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Tavis Dodds | Victoria | Council


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#21 Chris J

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 02:43 PM

Wow. I haven't seen Tavis since the day before the election and hadn't heard this.
If it's true, then do what you feel you need to do, I guess.
Next time try to get more cozy with Dean and the gang and you won't need signs. If signs were what this election was about, Richard Parks would have gotten far more votes.

#22 Caramia

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 02:49 PM

Interesting the Tavis deface Rob Reid's sign and not Dean's considering Dean voted to appeal the tent bylaw, while Rob Reid did not support the appeal.
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#23 Chris J

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 02:54 PM

Fortin's signs must have been harder to deface. You have to take them off the wire frame, turn them inside out, put it back on the wire frame and then spraypaint. Does not make for a fast gettaway.

#24 Chris J

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 02:55 PM

I don't think his choice of signs had anything to do with the candidates (again, I had no idea he was even doing it) but I think it was more an attack against signage.

#25 ted - 3 - dots

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 04:08 PM

Ya know , there has been a lot of thought here on this issue

Perhaps we should ask our pal Dean Fortin to give us a public hearing,
about signage and the sign bylaw... ( ie: to avoid the blight I saw , along Harris-Green )

more than 2-3 per block ( of the same sign ) , is too many for my taste...!

------- My thought is one city office where you can register as a Candidate,
pay a small fee , and have your sign installed & maintained by a city crew ...!

ie: all sign's will be the same size & shape , and the installation won't infringe on my ablity to walk down a side-walk...! ( I got tired of moving the damned things OUT OF MY WAY )


----------- Bottom line -------------

Let's banned together , and help the City to change a bylaw or two ...!

( ie: from the citizen's point of view )

ted...

what do you think ...?

#26 Mike K.

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Posted 18 November 2008 - 04:26 PM

I don't think his choice of signs had anything to do with the candidates (again, I had no idea he was even doing it) but I think it was more an attack against signage.


An attack against signage? How ironic.

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#27 Holden West

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Posted 28 November 2008 - 09:11 PM



Campers removed from city square
Two protesters were arrested this morning for refusing to leave a makeshift camp.



Victoria police handcuff and take Tavis Dodds away from the homeless campsite that has been under the Sequoia tree in Centennial square where Christmas celebrations are happening Friday late afternoon.
Photograph by : Debra Brash
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#28 Guest_Marcat_*

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 12:09 PM

Damn, you mean i could have voted for this buffoon in the municipal election? Well yippie yi yay, I'll be sure to vote for him next election, so he can continue making a mockery of our entire system

#29 Chris J

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 12:58 PM

From my perspective, it seems that despite what we might have to say about Tavos's behaviour as it relates to how many votes the incumbants got or how well the voters were able to educate themselves, I don't think he intends to make a mockery out of the ENTIRE system, just the parts that claim to be democratic and in the name of justice, when in truth they are anything but.
Is the system broken? People all over the political spectrum will tell you that it is. Except those who profit from the corruption.
Most people in Victoria haven't a clue what's going on with politics and policing here, let alone know how corrupt it can get.
Perhaps this hijinks wll turn them off the process even more, and perhaps it will convince them to start asking questions, and not just believing that the city and police have a right to do whatever they want, even if the 'majority' of people support it. The law is the law and the last time I checked the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was way up there in the hierarchy above city council and their plans for dealing with 'social disorder'.

#30 Rob Randall

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:20 PM

I still don't quite get what Travis is saying about not being democratic and how this relates to his campaign. I think his antics drew attention to the process, but the net result will likely be more hoops and red tape for us to navigate through during the next election: less democracy. So what were his beefs? Why was it necessary to interfere with our campaigns instead of protesting outside or other means? This is not a rhetorical question, BTW.

As for the sign vandalism and the apologists that downplay it: I understand how you talk about it being more of an attack on signage than on individuals (thank goodness, I guess), but the bottom line for us is that destruction of the political messaging is a tactic more associated with fascist thugs. One of our most cherished rights is that I can put up an election sign on public property advertising my wish to be part of the government. There is simply no acceptable reason for a fellow politician to tamper with the message of another candidate.

#31 Chris J

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:28 PM

Are you so sure there will be more hoops and red tape? And isnt that what you want?
On one hand I hear people saying it is too easy to be a candidate, then I hear you complain about hoops and red-tape. Would you rather have some kind of retina scan or RFID chip so that the 'non-serious' types have to answer a thousand questions while the 'acceptable' folk get fast-tracked through the process?
I think the system is beyond repair myself, and that is why the solutions are going to look like more problems to some.

#32 Chris J

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:31 PM

It's very telling as well that people who have more privilege in this society are far more supportive (and believe in the power of) of gradual reform than those who have less of a voice in the process than those with class or race differences. Those of us who have seen a different side of this system know that democracy is not real, but a big game played out to protect the rights of the rich.
Wasn't so long ago that women fought for the vote and black people fought segregation. They system did not give these things up willingly and it has not given up all there is to give up, nor will it be any easier to gain human rights.
That said, I don't support vandalism that ends up hurting those who are not the ones creating this mess. I don't think it had any bearing on whether anyone won or lost in this election, but it makes it hard for us to work together.

#33 Chris J

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:40 PM

One last thing, sorry.
I still can't speak for Tavis, and I am asking the same question you ask.
One answer I come up with, theoretically, is that whether you have your two minutes or ten in front of the crowd, whether you have 25 or 200 signs, the system is not democratic and these was already decided before the race began, or at the very least, independent of anyone's campaign. Tavis was not messing with you, he was more messing with the establishment, the status quo, whether it was a wise tactic or not.
You, Rob, being further up on the societal scale in terms of income and politics, had more of a chance, so it's likely you would be more offended by this suggestion. No personal offense.
I would ask Tavis however.
This is all just my speculation, based on the mood I am in today. I may be less harsh on reform-ism later.

#34 Rob Randall

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:47 PM

Oh my god, my head is about to explode. "further up on the societal scale in terms of income and politics"? My placing had nothing to do with my income (which is less than yours, btw) or my "societal status", whatever that is. I'm an underemployed visual artist. You can't get much lower than that: my mentors are treated like pariahs.

#35 Rob Randall

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 02:46 PM

Tavis was not messing with you, he was more messing with the establishment, the status quo, whether it was a wise tactic or not.


Those signs cost over $800. I've spent a few hours so far scrubbing the paint off with solvent and I'm far from done. I'd say that's "messing with me".

And don't paint me as some rich elitist. You have no idea who I am or anything about my family.

#36 Rob Randall

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 02:50 PM

I don't support vandalism that ends up hurting those who are not the ones creating this mess. I don't think it had any bearing on whether anyone won or lost in this election, but it makes it hard for us to work together.


You should have stopped after typing "I don't support vandalism". You say I deserve vandalism because I'm a part of the problem? I created the mess? Or that it's OK because the election outcome wasn't affected? All irrelevant.

#37 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 04:15 PM

Oh my god, my head is about to explode.


Mine, too.

Jeez, what a bunch of drivel - so democracy and "the system" is a sham and doesn't work because...?, because it took women many years to get the vote (but we got it!) and it took blacks many years to get desegregation (but they did!)??

I hope I never have to live in the world envisioned by Tavis or ChrisJ or any of the other "improvers."

Funny, this refrain keeps popping into my head, from The Smiths, where Morrissey sings, "you just haven't earned it yet, baby."

What I'm seeing is an immature sense of entitlement on the part of "radicals" who want to change the world/ the system. An entitlement to change the world - as if you understood it.

But you know, by railing against "the rich" like this - and including people like us in that mix - you are just proving that you understand not much and are operating from a perspective that's half-baked.

And what Rob said re. "don't support vandalism."

Geez, where are your parents?

Now, I'll just go back to mopping the floor and try to keep the rest of me from exploding.
When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.

#38 Ms. B. Havin

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Posted 29 November 2008 - 04:19 PM

PS: @ ChrisJ: I actually respect your willingness to engage in conversation here, and you've posted some things I agree with.

But as for Tavis et al., you might want to step back and get a wider perspective. My rant (above) is aimed mainly at his tactics, but also at support for those tactics.

And yes, Tavis and his ilk are going to drive a process to make running for council more onerous, more restrictive, and so on - so in other words, they're achieving the exact opposite of what they might want, which is access.

It's called digging yourself a hole. At this rate, Tavis and co. will be in middle earth sometime soon.
When you buy a game, you buy the rules. Play happens in the space between the rules.

#39 mat

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Posted 30 November 2008 - 09:21 PM

For those looking for the great debate on activism re - homeless, the posts have been moved to the more relevant thread on Homeless and Camping. Any discussion directly concerning Tavis Dobbs please post here.

 



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