Beware of ‘proud’ in politics. Sometimes it should make you ashamed.
Remember the time when Canada was considered not overtly proud enough or patriotic enough to fly a flag or utter a single “God Bless Canada?” I do remember it and I occasionally decried our lack of button-busting national pride, which led to us mounting a Canadian flag on the peak of our house.
Lately though, I’ve been missing those days when we just quietly, politely loved our country and kept it to ourselves. This peevishness originated with the emergence of the word ‘proud’ as an introduction to a couple of semi-political organizations that make me more than a little uneasy.
The Proud Boys is a fairly obvious symbol of far right, white male entitlement. They describe themselves as ‘Western chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world’, who ‘venerate the housewife’ and refuse to feel ‘racial guilt’. When I look at their website I feel as though I’ve fallen into a 1950s worm-hole.
The founder of this historically challenged group of misfits is Gavin McInnes, a right-wing provocateur who may or may not have started out by pulling our leg but who now embraces an I-refuse-to-be-politically-correct shtick which allows him to pursue a racist and misogynist agenda. He tends to chuckle as he says outrageous things, including that “domestic violence is usually just some c*** trying to ruin a guy’s life” – which I guess is supposed to tell us that he’s only half kidding? Are you kidding me?
McInnes writes and does podcasts for Rebel Media, which has its own creepy founder in Ezra Levant, who among other oddball proposals suggests limiting masturbation. (He sees that activity as a waste of sperm which could better be used to impregnate the little woman.) The trouble with saying silly things is that it has the effect of diverting us from things that are important – like his numerous anti-Semitic rants. To paint a picture quickly, Levant is the Canadian answer to the equally detestable Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh in the US.
Media expert Angelo Carusone says that “the problem is people like McInnes, in pursuit of that edgy vibe, have made themselves into gateway drugs for white nationalism.” When you have groups of disaffected white men looking for somewhere to take their alt-right views, neo-Nazis see them as ripe for recruitment and they move from being a bit of a joke to a potential threat. In other words they start to believe their own hype.
So, when a small group of frat-boy types from the military sneered and strutted in Halifax on Canada Day and interrupted a Mi’kmaq ceremony of mourning, it was no surprise to learn that they are the part of the Maritime Chapter of the Proud Boys Network. As Tabitha Southey brilliantly pointed out in The Globe and Mail, “If much of what you see on the alt-right side looks and sounds so ridiculous, such jocular goose-stepping, these days, that’s deliberate. Share a photograph of you and your be-polo-shirted buddies flashing the Nazi salute, and the popular discourse knows just what to do with you. Substitute the “okay” gesture – unofficially but lovingly adopted by this crowd – and anyone who points out the white-supremacist imagery is just a crazy leftist snowflake who probably thinks a cartoon frog is a hate symbol too.”
And as if we didn’t have enough pride masquerading as something else, we now have Ontario Proud targeting Kathleen Wynne and occasionally throwing shade federally. It calls itself non-partisan although the stated goal is to unseat Wynne and the Liberals in the next election. It is as popular on Facebook as Ms. Wynne is not. In fact, the Ontario Proud Facebook site has more ‘Likes’ than all of the provincial parties combined. “Goes to show you that Ontarians are really fed up with the status quo, and they want change,” said Ontario Proud’s founder, Jeff Ballingall. “I’m trying to showcase that people have a right to feel grievance and outrage that they’re essentially being trampled on by this government that’s so out of touch,” Ballingall said in an interview with CBC Toronto.
Once again, this sounds reasonable enough at first blush. Ballingall has far more credibility and is much less odious than Gavin McInnes, but – like with the Trump followers – the sentiment is attracting a hateful element that seems to speak to a swelling populist movement here in Ontario that could easily spread through the country.
CBC Toronto asked Wynne’s office for a comment on Ontario Proud. A spokesperson responded: “We’re not going to comment on a website that supports profane, hateful and abusive comments.”
The reason is these comments, which were on the Ontario Proud Facebook page recently:
- “That ugly nasty greedy no good money grubbing snot faced witch.”
- “The ugliest human dyke who ever existed.”
- “I’m surprised that no one has shot her but maybe the bullets cost too much.”
- “The most lying, cheating, selfish, self centred, uncaring, mean ugly bitch that ever was in power in Ontario.”
Ballingall said, “I try my best to police comments and put filters up but I can’t obviously catch everything.” Okay, fair enough on that but I noticed that he didn’t unequivocally condemn the comments either. He should have.
A survey by Ontario Proud indicates the 20 per cent of those who voted Liberal last time are supporting the Ontario Proud Facebook on-line community. Personally, I think they just saw the word ‘proud’ and got all verklempt.
Ballingall opines, “If you see your uncle, your cousin or your neighbour sharing a political message, you’re way more likely to engage with it than a television commercial. It’s much less passive.” Judging by some of the comments – and commenters – on the OP site I think all it means is that some people are taking the easy way out and not thinking for themselves.
I enjoy the give and take of Facebook and the chance to share my nature and food photos. I like sharing opinions too but I still think it is imperative to read and listen extensively and intently before taking a position and certainly before sharing one. But a growing number of people access most of their political and other news via Facebook groups. That’s scary because along with the good stuff there is far too much misinformation.
I think for the foreseeable future, if I see the word ‘Proud’ in front of almost anything, I’ll steer clear. Much in the same way that I avoid any restaurants along the interstate that promise ‘food like Grandma used to make’.
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Following a career in the hospitality sector and the acquisition of a law and justice degree in her 50s, Dale embarked on a writing career armed with the fanciful idea that a living could be made as a freelancer. To her own great surprise she was right. The proof lies in hundreds of published works on almost any topic but favourites include travel, humour & satire, feature writing, environment, politics and entrepreneurship. Having re-invented herself half a dozen times, Dale doesn’t rule anything out. Her time is divided equally between Muskoka and Tampa Bay with Jim, her husband of 8 years and partner of 32 years. Two grown ‘kids’ and their spouses receive double doses of love and attention when she’s at home.
I am not a big fan of Ontario Proud. I thought this was freedom of speech I should be able to express whatever I feel especially on their FB page. Instead of accepting my concerns banned me from leaving any comments on their site while they soak up their bias belief over bashing the NDP like the little T.O.T. ‘s they are.
Judging by the comments, you’ve just made Huntsville look in the mirror.
Undemocratic was under Harper with Contempt of Parliament, Election Fraud, Unfair Elections Act, record omnibus bills and record number of unconstitutional laws.
Harper was by far the worst PM ever. The only good thing he did was resign. Harper brought us record debt, record corporate welfare that led to record money hoarding in off-shore tax havens, record number of unconstitutional laws, record number of court decisions against his government, record cuts to social services, and record number of rights violations that included attacks on labour.
Tim Hudak clean a mess? His plan was to go back to the Harris years that created the most mess with over half of our debt being generated by his 407 and Ontario Hydro scandals. As well, Harris decimated our health care and education systems. Unlike Ontario Proud, Working Families Coalition was accurate.
And yet, your comment could be perceived as hate by them, Wendy. Why do you label them with the hateful label, “white supremacists”? I looked at their website and saw nothing that would make anyone think “white supremacist”. On what do you base that opinion? What I saw there is exasperation over the benighted policies of the Liberal government. Branding good folk with the title of “racist” is a propaganda tactic by many on the left.
Yes, BJ, the record of the Liberal government has been terrible. It reflects their neoliberal stance of spending on their loyal followers and beating the middle class with more and more taxation. You only need to look at the Sunshine List to see who is being bribed to support the Liberal policies. They have spent the Province into an unsustainable, downward spiral. Servicing the debt is causing an ever-decreasing amount to be spent on very needed projects throughout the Province. Exchanging 300,000 private sector jobs for 300,000 public sector jobs is NOT a good idea. Government itself is necessary but the centralization of authority that comes from the extreme growth of government is almost always evil in its effects. Wealth is gained through the production of goods and services by private sector entrepreneurs. Poverty will increase where the citizenry has fewer and fewer opportunities to produce those goods and services. Liberal leaders have waged economic war on its own citizens for far too long. We need a change.
Clearly stated on a concern I’ve had since OP first emerged. As a Canuck living in the UK right now, this and several other sites remind me of the misinformation and propaganda, many now linked to Russian based servers, that highjacked the 2015 EU referendum. With the upcoming Ontario and federal elections on the horizon it will likely only get worse. Whoever thinks Canada is immuned to it is sadly naive.
The connection you make between people standing up for what they believe and white supremacy is insane
White supremacists of any kind should be banned. No man will ever tell me what my opinion is , and God knows from white supremacists actions they act like young bully boys . They shouldn’t be allowed in Canada , hate should have no home here.
Well stated Greg. The hatchet job that the media carried out on the best prime minister that I remember, Stephen Harper and on Tim Hudak, was unbelievable. Unbelievable that it could be carried out with such precision in what is supposed to be a democratic country and that uniformed Canadian voters would swallow it. The aftermath was that we lost an exemplary prime minister and Tim Hudak, who had the potential to clean up the utter fiscal mess that Dalton McGuinty left. Unfortunately Tim Hudak was honest and stated what needed to be done about, among other things, the serious over population of civil servants. The loss for Canadians is we now exist in an undemocratic, socialistic state with leaders such as Trudeau and Wynne in power promoting their Globalization agenda to ultimately remove our Canadian sovereignty .
A generalized comment regarding the term “Ontario Proud”
It is beyond my comprehension how any resident of Ontario could be remotely proud of our province given the corrupt, self serving “leadership” of Kathleen Wynne whose defining characteristic has been incompetence at a level unprecedented in Canada.
The loss of more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs and the creation of more than 300,000 public-sector jobs during the tenure of this government has created an unsustainable fiscal environment.
To secure Liberal votes Wynne has ensured that teachers are the fourth-highest paid in the OECD, rural OPP officers paid more than New York City cops and a doubled debt that is now THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD FOR ANY SUB-SOVEREIGN GOVERNMENT. The Ontario Liberal government has piled on $150 billion of debt over its 14 years in power — no pride there.
Ontario was once the driving economic engine in Canada. Our province was a place where businesses raced to open up shop and people from across the country flocked in search of a job. Today our province is a shell of what we once were.
No pride in the following:
Soaring and out of control debt has led to our credit rating being downgraded three times.
For the first time, Quebec has a better credit rating than Ontario.
The financial industry now looks at Ontario and says Quebec is a safer bet.
Ontario is now a have-not province that receives equalization payments.
Taxpayers in Newfoundland and Saskatchewan are now helping to foot the bill for Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal waste.
Our province is the most indebted province or state in the entire world.
California, a state with a population bigger than our entire country, has less debt than Ontario.
We pay around a billion dollars A MONTH on interest payments alone.
That’s money that could be going towards our classrooms and our hospitals.
One of the biggest reasons we’re in this position is because the Wynne Liberals don’t provide Ontarians with value for money.
They build upside down bridge trusses, spend $120,000 on giant rubber ducks, and waste tens of thousands on Canada Goose jackets for staff.
They give raises to executives at Metrolinx, who oversee cost overruns to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
And they give raises to executives at Hydro One, who manage one of the most expensive electricity systems in the continent.
They cause scandals, such as gas plants, eHealth and the PanAm Games that have egregiously cost Ontarians billions.
They spend money on ideas like a pension scheme that never saw the light of day.
And, now we see the Wynne Liberals trying to buy the next election with taxpayer dollars, providing temporary hydro relief that will cost up to $93 billion down the road.
Not to mention their temporary scheme will result in sky-high hydro bills again after the next election.
Where Ontario once used tax dollars to build incredible legacies, now our money is getting squandered.
By the way, The Rebel Media presents unbiased information which would never appear in our paid off Liberal media sources like the CBC, The Toronto Star which informed voters need to have. Ezra Levant informs Canadians on many issues. Creepy is the multiple photos of Justin Trudeau performing in the Gay Pride parades.
Well expressed, Ms. Peacock. There is more than enough hatred in the world at the moment. We don’t need the Proud Boys, or any other group, right or left wing, spreading more of it. It’s dangerous, and should be addressed by the courts.
I agree about McInnes and the Proud Boy idiots, but if the writer here is going to criticize the Ontario Proud group, would she not apply the same criticism to the Ontario Working Families Coalition? they ran at least as bad a hatchet job against Tim Hudak as is being done to Wynne now. The difference being he hadn’t had a chance to be Premier yet, whereas the Premier has well demonstrated her incompetence and inability at running this province. Any “shade” she and her party receive is in my opinion very well deserved.
My read here is that the author disapproves of third party partisan attempts to sway the electorate as a bad thing only if they are not of the left wing or center left wing persuasion. At the very least you can say that Ontario Proud is not financing with any government money, nor any money taken from Union members who may not agree with the political stance of their union but are forced to pay for it anyways.