In a wonderfully-written, humorous piece, Now Toronto eviscerates hate merchant Christie Blatchford. Nice someone in the ranks of Canadian journalism is taking a stand for her opportunism over Layton’s demise, even as Blatchford’s compatriots at the National Post and Globe & Mail circle her wagons.
A mere 10 hours after Jack Layton passed away, the National Post published Christie Blatchford’s instructional column on how to die.
According to Blatchford, Layton didn’t do it right, and as a result his death has become a public spectacle.
The Blatchford rules of dying are as follows:
- Do not go over 1,000 words on your death bed. Whatever you have as your last words, best to keep it short.
- Avoid any sentences that could be confused with “bumper-sticker slogans”; a turn of phrase could be mean the difference between a respectful funeral and a dreaded public spectacle.
- Also on your deathbed, you must appear non-partisan, even if you are partisan and a politician. Otherwise your words will be nothing more than “ruthlessly partisan politicking.”
- And do not say or write anything positive about yourself, lest you appear too “vainglorious.”
Journalism is too often defined by its incestuousness; whenever a colleague is brought to the carpet, the buddy system goes into effect where they all cover for the guilty amongst them. You saw this in the States when Fox News was excluded by the White House and the heavy hitter network dudes came in to rescue their colleague(s) at Fox.
