Women of Mass Distraction

by | September 29, 2015

Sorry, but yes, once again, I am talking about… the Niqab:

It is clear that the canard about a tiny number of Muslim women hiding their identities behind niqabs at citizenship ceremonies will be the hot-button issue of this election campaign. That’s too bad, because this blatant distraction is fuelled by cynicism, fear-mongering and misinformation.

A canard you say? And yet, and it might be a coincidence, the NDP is dropping in the polls ever since the launch of this terrible weapon.

I should note, I am not generally what you would call a lefty, nor a supporter of the NDP. I remember a Bob Rae Ontario, and that makes the idea of voting NDP… well… icky. Of course it was easy for me not to vote for hard lefties like Layton. As a model centrist, extreme left and right always leave a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t like Harper any better. The sad part is, that leaves the Liberal Party… After years of picking bad leaders, they decided to install a legacy puppet, and that cynical ploy seems to have worked marginally well. The problem for the Libs hasn’t been Harper though, but rather a newly rational NDP.

My original impression was Mulcair would be a doomed second stringer following on the coattails of just-a-backrub Jack.

But… I have to admit, Mulcair even makes someone like me consider voting NDP. He reminds me of Ed Broadbent, a guy who was popular across the board, and had he just been a Liberal, could have quite easily been PM.

I tend to vote local, and really in my riding, the NDP has a stranglehold, so my vote won’t change much. But for once I’m not locked into just turning in a protest vote.

I admit it, I like Mulcair. But that might not be good for him in Quebec. The real challenge for him is keeping his base happy, while still appealing to the centre. Is Ontario finally ready to give the NDP another chance?

Or is Muclair just the mask behind which the looney left is hiding? We all know about masks, and those willing to wear them: they are to be feared and ostracized. No one wearing a mask should be trusted. It’s an implied threat to our safety and our culture.

And this is twice as true for women, who would never willingly wear an oppressive mask. Clearly these women need to be arrested, but our multicultural society has lost the will to protect us from their internalized patriarchy.

(on a more serious note the cop in this video is my hero today)

Never been much interested in that MRA stuff, too much whiny victimy bullshit, but on occasion they do bring the funny.

8 thoughts on “Women of Mass Distraction

  1. Veronica Abbass

    I have passed my opinion on the Niqab many times and will do so again but not today.

    I’m more interested in commenting on the second video.

    What’s with the mask on the spokesperson. She looks ready to rob a bank not protest at Saint Paul University, a Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa.

    Why would Cathy Young need to discuss male rights at a Catholic University. She is speaking to the converted. The Catholic Church knows all about male rights; it has promoted them for thousands of years.

    Reply
    1. Joe Post author

      No idea, I enjoyed the second vid mainly because of the multiple levels of irony, hipster feminist criminals, polite bilingual, non judgemental,multicultural Canadian police…

      The criminals even pulled the fire alarm. Heh.

      As to the MRAs, campuses are standard on the speaking circuit, and I am guessing catholic affiliates are probably an easier route onto university campuses, than facing the feminist hordes on the main campuses. The enemy of my enemy… And all that.

      Of course, the masks could also indicate an MRA false flag operation to make feminists look bad, and get the viral video media attention…. Muhahaha.

      Trolls within trolls within trolls. Trustno1!

      Reply
  2. Bruce Van Dietein

    I feel like I’m in the twilight zone here. Joe you’re rambling discourse on personality politics was bizarre enough – more later. But your glee with the second video utterly confuses me. Such a visceral reaction to “mask wearing” (under the rubric of public safety) causes you to conflate the fully protected right to assemble and protest(regardless of the value you place on that protest)in our Canadian society. This is a university – paid for in large part with public dollars! Private property? Fuck that! Our biggest problem is not the niqab, mask wearing protestors like Anonymous or even bearded me with hats and turbans. These are distractions (though not without the merit of a full discussion) from some really significant issues. Bill C-51 is a far greater threat to our personal LIBERTY and SAFETY. TPP, income inequality, the muzzling of science and the move turn our R&D sector into the hand maidens of private industry, CLIMATE CHANGE, the political coup by the PMO to silence back benchers and on and on. Instead, your whole political discourse is tired cliché’s of right and left spectrum politics and who you “like”. Take two weeks off from blogging and spend some time worrying about the future of your children and grand-children. I guarantee you, in two generations, the niqab will be a non-issue and your grand kids will be wondering about how to live with a radically different biosphere. Good grief!

    Reply
    1. Joe Post author

      Visceral? Oh, no, i have no problem with niqabs or with veiled feminists. I was being sarcastic about safety. Although public property doesn’t equate to everyone can do what they want with it. Universities publicly funded or not can give you the boot, as the trespass to property act is not limited to private property. You can get kicked out of the parliament buildings too if you don’t follow the rules. A schools main function is education, so limiting protests, especially ones that brake the rules, not to mention the law is perfectly reasonable.

      I agree we have bigger problems. But I post things I find interesting… If you would like more diverse content… We are always looking for new writers. Check out our contact page.

      As to me changing to other… More important topics. I will… If and when I bloody well feel like it.

      Reply
      1. Bruce Van Dietein

        Yes we shouldn’t shout FIRE in crowded places. blah. blah blah, we need reasonable limits on expression, I agree. BUT… “A schools main function is education…” And how does that occur? Where else but on a campus would you expect a Socratic voice? How can a non-violent protest be such a horrid transgression in such a place? “If you break the rules, not to mention the law…” The law being broken is trespassing as defined by the very public institution that should accept a higher level of expression. This is a case where the law is an ass. As for the rest, you ducked the main points, but as you say, you’ll deal with them when you bloody feel like it. Can’t wait.

        Reply
        1. Joe Post author

          Socratic voice? Lol.
          You didn’t even watch the video did you?
          It was more like a patient parent trying to get a screaming toddler to eat their veggies.

          He was just asking them to move to the public sidewalk.
          And they were trying to stop people from speaking, not engage in dialogue.

          If this is what constitutes Socratic dialogue these days… The human race is doomed.
          Socrates… Hahah

          Reply
  3. Corwin

    A few quick thoughts…

    Women of Mass Distraction

    I typically find women more massively distracting when they aren’t all bundled up in niqabs, but I do see what you’re getting at.

    I remember a Bob Rae Ontario, and that makes the idea of voting NDP… well… icky.

    This seems to be a pretty common sentiment among Ontarians who were around for the Rae years, and it always surprises me a bit. The current election campaign is happening in a different time, at a different level of government, and Rae ain’t on the ballot. Was he really that bad? Bad enough that the three letters NDP are still tainted, even federally speaking?

    As a model centrist, extreme left and right always leave a bad taste in my mouth.

    It seems odd to me that you’d describe any of our main parties as extreme. They mostly seem to slosh about in the mushy centre ground, at least by comparison with politicians in many other countries. We don’t have a Donald Trump, a Marine Le Pen or a Jeremy Corbyn anywhere near the heart of our federal politics. But then, I’m a political magpie rather than a centrist. I see bright, shiny good ideas (as well as dull, dispiriting bad ones) all over the political landscape, including at the extremes.

    A canard you say? And yet, and it might be a coincidence, the NDP is dropping in the polls ever since the launch of this terrible weapon.

    It’s sort of a canard, but it’s also one of those small, symbolic things that brings out important differences in thinking. You can say “come on, it’s only a few women in niqabs, be reasonable and let them wear the bloody things”, but you can also say “come on, it’s only a few minutes during the citizenship ceremony, be reasonable and take the bloody thing off”. Politicians who lean towards the former response probably have very different attitudes to Islam, multiculturalism and/or the responsibilities of citizenship than politicians who lean towards the latter, and those attitudes will carry over to issues that are a lot more important in the grand scheme of things. I think people are right to be paying attention.

    on a more serious note the cop in this video is my hero today

    That man does appear to have the patience of Job. Maybe a little too much patience, if anything – but it could be that I’m just getting cranky in my old age.

    Reply
    1. Joe Post author

      Bobraephobia is not really rational. The problem is, he got in on a protest vote. No one really wanted the NDP to win or thought they would. Then when they did, there was a whole bunch of people who had no experience and really no business being MPPs. Add to that, Rae tried to govern like he actually had a mandate…. Ugh. RaeOntario was embarrassing, more than anything. And older folk have long memories for feelings, over facts. This is why I said I find the idea of voting NDP icky. With a good leader, like Mulcair, I am willing to consider it, but the party brand is definitely tainted.

      My political analysis is more respresentative of how I think people will vote and the reasons for this, rather than political reality. People who vote NDP tend to frame Harper as a US Republican, who they would never consider voting for, and while there were always Red Tories, not alot of Conservative voters who would see NDP as an option. Perception tends to win elections, not reality.

      I agree that refusing to take off a niqab is unreasonable, but it also does no harm… other than to oversensitive idealogue types who see it as a personal insult to their existence. In that sort of case, I think we need to err on the side of freedom.

      Just watched it again, and yeah, I do find myself reaching for the pepper spray… but that would be wrong.

      Reply

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