288 replies to this topic

[todd]

Canada Day for this year is long over. Time to move on to another thread.

[Mike K.]

It continues to impact the country. The legacy of communism still has deep roots in Poland of 2021, and it doesn’t help when old white men from an Island in Canada think they understand the politics of what was the eastern bloc today, and believe they ‘know’ by reading Washington Post propaganda (which is what all media is, it’s propaganda; we just tend to view what we like as news and what we don’t like as, well, propaganda). I think generally Poles, especially those who did not take the blue pill and join the ‘Party,’ have an understanding of the thin veil between freedom and oppression, and how the media is intertwined between them.

Like the recent brouhaha over Polish courts, and how the government forcing its way into the Supreme Court of the country is unjustifiable, an overreach, anti democratic. Yeah, it is when you read WaPo. Not so much when you realize the judges are tethered to their communist-era bosses with a life of debt to them for their instalment.

Canada is the best place on earth and I do feel that far too many Canadians forget just how bad so much of the world is, and has been, and why so many “settlers” are here.

But ultimately, the history of Europe is not unlike the history of Canada, and the way with which this country undertook its agenda against the First Nations was not unlike how the forces worked in Europe, where one nation always viewed its opponent as less intelligent, less deserving of autonomy and needing to make way for someone else.

[Greg]

Then you also understand the concept of intergenerational trauma.

[Mike K.]

No. In my family the trauma never went beyond those who experienced it. The knowledge was passed down, but it was not “trauma” for the generations that came after those who lived the trauma. We knew very well the evils of what had happened, but our grandparents taught us to move on, and to rebuild. That rebuilding continues to this day.

I don’t understand, through my experience at least, how trauma can be multi-generational if it was not experienced by subsequent generations.

[Greg]

So the events of WW2 and the aftermath continue to impact Poland in tangible ways, but you don't see how FN folks are still impacted by residential schools, or how the US still is deeply affected by the vestiges of slavery? That seems odd.

[Mike K.]

There are stories my grandmother told me that are unfit for posting here. Atrocities that are unimaginable to us as 21st century Canadians. But they happened a very short time ago in cultured and civilized Europe.

Can they happen again? Yes. They very quickly can, and they do in parts of the world, today. That’s part of the reason why Canada opens its arms to the world facing oppression and war.

[Mike K.]

So the events of WW2 and the aftermath continue to impact Poland in tangible ways, but you don't see how FN folks are still impacted by residential schools, or how the US still is deeply affected by the vestiges of slavery? That seems odd.

I don’t subscribe to the victim mentality. I was taught to take advantage of today, and stand in the way of those who want to repeat yesterday.

[Victoria Watcher]

So the events of WW2 and the aftermath continue to impact Poland in tangible ways, but you don't see how FN folks are still impacted by residential schools, or how the US still is deeply affected by the vestiges of slavery? That seems odd.

give me a break.

if the US is still deeply affected by slavery how do you explain the success of almost every other much more recent immigrant group to the USA that arrived with next to nothing, weak language skills and still excelled?

US blacks are deeply affected by the normalisation of the welfare state. Not slavery,

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 July 2021 - 08:53 AM.

[JimV]

… but you don't see how FN folks are still impacted by residential schools, or how the US still is deeply affected by the vestiges of slavery? That seems odd.

In both cases there have been no legal barriers to their joining the mainstream culture and taking advantage of the opportunities therein.  The Chinese immigrants were subject to a lot of discrimination in the early days.  Instead of whining about their victimhood they buckled down, worked hard and are today among the most prosperous and educated of citizens.  All the while preserving their rich culture.  It is revealing that when the term “person of colour” is used everybody understands, though rarely mentions, that it doesn’t really include East Asians.

 

That said, most people are sympathetic to the FN plight.  So what are we supposed to do about it?  Will tearing down some statues, renaming a few streets and dismantling some parts of our culture help them out in any material way?  I think not.  I think it only breeds resentment and sets back the cause of reconciliation, whatever that is.

[Mike K.]

I believe the First Nations -are- impacted, deeply. Their culture was exposed to European settlement for centuries, and European control.

Europe is not a place to look to for a culture to emulate, necessarily. With the incredible, also came the worst of humanity. But Europeans are also used to it. We/they faced struggle, oppression, but overcame and rebuilt. This nation (Canada) is better for having the rebuilders join this society too, but we have to come to terms with this (Canada’s) nation’s past that while isn’t as bad as it was in the US or Europe, was still oppressive to entire subsets of the population.

Now having said that socialism isn’t the solution. It’s just piggybacking to try and squeeze a free ride. What we need is to do away with economic barriers for First Nations to empower their populations through the mechanisms that create real, multi-generational wealth, and quit this system of handouts that gives control to others.

[Mike K.]

Today at the art unveiling at Esquimalt Town Square the ceremony began with a First Nation prayer, where a man asked the crowd to pray with him, and to make the sign of the cross with him if they so chose, and to put their hands in the air at the end of the prayer in a traditional way of the Songhees Nation.

The man blessed the crowd, blessed the buildings, and did so with no hesitation towards his Christian faith. I took him to be in his mid-30s.

Other Songhees performers danced for the crowd, and when they finished, the CFB Esquimalt band performed Oh Canada, the words sung by a young woman. Many in the crowd sang along.

When the art unveiling began, one of the artists spoke of his artistic style being influenced by the beauty of Canada’s natural spaces, which he came to love, because he had the fortune of growing up in Canada after his parents moved from post-war Germany, where his mother survived the war, and his father helped rebuild the nation after the war.

Many people spoke, many performed, and we even saw a tribute to Canada by a group of young dancers who also performed a tribute to the LGBTQ community.

I don’t know what is going on in Victoria-proper, and why that city is struggling to bring its community together with so much antagonism on the streets, at the council table and in mass protests, but in Esquimalt we celebrated our differences, and our shared love for our community. It was, in effect, a Canada Day I did not have last year or this and I would not be surprised if that held true for most in attendance.

And for that I’m grateful. Today was a good day.

[A Girl is No one]

Sounds wonderful Mike! I wish I had been there.

My guess about the problem with Victoria proper: UVic! 🙃

[Victoria Watcher]

CoV always finds a way to f*ck everything up.  

[LJ]

[LJ]

[TFord]

I just watched JT's speech for Canada Day.

 

There is something, something really wrong with that man.

 

TFord

[todd]

What’s up with the clean shave/haircut all of a sudden? He’s definitely multiple faced. Or did he just wake up and decide it’s time to go back to work?

Edited by todd, 04 July 2021 - 07:33 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

haircuts have been banned in Ottawa until just last Wednesday (since well before Christmas). he was setting a good example.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 July 2021 - 07:35 AM.

[todd]

haircuts have been banned in Ottawa until just last Wednesday (since well before Christmas). he was setting a good example.

Not sure if you’re joking or not but it started before COVID: https://www.bbc.com/...canada-51025574

Watching the G7 summit BBC anchor: “Trudeau looks perfect for this event being at the beach he looks like a surfer” or something to that

Edited by todd, 04 July 2021 - 09:59 AM.

[Love the rock]

I just watched JT's speech for Canada Day.

 

There is something, something really wrong with that man.

 

TFord

I bet if you asked J.T for an apology for that  you’d get one .