okay, this? This is not cool.

[electricland]

Canada's oldest Jewish day school was struck by a firebomb yesterday

Note to religious fanatics assholes everywhere: Play nice or leave. Keep your damn quarrels and antisocial tendencies out of my country. I was going to say "keep them where they belong" but I can't think of anywhere they belong, so do the world a favour and try to cultivate a better outlook on life, mmmkay?

What is the point of coming here if you're going to bring your narrowminded bigoted ways with you?

EDIT: That sounds sorta anti-immigrant, which it wasn't meant to be. Note to assholes born in this country: You suck, too. More, in fact, because there's less excuse for you.

Either way, not cool.

Comments

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

Presupposing that it was recent immigrants who are responsible. It's not like we have ever needed to import hate.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I know, see edit. There seem to be nebulous reports that it's in retaliation to the assassination of that Hamas leader and on and on. Either way.

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

Anti-semitic violence certainly seems to be on the rise in Toronto and Montreal over the past two months, and no one seems to know why... given recent world events, however, it is a definite cause for concern.

[whimcomic.livejournal.com]

I got into a huge semi-fight about this online the other day. I am ... utterly angered by people coming to a nation started and occupied by victims of ethnic cleansing (which almost all Canadians _are_) and then BEING ASSHOLES. It's not cool.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Or indeed growing up here and being assholes.

I mean, I'm against assholedom wherever one may find it, but I particularly resent it here. On the whole I like to think Canadians are better than that. I know it's naive, but there you go.

[whimcomic.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I mean, I seriously find nothing to disagree with in that statement, because by and large we _are_ like that. I think Winter is a large enough battle to fight each year, myself. That and Rent Payment and Utilities. Ah, well.

[mickeytor.livejournal.com]

They caught someone here in Toronto who was responsible for some of the recent damage done to mosques and cemetaries - a teen-aged kid! What's happening is disgusting - and our feelings about issues over in that 'other' part of the world may be, are irrelevant in this circumstance - as you said - I resent people bringing it here. This country isn't about that.

Punishment for this type of behavior ... I say "Give 'em a one way plane ticket to Syria." That would be tax dollars well spent!

ranting. Poor <lj user="mickeytor"> will bear the brunt...

[raithen.livejournal.com]

k, boys and girls. I get REALLY hot under my collar when people say "NIMBY." because so many people said "the world changed" after Sept 11, 2001. No, actually, "THE WORLD" did NOT change. Terrorism, mass, unexplainable tragic deaths? THey are the norm for most of the world. We have just been incredibly blessed that it is not common here.

And the bit about "don't bring it here" -- which is the response of so many Canadians to these types of probs? Hello? IT IS here, and no one person BROUGHT it here. Racism, and the fear and violence it engenders has a long, sad tradition in our country. As it does in most parts of the world. The Japaness internment during WWII is but one example that springs to mind. Just because the current bete noir tends to be focused on more recent immigrant communities, and just because it is more socially acceptable to be bigotted towards people of middle-eastern origin these days makes it NO MORE RIGHT.

In fact, the stmt "Give 'em a one way plane ticket to Syria." comes from every bit as wrong a place as the anti-semitic actions of those who you want to deport. I am sorry, but these types of knee jerk reactions will not solve the problem.

I don't have a solution, but the reality is that our country's increasing polarization and to some degree Americanization with regards to immigrant and minority communities bothers me terribly. I don't think that it is right that certain people from these communities are perpertrating violent acts, but I also don't think that we have any right to dramatically change our proud tradition as a haven for immigrants flawed as that tradition is and always has been simply because it is causing probs now. I do think the system needs an overhaul. THe fact that professionals from other countries move here and work retail? THAT is horribly wrong. The fact that there is violence? THAT is wrong.

But us "Whites," us "TRUE Canadians" who immigrated 100, 200, 300 years ago? Those of us who were persecuted in their countries of origin as my mennonite great great Grandparents were or who were starving because they could not get land? THey found a home here. And some of their descendents have now turned into the perpetrators if the same types of prejudicial views that led to them coming here. That bothers me.

I know here in the Okanagan, the people who are willing to put in the incredibly long hours required to run the orchards for which the area is famed are Seikhs. Without them, there would be way fewer BC apples, cherries, peaches... yet they are routinely slighted by bigotted social views. I just don't understand how they are any different from the mennonites who were willing to put in the long hours and hard work to prove the claims that established the Canadian Wheat industry in Manitoba and Saskatewan....

Ok, end rant. Mickeytor, this is not meant as a personal attack. Your post simply provided the catalyst for a long response from me on issues that have been percolating for a long time. So thank you. I firmly believe we will NOT solve these probs without a lot of discussion and debate, and yes, with measured action.

Re: ranting.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

You're quite right of course, and racism in any form is absolutely deplorable. Equally, I get just as hot under the collar about bombings and assassinations on the other side of the world. The particular focus of my indignation in this case, though, is the fact that this school may have been firebombed in response to the assassination of the Hamas leader -- whence came my initial "Don't bring it here" response, which I still think is fair, although I didn't phrase it especially well, for which I apologize.

The Israel/Palestine issue is huge in Montreal (e.g., the Concordia riots). The response I would like to see more of is that of the people on both sides who are making an effort to reach out to one another and discuss things in the atmosphere of calm and safety that Canada can provide. The response we see all too much of, unfortunately, is that of the idiots who bring the same tired slogans and dogmatic viewpoints to the table and make no effort to see the other side's point of view. It's bad enough to see that in Israel and Palestine; it's infuriating to see it here.

That probably didn't address your comment very adequately...

Re: ranting.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

That probably didn't address your comment very adequately...

well, yes, it did. and it didn't. I know it is not fair that people bring the violence from the other side of the world here, but we regularly go elsewhere in the interest of bringing peace -- which often looks a lot like violence, even under the UN banner. And there is no simple solution. I hate that the violence is becoming so regular here, and that it is so clearly tied with things happening elsewhere. But it is a global community, and while McCluhan and others may not have forseen this type of violence, it seems to be part of it all. And I am NOT saying that the perpetrators of the violence should not be punished. THey absolutely MUST be. But by Canadians. Under Canadian law flawed as it too is and always has been. . "a one-way ticket to Syria" will NOT solve the problem. Maybe punishment under Canadian law won't either. But if we don't want Syrians, Israelis, Palestinians, etc etc bringing their violence here, then we cannot send Canadian immigrants who perpetrate violence in Canada back to Syria or Israel or Palestine -- even if the violence is because of something that happened there. The action took place IN Canada, and must be dealt with here. No matter how much we would all just like the problem to go away. and believe me, I would LOVE that. But the idealist teenager in me has turned into a realist, and I know that that is not going to happen.

Re: ranting.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of the above, except:

I know it is not fair that people bring the violence from the other side of the world here, but we regularly go elsewhere in the interest of bringing peace -- which often looks a lot like violence, even under the UN banner.

Faulty parallelism, IMO. I know the road to hell is paved with good intentions* but I do feel they still ought to count for something.

*Unless Pratchett and Gaiman are right and it really is paved with frozen door-to-door salesmen.

Re: ranting.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

not necessarily faulty parallelism, though I somewhat expected the criticism insofar as UN actions consitute one morally sanctionned set of actions, responding to one moral code and meeting the ideal of "good intentions" according to this code which is, granted, a fairly widely accepted code and many terrorist actions adhere to another moral code. But you definitely have a point, and I was not undermining the UN, at all. In fact, I believe that the actions in Iraq might better have been taken under UN auspices. That doesn't mean that what was done would have been any less violent, or that the local people would have been any happier with the results.

[emjayne.livejournal.com]

There is something eerie about all the newspaper covers this morning. The photos of the burned library, the burned books...like a nasty time warp.

[metawidget]

Agreed... this isn't a clash of civilizations... this is anachronistic nutbars versus our civilization. I don't care whether they come from within or without, whoever did this should be locked up, and if they reach for anything when the police arrive, probably shot at.

Barbarism. Ugh.
Burning books = bad.
Burning children's library = subhuman.
Threatening that the kids will be next (as some reporting is hinting was done in the note) = sub-subhuman.

Still, on the upside... the fact that something which upsets us a lot here hasn't made a blip in the world news is indicative of our relatively low barbarian levels here. It's not in the Australian, Google News (.ca) hasn't picked up on it... I mean, no deaths, looking more and more like a few messed-up teenagers... still disturbing, but other places' extremists make ours look like amateurs.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Agreed. That is sort of weirdly comforting...

[moonlightjoy.livejournal.com]

I heard that newscast yesterday and I started crying. Remembered walking down Karyn's street to her old elementary school one summer midnight. Or seeing plays at her high school.. and the thought that someone could threaten people through SCHOOLS.. burning down.. ugh.. I can't even .. ugh.

History

[raithen.livejournal.com]

I was somewhat surprised, given today's conversation, when I glanced at the Canadian History Calendar at our office, to see the following entry, complete with a compelling photo:

Burning Down the Parliament Buildings
On April 25, 1849, rioters infuriated by the passing of a law to compensate the victims of the 1837 rebellion invaded Parliament and set fire to the building. It was soon decided that the seat of government could no longer be Montreal.

Thinks that make me go hmmm...

[keyef.livejournal.com]

Just to make it a little more personal, my dad went to that school.