We are willfully blind on three fronts: In the media, in politics and in our fear of infiltrating hotbeds of hatred, due to our sacred national tenets.
In the media we see this situation amply demonstrated by fear of appearing racist or simply calling a spade a spade when covering terrorist news. Dr. Roy has spared me the labour of having to address that side of the issue in this space.
In politics, we see politicians as fearful of touching this hot potato as they are of approaching the abortion issue. James Travers makes this point in today's Star, regarding both multiculturalism and immigration policies ("Immigration Under the Microscope"):
What's not so obvious is that the case and trials provide the catalyst for overdue introspection.
It would take a very courageous minority government to tip over two of our most sacred cows to examine the soft underbellies of immigration and multiculturalism.
Actually, Traver's column may very well refute my first argument; but happily so. It shows hope for brain-washed Star reporters and pundits.
Finally, we need to be taking on a collective responsibility for what is happening in our society. Live and let live just doesn't cut it anymore - Parents are too busy to pay attention to how their kids are spending their time; religious authorities don't challenge hate and fear-mongering going on in their own mosques and other institutions; community members ignore what they perceive to be a radical undercurrent in their midst.
The Record features a CP article today titled: "Eldest of the terror suspects, Jamal emerging as most likely leader", by Michael Czobit. Since I assume it is under a subscriber firewall, I'll give you some background:
At the Ar-Rahman Islamic Centre in suburban Mississauga, west of Toronto, Qayyum Abdul Jamal was an influential volunteer who encouraged young people to adopt extremist ideas, said Tarek Fatah, a spokesman for the Canadian Muslim Congress. Fatah knew Jamal, a father of four, as the fellow who cleaned the bathroom and took out the trash at the mosque, which was frequented by six others who were apprehended over the weekend in what police allege was a plot to stage a terrorist attack on Canadian soil...
"This is a guy who muscled into the mosque and threw out the old board," Fatah said. "I know he has not hidden his contempt for Canadian institutions and society."
Jamal discouraged young people at the mosque from participating in politics and urged them to commit to a "religiosity that isolates," he added.
My question is how did that "old board" get thrown out? Didn't someone think to challenge Jamal? Where were the parents?
In his book, Life Strategies, Dr. Phil McGraw says in chapter five, "You can't change what you don't acknowledge":
If you refuse to acknowledge your own self-destructive behaviors, not only will they continue, they will actually gain momentum, become more deeply entrenched in the habitual patterns of your life, and grow more and more resistant to change.
Well, I think we need to get Dr. Phil up here and challenge our head-in-the-sand approach. I'm sure the first thing he would do is grin and say, "Well, how's that working for you?"
30 comments:
Dr. Phil creeps me out not just a little but a lot, but your quote from Chapter 5 makes sense. "You can't change what you can't acknowledge"...
I think JDave, in his over-excitement to always be contrary, is missing the point. This applies to CANADA as a whole. I agree that many Muslims are condemning the acts of the few. More of them should speak out.
But Canada, in embracing multiculturalism whole-heartedly, ignoring the obvious problems that go with whole communities not integrating, is now seeing what this breeds.
You can't ignore the fact, however, that wherever there is a hotspot in this world, Muslims are somehow attached to it. They have some work to do in their communities, for sure. If it is indeed a religion of peace, it has not been showing lately.
Jo:
Jdave is on a rave, for this is the mentality of dave,
so ignore the insults for they are a bore, not worth the tour,
Realize that this blog is a place where reasonable discussion can take place,
and that people love your blog regardless, of gender, age or race,
and when dave throws spitballs may the wind be in front of his face.
Mary:
Ms. Jones' kindergarten class just called: they want their poem back.
"Jdave is on a rave, for this is the mentality of dave,"?!?
Honsetly, this is awful. JJ Redick thinks this is embarrassing.
Soccermom, I'm glad you grasped the intent of what I was trying to say.
We all need to accept responsibility at different levels; in our communities, in the politicians we elect, and in which media we support.
Just for the record, I'm no big fan of Dr. Phil anymore either. I find him a bit self-important. However, as I have often maintained in other posts, just because you don't particularly like someone doesn't mean they don't have a valid idea once in a while.
BTW, very frustrating not to be able to get into my own comments section all day...
Thank God, zarqawi is dead. Seems to be quite the month for investigations to be completed and terrorists stopped. We can't be complacent, but we can feel relieved that we are making progress.
L.S. - Yes, that isn't the end of the terror threat of course, but a major accomplishment for sure.
It certainly would be a morale boost for the troops.
"Not trying to be contary. Just trying to stem the flow of bullshit that seems to always come from this blog."
If it bothers you so much, why do you bother to come back?
Kunoichi - Thank you.
For anyone who is interested, Kunoichi has a very interesting link on her site to a Sun article worth reading. One line really stands out:
"The terrorists in this country will keep trying against Canada. They are like bugs. Crush a few of them, but others will rise."
Time to get real with those other home-grown terrorists in Caledonia. How many more laws do they have to break before they are finally arrested and hauled away?(NealeNews)
Those protesters over at Eagle Ridge bluffs in Vancouver were hauled away only HOURS after the court order was put into place! No one was going to stand for wealthy caucasians disrupting road construction! How dare they even try that one!
But we all know that natives don't have to abide by our laws!
They are holding an entire community hostage for months now and NOTHING has been done. This is just so damn wrong.
dirk:
After seeing Joanne lavish praise upon Débris Trail's work earlier this week, and Mary's poem today, do you think Joanne is quietly shifting away from being a politically-themed blog into a literary one? I, for one, think it is, and you heard it here first.
I understand Joanne will glowingly praise "Where the Wild Things Are", "Goodnight Moon", and "Mr. Bump", while giving an unqualified thumbs down to "I Love You This Much", and thus take her readership into a fantasmical wonderland exploration of joy and deep truths.
I enjoy your blog, Joanne, and I hope you continue to share your thoughts despite the attentions of certain self-appointed castigators.
You're welcome, and thanks for the plug. It's comments from people like the gentleman in the column, which I've heard before from other, non-published sources, that really put things in perspective for me. I'd rather listen to someone who's got first hand experience over an arm chair cynic any day.
I've enjoyed reading your blog for a while now. You must be hitting some nerves, considering the sudden rash of trolls you're getting. LOL
Keep up the good work.
Soccermom, let me just say that I have always found you to be very smart and apt in your comments, but tonight, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to jump on a few things.
First,
"You can't ignore the fact, however, that wherever there is a hotspot in this world, Muslims are somehow attached to it."
I think that your comments regarding Islam are very hurtful and narrow minded. In all due respect, I think that you should reconsider what you stated above.
====
"Time to get real with those other home-grown terrorists in Caledonia"
I don't know where to start with this but to reduce people with a legitimate claim against the federal government to mere terrorists is not right. Particularly when we are discussing the case of those who wish to behead our leader, hold our MP's hostage and blow up the CSIS building in Toronto. The comparison is wrong.
=====
"But we all know that natives don't have to abide by our laws!"
I think that we should abandon the argument of "reverse racism". If we look at the stats we can see that Natives compose a vast majority of our prison population, have inadequate access to health care when compared with the rest of the population and largely live in total poverty. Perhaps you would like to trade places and live with the "different standards" of which you speak.
Interesting sometimes to see how close to the surface bigotry lurks here.
Kunoichi, you are so right that first hand experience speaks volumes. It's so easy for us to sit at our computers and type away, thinking we have all the answers. Thanks for the perspective.
Soccermom - Thanks for that tip about Nealenews. I actually read that original article in the Record. Talk about first-hand experience!!
I think the point you are trying to make is that we seem to have two sets of standards or rule of law in Canada: One for "marginalized minorities", and one for the remaining majority. I agree.
I would be very interested in getting more information about Eagle Ridge bluffs. Thanks.
Zac, I'm not going to get in the middle of your issues with what soccermom said, but I do applaud the way you handle it - You are courteous and logical in your arguments. You never put other bloggers or visitors down in the process. I've actually only seen you malign certain politicians, which I guess is fair game in one sense. If you go into politics or the public life you have to expect that kind of thing.
I am holding you up as an example of how to approach a debate in a respectful manner, without resorting to childish name-calling. As I said at the onset, I'm not going to get involved in the essence of your disagreement, but I certainly applaud your methods and decorum.
There are some others that could learn something by following your example. You also have an excellent blog of your own. I admire people who can be creative rather than sitting back and criticizing everyone else's efforts.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mac! Much appreciated.
Ha! Don't worry. Their antics only give me more incentive. :)
There will always be those people who seek to exploit the freedoms in our society in order to turn it into a society of fear. It is the great paradox of democracy: how can giving people freedom lead them to pursue an ideology that would deny freedom? It is but one of many reasons we must always be vigilant in our defence of democracy.
The terrorists exploited America's freedoms to hatch 9/11. They exploited Britain's freedoms to effect the events of 7/7. This will happen, and now it's happened here, though the terrorists were thwarted before they could enact their plan. But this incident should not, repeat, NOT, cause us to change our society to restrict access by Muslims--in a country that is home for 1 million of them, the 17 represent a very, very small percentage and do not represent the broader ummah--or people of any faith. If we do that, if we get up and bar the door and say "You're not welcome here," we have failed as a free society.
RGM - Very wise words indeed.
Zac, thank you for your thoughts. I get all riled up when I see this stuff because I grew up next to a reserve and I saw allsorts of things you would not imagine. Maybe my choice of words was a bit raw. But you know, in life we all have choices. No one is forcing those people to live on reserves. They have access to free university educations that could take them anywhere. When you have poor farmers and taxpayers (in Sask. where I grew up) constantly seeing the native communities getting brand new schools, pools, community centres, and houses, while they are barely scrimping by and their own kids attending run-down schools with few resources, resentment grows. How much is enough? People who live in large urban centres have no clue what it's like. Like the reporter in the piece, as a "good Liberal" he always took the native side of the equation. Well, he has now been enlightened.
They are terrorizing and holding hostage the people of Caledonia. My calling a spade a spade does not make me a bigot. I have tons of respect for a native person who is law-abiding and a good citizen. But these people are neither.
Joanne, I'll see if I can find something for you on Eagle Ridge.
Joanne: eagleridgebluffs.ca/learnmore/news_may.html
Soccermom, I hear you about the double standards.
Thanks for the info. I'll check into that. Just heard this afternoon that two reporters from a Hamilton station were injured covering Caledonia. How much longer can McGuinty just sit there waiting this out?
It's interesting how these self-righteous critics operate.
They revel in making snide comments and pretending to be intellectuals, yet offering nothing of substance.
So why do they waste our time? Is there purpose to their bleating? Simply put, they seek our reactions. Our reactions make them feel empowered; somehow bringing meaning to their meagre existences.
Mac, I couldn't agree more. I am only going to respond to comments of integrity and substance.
"They revel in making snide comments and pretending to be intellectuals, yet offering nothing of substance."
Ouch! That one's going to sting for a bit.
Zac, trust me, nobody was referring to you there. Far from it.
Joanne is right, Zac, you're not one of those I'm describing but you know that. I don't think my words will sting them as I believe their self-righteousness blinds them.
Yep. You can't change what you don't acknowledge. - Dr. Phil
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