725 replies to this topic

[rmpeers]

Trying so hard to care about this story from any angle, either positive or negative.

Just can't though ... find myself not caring at all, and feeling no compulsion to move away from simply not caring at all.

Leave it up ... or take it down ... I personally couldn't care less than I do. (a sentiment likely shared by somebody else somewhere, perhaps even more than one person?).

I think I'd care a lot less if it had been done in a more inclusive manner. Not by a fait accompli annoucement on the voting Helps campaign website and apparently without notification. Also found it troubling that council apparently must now abide by the decisions of a new branch of government, however well intentioned the formation of The Family might have been.

[Bob Fugger]

The following was sent to me by a friend who has considerably more conservative leanings than I have, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
 

 

My politics lean more right than left, but they lost me at "BC Proud."  I can't believe that the local Conservative riding association would get into bed with these yahoos.

Edited by Bob Fugger, 10 August 2018 - 12:34 PM.

[Nparker]

My politics lean more right than left, but they lost me at "BC Proud."  I can't believe that the local Conservative riding association would get into bed with these yahoos.

Agreed.

[Jason-L]

The following was sent to me by a friend who has considerably more conservative leanings than I have, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
 

There is so much wrong with that, I don't even know where to begin.

[Nparker]

There is so much wrong with that, I don't even know where to begin.

Well as I said, I don't necessarily agree with the message, I just found it interesting.

[Mike K.]

From the first post in this thread:

 

The source, who is familiar with going-ons at #1 Centennial Square, confirms that several years ago the Sir John A. MacDonald Society approached the City of Victoria to float the idea of relocating the first Canadian Prime Minister’s statue to the Inner Harbour or Centennial Square where it would command a greater presence.

 

 

 

The idea to have the statue moved isn't a new one or all that controversial. What is controversial is the decision to remove the John A. Society from the relocation narrative, and instead pursue a removal of the statue, period.

 

What's also bizarre is Councillor Isitt, who you may remember not that long ago suggested Victoria ought to be renamed Camosun or Camosack, was completely removed from The Family and the mayor's decision. For a councillor to be washed away from the First Nations file in this manner sends a very strong message from one politician to another, does it not?

[zoomer]

Here’s a safe prediction - John A is coming down around 4 a.m. Saturday morning.

Mayor Helps indicated it would be early Saturday, but there’s no way they’ll be waiting for an audience to cheer/jeer on the removal after their morning coffee. Nor would it be fair to subject the workers to a grumpy crowd, although I don’t think any animosity would be directed at them personally.

Come to think of it if anything did happen mid-day the city would be widely criticized for removing the statue while a protest was occurring, just as they’ll be criticized for doing it under cover of darkness.

Edited by zoomer, 10 August 2018 - 06:40 PM.

[mbjj]

I figured that sneaky sod would have the statue removed before sunrise...how typical!

 

My best friend is of Chinese descent. We grew up together and I've known her over fifty-five years.  Her grandfather came here sometime between 1900 and 1910 and about five years ago her "family" had a statue of Confucius erected in Duncan. Never once have any of her family boo-hooed or made any fuss about how the Chinese were treated here.

[David Bratzer]

The Government of Ontario has written to Lisa Helps and offered to take custody of the statue and display it on government property. She turned them down:

 

“We are not getting rid of the statue,” Mayor Lisa Helps told The Sun, “It was a gift to the city.”

 

 

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[AllseeingEye]

The Government of Ontario has written to Lisa Helps and offered to take custody of the statue and display it on government property. She turned them down:

 

“We are not getting rid of the statue,” Mayor Lisa Helps told The Sun, “It was a gift to the city.”

Aw....that just warms my little heart; 'gift' or not, per her comments on CHEK news tonight she was quite resolute in stating "its going into storage....somewhere" and very clearly she didn't give a s*** where. But yet its a "gift"....as if that actually matters to her.

 

Sounds more to me like Her Worship and her Family cohorts just want to bury any vestige of the old guy's memory so completely and are apparently so determined to do so that the thought of him being displayed somewhere - anywhere, even 3000 clicks away- is anathema, even if in the process she achieves her objective of having the statue removed from City Hall. Perhaps it should be plunked down in the middle of her front yard......

Edited by AllseeingEye, 10 August 2018 - 08:35 PM.

[zoomer]

Not sure if this is Mayor Helps or city staff, but how’s this for a brilliant strategy to neutralize any protest:

https://twitter.com/...4760706049?s=21

Double fencing in place sealing off John A, and because of the location the only place to stand to view the removal (at whatever hour that is) is in the bike lane or standing in the middle of Pandora Ave.

[spanky123]

Pay some homeless people to protest and prevent the statue's removal. That would cause a dilemma for her. 

[spanky123]

Aw....that just warms my little heart; 'gift' or not, per her comments on CHEK news tonight she was quite resolute in stating "its going into storage....somewhere" and very clearly she didn't give a s*** where. But yet its a "gift"....as if that actually matters to her.

 

 

So she sends her middle finger back to the Province as usual yet she also has been approaching them cap in hand to bail her out of her pool project. 

 

We all pay for her stupidity.

[Cassidy]

No need to worry ... the statue will be easily viewed (at least by COV labourers) in its new home (for as long as Helps is Mayor) ... stuffed away under a tarp in the back of the Garbally Road salt shed.

[zoomer]

Well I was off by an hour, removal started at 5 a.m.

[Mike K.]

This was all so heavy handed and diabolical.

“Be careful,” Helps said of people who planned to protest the removal. Crews then erected double fencing on the eve of the removal and under darkness the statue was taken down.

I’ve never seen this in a democracy. Ever.

[zoomer]

What about all those Confederate statues that were removed in the middle of the night in the States?

Here's the final goodbye, hey, at least it wasn't as bad as Gadaffi’s final moments.

https://twitter.com/...0948123648?s=01

[sdwright.vic]

^How much did we have to pay for this early morning pillage?

[Nparker]

^How much did we have to pay for this early morning pillage?

A lot..it cost us our collective souls.

[Bob Fugger]

^How much did we have to pay for this early morning pillage?

 

Unless a Public Works employee is regularly scheduled to work today (NB: most are not), they're being paid double time from the get-go.  At minimum, this would be outside of regular work hours for a regularly scheduled employee, so 1.5x.  And likely they hired a contractor with a crane and truck.  Given that they were likely hired yesterday to pull a 5AM removal job, I'm sure that they priced it accordingly.