currently have more forestry today than we did two hundred years ago. These issues aren’t solved overnight and as long as you keep demanding they are, we’ll never find a solution.

 

I disagree with Greta but I do admire her. I am glad people are becoming more engaged with issues that impact our daily lives. I just hope Greta can live a happy life. You know how it goes, childhood celebrities never ever develop any issues into their adulthood.

 

 

 

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”

-Wendell Berry

Justin Trudeau is the Trump of the North

Trudeau Black Face

Time Magazine releases a yearbook photo of Trudeau at an “arabian nights” themed gala

Why are we talking about black face? Because it’s 2019. Time Magazine has exposed old yearbook photos which feature Justin Trudeau wearing black face in a gala themed “Arabian Nights”. Turban, robes and all. Now is it distasteful? Yes. Do I really give a shit about a mistake made 20 years ago? No. I do not believe skin colour means anything. I believe culture isn’t skin deep. Our similarities and differences transcend pigment. But by the rules of intersectionality, it’s not my place to have an opinion. It’s my job to shut up and listen. So I will humbly not make this about myself and hold Mr. Trudeau to his own intersectional criteria.

So, what does this mean? Well by the criteria set by the Liberals MP themselves, this doesn’t just make him a racist. This is a dog whistle to white supremacy, therefore it propagates white supremacy therefore Trudeau himself is a white supremacist. And now everyone who has ever taken a photo with Trudeau is now also a white supremacist by proxy due to guilt by association. They expressed these views at a free speech hearing where Liberal MPs told Lindsay Shepherd that because she appeared on a podcast with someone who has been deemed a white supremacist then she herself possessed guilt by association. Also anyone who has been found in a picture with Faith Goldy has also been deemed a white supremacist by association.

But let’s be real. Trudeau isn’t going to be held to that standard. Even if the media does slam him on this, Liberals are just going to shrug this off like everything else Trudeau has done. There is literally nothing that Trudeau could do to prevent his base from endorsing him. Even if they secretly hate him, they will support him. Because we are so entrenched in our hyper partisan tribalism that the ends justify the means and he is just a necessary evil so we can defeat “the enemy”.

Well I hate to break it to you but no evil is ever necessary and there are no actual enemies here. We’re all Canadians. But we are no longer voting on issues or policies. We are using our votes to fight the culture war. The more I watch things unfold the stronger I believe that this is no longer actually a culture war but a full blown civil war. I’m sorry, we are subverting our elections to be used to wage battle against the caricatures we have created out of our own hyperbole. This is a civil war. I just hope it stays within the boundaries of strategic voting and social media shit posting. The best case scenario is we butcher our democracy without butchering each other. I won’t even entertain what the worst case scenario could look like.

Trudeau and Trump may be on polar opposites of the political spectrum but they are both symptoms of the same problem. And in that sense they are the same. Trudeau is our Trump and I’m going to explain to you exactly how. Trump shocked the world when he won the election of 2016 after he had said and done so much that many felt had disqualified his candidacy. Time and time again Trump demonstrates that despite the controversies and the unorthodoxy of his presidency, it only ever seems to empower his base. Likewise, Trudeau has faced scandals, conflicts of interest, controversy and yet nothing seems to disqualify him for anything nor does it appear that Liberal voters are willing to hold him accountable to any degree.

  • Trump had the Billy Bush tape and the Stormy Daniels affair and God knows what else, Trudeau has the Kokanee grope.
  • Trump initiates a Muslim ban and Trudeau on the opposite end of the spectrum welcomes back Islamic State fighters like Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi.
  • Trump makes himself a laughing stock while visiting other countries, hurting America’s relationship with other governments. Trudeau gave us the whacky India trip where the Indian government snubbed him for dressing up like a bollywood clown. Despite all the PC culture he spews he had no problem “culturally appropriating” a bunch of ceremonial attire, while actual government officials were just walking around in three piece suits. He brought along Jaspar Atwal who was convicted of attempting to murder an Indian dignitary. And then when he came back to Canada he accused the Indian government of trying to sabotage his trip. That’s not even to mention his strained relations with the Philippines. Not that the garbage issue was his creation but the Philippines did declare war on us over it technically. For whatever that means. But I suppose the UN adores him so there’s that.
  • Trump gets accused of anti-semitism all the time but at least he did what many presidents before him promised to do but never delivered on. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Held a vote in support among allied countries and Canada abstained from the vote thanks to Trudeau. On top of that Trudeau’s team brought forth the motion 103 to investigate “Islamophobia”. Opposition moved to amend the motion to include anti-semitism and other forms of hate crimes and the Liberals used their majority power to veto the amendment. Now if I said that this was evidence of anti-semitism your Liberal apologists would call me a conspiracy theorist. But we all know that under intersectionality, in which he adheres to, Muslims are seen as superior to Jews. Jews have white privilege, don’t you know. Since 1942.
  • Trump shocked people when he praised Kim Jong Un but, again, people shrugged when Trudeau openly grieved Castro’s death and delivered an emotional outpour of support on behalf of all Canadians. I guess it’s understandable, Castro never did anything wrong, right?
  • Trump is largely criticised for un-presidential conduct when operating within government. A lot of people argue he’s abusing his powers with all his executive orders. But Trudeau’s Liberals have consistently used their majority power to shut down corruption probes and has now interfered with the RCMP trying to investigate criminal corruption charges. Rob Ford was criticised for turning city hall into a circus with some of his antics. Like the time he stormed through council to aid his brother and fellow councillor Doug Ford, knocking over Pam McConnell. This confirming in most people’s minds that Rob Ford was just the worst. But more shoulder shrugging when Trudeau man-handles two opposition members in the house.
  • Trump’s wall is synonymous with Trudeau’s pipeline.
  • The media has been obsessed with whether or not Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. However an extensive investigation and report by Robert Mueller failed to link Trump to an indictable offense. At least America got a Mueller report. Trudeau’s Liberals blocked any further probing into the SNC-Lavalin scandal where The Globe and Mail broke a story alleging the PMO had directly and consistently attempted to politically interfere with the attorney general. Allegedly under the direction of the PM himself. After an investigation of the ethics commissioner he found the PM was indeed in a conflict of interest. So I guess at least Trump had plausible deniability if there was any guilt on his part at all. Trudeau actually was guilty of political corruption. So I guess in that sense Trump isn’t as bad as Trudeau.
  • Trump may make up words like covfeffi but Trudeau is a gaf master himself if you manage to catch him in a scrum about exactly the topic he doesn’t want to talk about.
  • Trump cancelled a meeting with the Taliban in light of the 911 anniversary and people called the whole thing disgusting. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that. But it’s not like Trump gave a convicted terrorist $10 000 000 in a settlement out of court. Oh that’s right, that was Trudeau’s Liberals who just gave Omar Khadr $10 000 000. The man who was convicted of killing an American medic and injuring another American soldier. Oh, I almost forgot. Trudeau also apologized to him.

Justin Trudeau is the Trump of the north. They have both done things that should absolutely disqualify them but what we see is their base double down, rally around and openly endorse them. He’s just as populist. He campaigned in the last election to end hyper partisanship but the country is more divided now than ever before and political discourse has devolved to witch hunts where social justice is mob justice. The political correctness he peddles is hurting this country. With 311 shootings this year alone in the greater Toronto area all politicians can do is spew more rhetoric around gun bans because even they are afraid to be labelled a racist for suggesting all neighbourhoods may not be equal.

What I see are unprecedented developments from and unprecedented government who is unashamed of how they have disgraced this country and at every chance they get they double down again and again and again. And people just dismiss it. “All politicians are bullshit,” they say. Liberals will vote liberal, conservative will vote conservative and I fear everyone else is just going to stay home and probably watch something 20 years old, when times were simpler and fun.

Justin Trudeau is the worst Prime Minister Canada has ever seen and he has set this country back at least 15 years in regards to unification and what progress use to mean. Of course Trudeau did black face. Of course he’s a bigot. He’s a spoiled trust fund preppy boy who had life handed to him. Identity politics is nothing more than a game to him where attention is the currency of the day, it was never about any actual standards or code of conduct. Voting Liberal in the last election was the biggest mistake of my life and I’ll always regret it. I’ve never been more ashamed to be a Canadian. And the part of all of this that depresses me most is that people seem more concerned over whether or not black face makes a person racist rather than the verified ethical violation by the prime minister of canada. Why? Because it’s 2019.

 

 

“Identity politics is a sick game. You don’t play racial, ethnic, and gender identity games. The Left plays them on behalf of the oppressed, let’s say, and the Right tends to play them on behalf of nationalism and ethnic pride. I think they’re equally dangerous.”

– Jordan Peterson

Crowder Vs Maza? Free Speech Vs Censorship? Private Company Vs Public Utility? I don’t know anymore.

M v C

 

Watch a Mary Ham break down the situation surrounding Carlos Maza and Steven Crowder (4:56):

Watch Phillip Defranco covering the situation:

Watch Tim Pool’s report on the situation:

Watch Tim Pool follow up on of the adpocalypse:

Watch Lauren Chen cover the situation:

Watch Joe Rogan’s reaction to the situation:

CNN business interviews Maza over situation:

Watch 1791 profile Carlos Maza:

Watch 1791 follow up with “The Aftermath”:

Watch Glenn Beck’s reaction to the situation:

Watch Glenn Beck interview Steven Crowder:

Watch Jimmy Dore react to the situation:

Watch David Pakman break down the situation:

Watch Secular Talk break down the situation:

Watch Sargon of Akkad react to the situation:

Watch the Quartering react to the situation:

Watch Ben Shapiro cover the situation:

Watch Steven Crowder in his own words, “I’m not sorry”:

 

It may be Steven’s right to say whatever he wants but let’s not kid ourselves, there is speech that you just can’t defend. Using the word “fag” on a t-shirt you sell as merch, that’s not a hill worth dying on. Nor is it something I would want to support or sympathize with. He’s used the word fag regularly like in events held with Milo. Youtubers are more than just commentators, they’re role models to their audience. But when you look at what crowder actually says about Maza it’s always in the context of rebuttal.

He’s never said anything remotely close to anything like “this is the problem with the gays” or “people like Maza” or “he’s like this because he’s gay”. No. It’s always been an attack on Maza himself as an individual. And I’m sorry but when you create political commentary content where you’re whole shtick is criticising others, it’s just plain fair game that others are going to react to what you say. What is Maza actually asking for here? And by going after youtube Maza is demonstrating the very mob behaviour and targeting that he claims youtube enables in others. Critics have been parodying each other forever. Crowder denounces all forms of doxing and online bullying. This is not just to formally cover his ass, he knows and makes clear that is is exactly what people like Maza want so they can claim that sweet, sweet victimhood and it plays right into their narrative. Online bullying is never ok and never helps anyone. Crowder understands this and always denounces it. The responsibility of creators for their followers is another conversation.

When he exaggerates Maza’s excentricisms, is that homophobia? If you’re someone I don’t like, I might call you a cock sucker. If you were gay but I didn’t know, would I be a homophobe? If I did know you were gay and still called you that, would I be a homophobe? If you subscribe to intersectional doctrine then yes, as a CIS, white male I have no right to criticise anyone above me on the hierarchy. And my insult will be found to be discrimination of some kind. If it’s directed at a gay man, it’s homophobic. If it’s directed at a woman it’s misogynist. If it’s aimed at a “person of colour” then it’s racist. And if it doesn’t comfortably meet the definition of racism then we’ll just call it coded language to dog whistle white supremacy.
In the context of intersectionality, CIS white males will inevitably be found to be guilty and tainted and problematic because that is the status of my identity group. Despite the fact that when I’m using such language, I’m never thinking about the act itself. Nor am I using it to bring about visuals of such acts being performed by the people such comments are targeting. I’m probably just using that language because I think it’ll offend you. And if I’m using that language I probably want to offend you. I’m just intending to piss you off, nothing more, nothing less. But thoughts, actions and the intention around them are irrelevant. If you are not a member of the protected class then you will face the consequences of your actions and cited as an example of things like “genocide”. That all being said… did I have to call the person a cock sucker in the first place? Probably not.
This leads me to an email I sent to Steven Crowder about 2 years ago. I had just created a youtube account to investigate this whole youtube thing after the Trump election and crowder was one of the first channels I discovered. After so long following him closely I felt the need to email him a critique. I wrote to him that I felt he was wrong to use words like Faggot. Even if it is in talking to Milo Yiannopoulos through mutual respect. I don’t recall him ever using the word Nigger but he’s always engaged in real spicy language. I told Crowder that he may have every right to say absolutely whatever he wants but the reality is having an audience makes him a role model as much as he is a comedian or commentator. And his advocacy for conservative values and free speech is noble. But his careless use of spicy language really just makes him look like a bully and that he only wants free speech to be an asshole.
I believe in absolute freedom of expression but free speech doesn’t mean freedom against consequence. However this regulation should always be socially enforced and not legislated into law. The government regulation of speech will always be a gross conflict of interest. If you’re not scared of a liberal telling you what’s acceptable to say or do, try having a conservative telling you what you can say or do. This is not the role of government. Public discourse is best left up to the public. And the amendments we currently have on free speech is already borderline too much but fair enough. Defamation, incitement of violence, etc. Fair enough. People will get in line with their tribes based on what’s socially acceptable to say. This plays out every day as we all self censor over controversial issues.
So I warned Crowder that if he insisted on using, what I have been calling, “indefensible speech” then one day he would be targeted and his arguments would be reduced to  holding him to account for this spicy language. Using words like Faggot isn’t a hill worth dying on. And freedom of individual expression is far too important to be taken down by such shallow defenses. These are words that are so morally powerful they bind and blind people and recruit free speech opposition quicker than any advocacy argument could ever back them off that cliff. And here we are today, Crowder being accused of hate speech. Not because of his “change my mind” segments or his one-on-one interviews or his comedic sketches or his collaborations. It’s over the word fag.
He can be as ‘not sorry’ as he wants, the damage is already done. Not from his base but to his credibility to those sitting on the fence. The more he frames things as “us versus them” and the more he appeals to tribalism the more he contributes to polarization. And that’s why Crowder is in the wrong with this issue. I can play devils advocate for Crowder in this situation and I believe Maza is also wrong and also disingenuous but that doesn’t mean Crowder is right. They’re both wrong for their own reasons. These issues need to be contended with responsibly and with the seriousness they deserve. Crowder is not doing this and no amount of “some of my best friends are fags” style defense will ever make him right.
He’s making money and gaining subs despite his demonetization so if money is the only measure of success then sure, he’s winning. I only see an empty victory. Is Crowder a comedian? Not in the traditional sense of a comedian but if Stephen Colbert, Fallon and Kimmel pass as comedians then Crowder does as well. But their partisanship doesn’t grant them the kind of pass I would grant people like Kevin Hart or Bill Burr, etc. Crowders show is clearly intended to be a political commentary dressed up with entertaining sketches and bits to make it more palatable. That does not exempt him of scrutiny nor has he ever shied away from challenges. Provocation is part of his style and that is aimed at shock value and intended to challenge you. This is also not a defense for indefensible speech.
When I engage in road rage on the highway I don’t stop and think rationally of what the most appropriate wording of outrage would be to use so that I don’t offend my perpetrator. Instead of “dumb bitch” I use “silly goose” and instead of “mother fucker” I say “non-gender-conforming parental guardian consentual fornicator”. Look, I’m not equating delivering a speech to the world to the same standard as road rage but sometimes an emotional reaction can result in impulsive inappropriateness. And as Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
My point is Crowder doesn’t like Maza. Why would he give a shit about Maza’s feelings? Sure, you’re a content creator and you shouldn’t appeal to outrage. And in an ideal world we would all be polite to one another. But Maza does the exact same thing by demonizing those he criticizes. Maza’s advocating for one identity group being a protected class over another identity group. Again, it always comes down to socialism with these guys. Political correctness is just fascism with manners. If social media wants to start promoting some content while censoring other content then how does this not make them a publisher? News media relies on all social media for their reporting now, it’s cited as a publisher source constantly. But everytime they favour one voice over another they are actively in conflict with constitutional rights. You guys want to end discrimination? Then there can be NO protected category of ppl over other ppl. period. Every time any protected class is favoured, all those outside the protected class are discriminated against.

Now as for Maza. All I can say is the guy isn’t real journalism, it’s the exact activist based narrative propaganda that he himself is so critical of. Crowder isn’t fooling anyone by using the word “Figs” instead of “Fags” on his shirt. Maza isn’t fooling anyone by advocating for acosting people with milkshakes isn’t an incitement for violence. I’ll tell you right now if you ever threw a milkshake at me I’d beat the ever living fuck out of you. I have my own hateful conduct policy. Kill me or regret it. So he violates actual laws but you’ll never see it enforced because society is adhering to this social justice rhetoric around protected classes.

I can appreciate that he may call himself a gay wonk and that doesn’t automatically exempt others from scrutiny for engaging him with the same language. I believe the word Nigger is reprehensible and should never be used. However I don’t care when I hear it in a song or in the context of news and the like. But the main point here is that Maza has entered the public domain to target and criticize others. This is his career. He gets paid to do this. This puts him squarely smack dab in the middle of the marketplace of ideas. His ideas and opinions are just as up for scrutiny as those he targets. He, himself, engages in the same demonizing language he’s critical over Crowder using.

He thinks he’s right based on his race and sexual orientation and Crowder is inherently wrong as a measure of his race and sexual orientation. Maza is wrong. He claims Youtube doesn’t care about it’s LGBTQ creators. This is a lie and his calls for protest are all simply aimed at damaging youtube and the creators on their platform. He even admits himself this isn’t really about Crowder. And he chose to do all of this at the same time of a vox walkout and during pride month. It’s calculated, manipulative and disingenuous. His proclamation of victimhood is, in my opinion, purely aimed at harming others. The mainstream hit pieces that have followed reinforce my feeling that this is just another attempt to reclaim lost ground against alternative media.

 

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

He’s doing it for the clicks clap

 

 

Watch Philly D cover new main stream media hit pieces:

Watch Tim Pool’s coverage of Media hit piece:

Watch The Quartering react to the media hit piece:

Watch 1791 cover the media hit piece:

Watch Secular Talk cover the media hit piece:

Watch Ben Shapiro’s coverage of the media hit piece:

 

So in closing, I need to ask. What exactly are we talking about here? Is this just a fight between Crowder and Maza? Well neither knows each other personally and it’s pretty clear that both parties have their own personal agendas behind their faux feud. So this really isn’t a conflict between these two. Is this a conversation about censorship? Maza makes clear that it’s not enough to demonetize creators channels, citing websites like patreon. Youtube has nothing to do with Patreon. Is it not enough to censor a creator? Must there be a collaborative effort to destroy the lives of those we deem ‘problematic’? Youtube can change it’s policies every hour if they want, I don’t think that’s what the issue is really about.

I think this all comes down to the big question of what is social media? Is it a private company that is allowed to ‘hire’ and ‘fire’ anyone they deem harmful to their brand? Is it a publication that produces us with news? Well all mainstream media has no problem citing social media for anecdotes in their work. All media utilize social media for their content to reach far beyond the municipal boundaries of their broadcast. Is social media really just a company that aims at only making money?

Well if social media wants to continue to regulate content then it increasingly fulfills the role of publisher as it guides our attention and calculates it’s recommendations. Maybe a better question is what is social media to us? Internet in general is now considered a basic human right as more people do their banking, communications and coordination through their smart devices or computers. Trying to live without a phone or access to internet truly does present very real barriers to thriving in a society that demands instantaneous communication.

Here are a few other good questions. If you cannot network, plan, promote, advertize or advocate on social media, how does that impact your professional and/or social life? Would you suffer damages by being barred from utilizing social media? What advantages would others have over you if you were not allowed access to social media while running for political office? While others have access to it but you don’t. How would that impact the election of your riding? Better yet, could you ever become president/prime minister without a presence on social media? I don’t think you could run a competitive campaign without some degree of social media activity.

How significant is our online avatar? Is our online presence as significant as our physical self in real life? If you disappeared from social media, would it have a measurable impact on your real life friendships? Could that lead to falling out with certain friends? Your profile, your avatar, your page, your library. Are these personalized home pages shares? Does holding a personal account/home page equate to holding a share within the company if it’s profitability is derived from your account/content? Is there an argument there that your account is a form of equity? Canadian government ruled that points accumulated on reward cards like air miles is a form of equity that is owned by the card holder, not air miles. This after Air Miles attempted to retroactively apply an adjustment to terms and conditions around accumulated points. Government ruled that unconstitutional. They ruled that digital equity could be property. Does my participation on social media produce equity that I should be entitled to?

Are these companies monopolies? What relationship do we have with social media? Is it addictive? Could it be so intrinsic to our functionality that social media can become a symbiotic relationship with us? It may be true that social media are private companies. This also means they are unelected officials regulating the centre of public discourse. So what responsibilities do these companies have in the symbiotic relationship their products have with our lives? Are these platforms an open forum? I don’t have the answers but I think after seeing just how far you can flesh out the significance of social media it tends to feel more like a public utility than merely a private platform. Perhaps how it functions goes beyond it’s intended design. But if it meets the definition of a public utility then we cannot ignore the conversation around civil rights. And if access to these platforms is a civil right then it’s pretty clear the conversation around regulation is far from over and far more complex than it seems.

 

 

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth”

– Vladimir Ilyich Lenin