It might be a bit early in the month to post a Bits and Bites article, but I figure if another is necessary later, I'm sure the readers won't mind. In any case it has been a busy couple of days and I thought that I should address a few
Continue readingTag: vandalism
Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Racists and Antisemites Attending June 4 Event in Calgary
Tomorrow the protests planned for Ottawa, Calgary, and other Canadian cities should all be under way by noon. Though billed as "million Canadian" marches (thereby attempting to co-opt past progressive events), this writer suspects the numbers will fall far, far, short of one million people. In Ottawa, I suspect there
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Canadian Soldiers of Odin Break With Finland
I've been away on vacation (thanks George Soros 😉 and only returned to Canada yesterday, but I thought this would be an appropriate time to mention that ARC and Rabble.ca are currently collaborating on a project: We are partnering with the Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective for the next #stophateca
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: A Busy Weekend for Extremism in Calgary: Blood & Honour and "The Rebel"
This past weekend there were two Calgary events that caught our attention. In some ways they were a study in contrasts. One event was held on Saturday by a small, shadowy, group that has since 2012 shunned media attention. The other was held on Sunday by a relatively politically savvy
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: A Busy Weekend for Extremism in Calgary: Blood & Honour and "The Rebel"
This past weekend there were two Calgary events that caught our attention. In some ways they were a study in contrasts. One event was held on Saturday by a small, shadowy, group that has since 2012 shunned media attention. The other was held on Sunday by a relatively politically savvy
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Kellie Leitch’s Canadian Values And Dog Whistle Politics
Days after the attacks occurred many politicians came together and in an example of non-partisanship that, since then have become increasingly rare, proclaimed in unison that these attacks would not change our fundamental nature as a society or our commitment to liberal democratic values which included freedom, pluralism, and tolerance.
But of course our fundamental nature and commitment to those values did change.
In the years since September 11, 2001, we’ve allowed governments to pass laws which violated our civil liberties — the PATRIOT Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Loi Renseignement — because of fear.
Hate groups have used social media to effectively disseminate propaganda targeting immigrants, religious and ethnic minorities, and those who subscribe to progressive political positions. Some of these groups, such as PEGIDA which originated in Germany and the Soldiers of Odin which originated in Finland have created chapters in other countries, including Canada (and which have lately been prominently featured on this blog) and have moved off of social media and onto the streets of the country. Incidents of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim vandalism, arson, death threats, and assaults are not unusual occurrences and are often celebrated by people who support anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim groups, some of whom (such as these posts on III% Canada) actually desire the genocide of a people:
We’ve witnessed the demonization of an entire faith group because of the actions of a few leading to attacks against members of the Muslim faith as well as the passing of illiberal laws in ostensibly liberal democracies.
Demagogues have arisen and attempt to gain power in their respective countries through identity politics. In the United States Donald Trump has closed the the gap between himself and Hilary Clinton running on an overtly racist campaign targeting immigrants and Muslims among others while promising “law and order” to oppose what he claims as increased lawlessness in a country where crime has actually been in decline for two decades. In Europe, the AfD finished ahead of the Christian Democrats in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania on a single-issue platform: no refugees. Geert Wilders of the Netherlands, Marine Le Pen of France, Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Norbert Hofer’s Freedom Party in Austria, Jaroslaw Kaczynski and the governing party of Poland, and Sweden Democrats among other individuals and far-right parties who have been able to ride a wave of anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim sentiments and either form national governments or have a serious chance of doing so. Even old relics like Pauline Hanson of Australia, once consigned to the dustbin of history, have re-emerged and now holds the balance of power along with three other members of One Nation in the Australian senate.
Canada isn’t immune from this same demagoguery and identity politics.
During the last federal election and in what turned out to be a failed Hail Mary pass by the former Prime Minister, the Conservative Party floated the idea of creating a hotline in which Canadian citizens could call in to report suspicions that their neighbors were engaging in “barbaric cultural practices.” Aside from the fact that most people are able to call 911 when a crime is being committed, there might be a bit of irony in a conservative political party suggesting a Stasi-style program in which neighbors are asked to inform on each other. Though the Conservative Party denied it the proposed program, which came hot on the heels of the court ruling allowing a woman to take the Oath of Citizenship while wearing a niqab, was targeted towards a specific cultural group. And though ultimately unsuccessful as a means of turning the election in the Conservative’s favor, the genie was let out of the bottle giving rise to a significant Conservative constituency who not only don’t believe Muslim citizens share the values of other Canadians, but who often subscribe to the belief there is a vast conspiracy to enact Islamic Sharia law by the Muslim Brotherhood who have infiltrated our government. It’s not unusual to see people claim that Justin Trudeau himself is a Muslim bent on destroying Canada and paving the way for an Islamic caliphate.
To most Canadians, even those who aren’t happy with the Liberal victory last October, these sentiments are the ridiculous conspiracies of fearful and gullible people. To others though, it constitutes a political constituency.
Kellie Leitch was Mr. Harper’s point person on the barbaric cultural practices tip line proposal during the election. At the time she stated that the Conservative Party was, “not afraid to defend Canadian values” though she never quite spelled out what those values actually were. After the election, Ms. Leitch seemed to apologize (sort of) for her role in the proposed tip line:
Leitch, who is also a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, said her intention was to ensure that if women and children needed to “pick up the phone” to call for help that someone would answer, but admits that “the message was lost.”
“We weren’t talking about race, we were talking about kids … but that message was completely overtaken and I regret that, and I regret that it occurred, and it shouldn’t have been done,” she said.
Now as a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party however, Ms. Leitch has decided that identity politics is a reasonable policy position once again:
Kellie Leitch defends ‘anti-Canadian values’ survey questionHer campaign asks if immigrants should be screened to determine their values
By Catharine Tunney, CBC News Posted: Sep 02, 2016 3:42 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 02, 2016 5:12 PM ETConservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch is defending a contentious survey question from her campaign team that asked supporters what they think about vetting would-be immigrants and refugees for “anti-Canadian values.”
….
“Canadians can expect to hear more, not less from me, on this topic in the coming months,” Leitch wrote in an emailed statement….
Ms. Leitch this time provided a vague understanding of what she believes to be Canadian values:
“Screening potential immigrants for anti-Canadian values that include intolerance towards other religions, cultures and sexual orientations, violent and/or misogynist behaviour and/or a lack of acceptance of our Canadian tradition of personal and economic freedoms is a policy proposal that I feel very strongly about.”
Besides the claim that “economic freedoms” constitute a Canadian value (social democrats might not agree with a Conservative Party member over exactly what this value constitutes for example), one has to wonder how many of the Conservative base would pass the tests themselves, at least the, “intolerance towards other religions, cultures and sexual orientations, violent and/or misogynist behaviour” part of it.
Because, you see, while Ms. Leitch argues her proposed values test has nothing to do with identity politics and that comparing her to Donald Trump “isn’t fair,” those who’s ears are tuned to dog whistles will hear exactly what she wants that particular constituency to hear:
For example the reaction by members of both Canadians Against Justin Trudeau and PEGIDA Canada were both generally favorable to Ms. Leitch’s position, other than those who believe Muslims would lie and thus support a blanket ban on Muslim immigration. From Canadians Against Justin Trudeau….
Anti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Second Case of Anti-Muslim/Government Vandalism at Calgary School In a Week
Before we get to the meat of things, we thought we would begin with a screenshot taken from the Canadians 4 Canadians since it will explain, in some part, the mentality of those who would support this most recent case of extremism:These people are resp…
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: MSM Starting to Pay Attention to Anti-Muslim/Anti-Government Groups and Individuals
On July 15, 2016, PEGIDA Canada held what it referred to as a "flash demo":The results were underwhelming:The organizers did receive laudatory comments regarding the demonstration, but there was also some level of despondency as well:In some …
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Students For Western Civilization: Trolls, But Still Interesting (Part II)
In late November we published an article about a group trying to establish itself in a number of Canadian and American universities and colleges. While Students For Western Civilization may or may not be a hoax, we still consider the topic to be of som…
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Two Men Charged in Calgary Anti-Muslim Vandalism
It didn’t take long for arrests to be made.On Thursday Miguel Lavergne was charged with six counts of public mischief with hate crime harges pending. A second man was in custody as well, but Kyle MacKenzie was not formally charged (also …
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Images of Calgary Anti-Muslim Vandals Released
They don't seem to be among the usual suspects in Calgary, but maybe our readers can figure out who these fine, upstanding, jackasses are:Read more »
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Poorly Spelled Anti-Muslim Graffiti in Calgary
A couple of days ago, we read an article concerning especially nasty graffiti found spray painted on the walls of a Calgary LRT station and nearby cars:Tuscany LRT station hit with racist graffitiCBC News Posted: Dec 03, 2015 7:11 PM MT Last Updated: D…
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: The Sad Saga of Vikingwarlord14: Part II
We always enjoy when our fans send us feedback: Oh you sweet talker you! It looks like "Unit14"/"Jay Stone"/"Jay Smith"/"proudcracker420" might not have appreciated the article in which he was mentioned. We understand. In the article we dismissed him as an irrelevant carnival sideshow not worthy of anyone's time and
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Reaction to the Tragedies in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa
Well I'm back. Did I miss anything? There are a lot of stories I would like to get to eventually. For example I've been digging up some information on a Winnipeg misanthrope posting on Stormfront as "vikingwarlord14" named Jonathan (and trust us when we note that the online moniker is
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Two Anti-Muslim Incidents in Alberta
Last Friday Syed Soharwardy, a well known Calgary-based imam alleges he was twice struck by a car driven by a woman who also shouted anti-Islam epithets at him. Soharwardy wasn't injured, but he was understandably shaken by the experience. And the reaction of some of the boneheads we follow? Not
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Hate-Motivated Vandalism in London
There is a suspicion that this guy might just be someone we recently wrote about here. We aren’t entirely certain, but if any of our readers want to let us know who they think he is, we would very much appreciate the confirmation of our suspicions: London police seek man
Continue readingTrashy's World: Lisa MacLeod – her mouth runneth over…
Or…. should a candidate make unfounded claims about “dirty tricks”? Dirty tricks – Leaking secret information, digging into a candidate’s past (opposition research) or exposing real conflicts between the image presented and the person behind the image are always subject to argument as to whether they are dirty tricks or
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Kyle McKee Writes in the Third Person Now
There was a little update regarding McKee's alleged involvement on the attack against Max Hynes, a one time ally now rival, that took place in the summer of 2012: White power leader denies role in Kitchener ambush By Brian Caldwell KITCHENER — The leader of a Calgary-based white supremacy group
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Flyers and Graffiti
Over the last two weeks, there have been a few events that have resulted in some coverage in the mainstream press that would be of interest to our readers. The biggest story is the one about the flyer that was distributed by a group calling itself Immigration Watch Canada in
Continue readingAnti-Racist Canada: The ARC Collective: Burning Swastika Found in Edmonton
Any information from our readers would be welcomed: Burning Swastika Spotted In Edmonton The Huffington Post Alberta | Posted: 04/22/2014 11:36 am EDT | Updated: 04/23/2014 4:59 pm EDT Edmonton police are investigating after a wooden swastika was found burning in the city’s southwest over the Easter weekend. A driver made the
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