Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Even Green Haired People Have Mothers Stephen Harper

Bruce Anderson of the Globe and Mail asks today: Will census cost Harper skeptical centrist votes?

Any one such decision may not influence many votes; the real issue is whether too many of them, over time, have a corrosive effect. Do they leave the accessible but sceptical voter feeling they can trust the idea of a Harper majority to govern for the centre, or not?

Anderson makes a good point. I think as the media and pundits weigh every bad decision this government makes, based solely on that single issue, they are missing the big picture. And I think that wonderful young woman with the green hair, who is telling her story of unprecedented abuse during the G-20, will represent Stephen Harper's downfall.

Please watch the full ten minutes. It's worth every second. There are several very compelling statements that the government should be paying attention to, because despite his best efforts, Stephen Harper cannot simply walk away from this.

Bill Blair and Dalton McGuinty must also shoulder some of the blame, but so too does Harper. Was it his decision to tell the police to stand down and leave the vandals to do their job? He used those images to justify the enormous cost of security, and yet with such an enormous cost and nineteen thousand police, why was there so much vandalism? We certainly didn't get our money's worth, but did he?

And she is not the first to suggest that certain groups were targeted. Those kinds of complaints are all too common. Bogus signs, staged photos, all appear to be directing blame, until viewed in the light of the day. I even saw one gentlemen being arrested because he was wearing a 'Save the prison Farms' T-shirt. This government does not allow dissent.

"We are hurt, we are sad and we are angry" the young woman says to applause. "We are enraged, inspired and united."

It might be very easy for the Harper government to dismiss this young woman with the green hair. She is clearly not one of their base they pander to, or the centre, they are trying to woo. But they are forgetting one thing:

"We stand here with our parents,

We stand here with our siblings

We stand here with our children

We stand here with our friends

We stand here with our lovers,

We stand here with our cousins.

We stand here with our neighbours,

We stand here with our Co-workers."

And look at the ages of the others that show up now and then. Not street punks as they have been described by many in the media, but voters. Lots and lots of voters; who are hurt, sad, enraged, inspired and united. And they are not all from Toronto, which seems to a nemesis for Harper's base, but from across the country.

The following Horsey cartoon, was directed at Sarah Palin and represents those marginalized by neoconservatives, who remind Palin that they are Americans too.



All of the above groups have been dismissed by the Harper government, because he forgot that they are Canadians too. And while as Anderson suggests: " .... the real issue is whether too many of them, over time, have a corrosive effect", I think that Harper has been corroding his support by forgetting that even people with green hair and piercings have mothers, fathers, cousins, siblings, friends, etc., who are now all united in anger.

I think she is wonderful and part of a broader grassroots movement for change.

Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry into Toronto G20 now has 55,827 members who cannot be ignored.

Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, which began as a protest over Harper's power grab in December, is now a group motivated to get rid of this destructive government. We have more than 212,000 members who are ready to mobilize next election.

Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper has almost 5,000 members who are more pro-active. We raise money, and whenever we get enough, we run ads in newspapers reminding Canadians of what Stephen Harper stands for. We have a website and forum, and are also ready to mobilize next election.

One of the girls from CAPP and Unseat Harper has designed T-Shirts and other items that will help us get the word out.

Harper's Reform Party was started with a grassroots movement, and it will be a grassroots movement that will be his downfall.

Because we are angry and we are united in a common cause.

And as the man yelled out at the end of the video above: "Bye, bye Harper".

1 comment:

  1. Emily, dear Emily ~ you continue to inspire me with your stories of inspiration. Thank you! I'm sharing your blog again in hopes that more people will tune in. Many happy cheers to you!
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete