For very different behaviour, consider the video taken by Global News four weeks ago, which can be viewed on the National Post Web site.
The 1992 Miss Huronia is caught giving a scripted Ottawa welcome to a handful of women parliamentarians from Afghanistan. Suddenly Ms. Guergis breaks into tears.
"I promised I wouldn't do this," she sobs. "I love you guys. You're the highlight of my career…. This is just the beginning of a long-lasting friendship for all of us and I can't wait to see you all again."
It might be heartfelt emotion, except that this is the same Ms. Guergis who seems curiously unmoved by the plight of Mexico-imprisoned Brenda Martin, a suicidal Canadian yet to be tried after two years in a cramped jail.
How is that relevant? The two events aren't even related.
And is Don Martin trying to say that he should be the judge of how she feels about things and how she expresses her emotion? How does he even know what she is thinking and how she really feels?
This kind of sexist attitude is very typical of certain controlling, misogynistic men that seek to undermine a woman's self-esteem in marriages where the woman becomes a slave.
And Martin's public excoriation of Guergis' perceived emotional reaction enables certain types of abusive relationships to seem socially acceptable.
Don Martin owes Ms. Guergis and all woman an apology for trying to tell them what is acceptable in terms of how they feel and how they display honest emotion.
Or is it only men who are allowed to have this freedom?
* * * *
Wednesday Update: Another Guergis slamfest here. But Irwin Cotler shows incredible class:
There are a few Liberal MPs whom I greatly admire, and Irwin Cotler is definitely one of them.
...Abandoning partisan politics, Mr. Cotler, who got involved in the Itzhayek case about seven months ago, said Ms. Guergis "did her best, in my view. She did work hard..."
There are a few Liberal MPs whom I greatly admire, and Irwin Cotler is definitely one of them.
18 comments:
Don Martin has to cut back on his exposure to the press gallery navel-gazers (and the drinking - thanks to comments in SDA for this one!).
Their petty little war on the PMO is only backfiring.
I am glad you put up this post. I am totally apalled by this attack on Helena Guergis. What is wrong with the MSM in Ontario? If your a female MP for the conservatives it is open season. Yet the MSM will turn a blind eye when female Liberal MPs struggle. I am totally disgusted with Don Martin and view this as the lowest. No one deserves to be treated this way!!!!
I don't know Joanne, Helena can be, shall we say, assertive. And she has the tendency to talk down to people. I'm not surprised at her treatment of Brenda Martin and I am surprised that she cried. Has more to do with her personality than her sexuality.
What struck me more about that article is that Don Martin doesn't seem to understand why she wasn't demoted...'Cuz that's easy. She wasn't demoted because of her sexuality.
All this talk about women in parliament or lack there of; Harper always being criticized for not having enough women in Cabinet. Paving the way for women by appointing them or elevating them prematurely is not allowing the cream to flow to the top.
Having more women in parliament is a good thing but having the ability and the personality to do the job is far more important.
Wasn't he the one that lead the charge a couple of years ago on Laureen Harper showing emotion at Dippe? I remember being horrifed that some petty little man could consider himself the expert on Mrs. Harper's emotion and whether they were 'real' or not.
I've seen Helena hold her own many times.
This is a cheap Martin shot...but maybe he's jealous...she has better(and more) hair than he does.
Hit him where it hurts...it's all relative after all isn't it?
I wonder where Don was when Ruby Dhalla was having poor Indian children thrown in jail and haughtily stating that they got what they deserved.
That "scandal" sure didn't command headlines and story after story like this one.
"I don't know Joanne, Helena can be, shall we say, assertive"
Gee Kat - I would think assertiveness would be a welcome trait in Ottawa - especially for a female.
Given the hew and cry over the Tories supposed lack of females in their caucus, you would think that strong females would be celebrated as what it is like to be an MP - instead it seems they are villified (well the Tory ones are - Liberal MPs who charge children in foriegn countries are let off the hook).
Why would any woman want to subject herself to the abuse heaped on them by the likes of Don Martin.
A woman is supposed to be strong - not show emotion - stand up for herself - but if she does - she is called "assertive" and taken to task for it and called a phony by small men like Don Martin (and I mean in stature, Don) I wonder if this is a case of "small man syndrome"
Liberal MP Bob Rae says his decision to greet deputy leader Michael Ignatieff with a kiss upon his entrance into the House of Commons on Monday was not symbolic of where his loyalties will lie.
Isn't a kiss used by the Mafia to inform someone that their life expectancy has just plunged? Do the Liberals never stop with the treachery?
Course now I'm left with the image of Rae and Ignatieff kissing.
Ghhheheh.
TangoJuliette sez:
KAT? where you've got "sexulaity" I shall assume "gender." Yes?
As for Don Martin? Whatever anyone said 16-17 years ago, as a teen "Miss anything," certainly has nothing to do with her conduct today.
Don Martin - pathetic Cheap Shot Artist, yesterday, today and tomorrow. For sure. Low blow. But that's where he seems to live.
This guy, on a tall pair of stilts, and wearing a humungous High Top Hat, could march under a pot-bellied snake, with room to spare.
tj
t.e.@o.e.
I am totally disgusted with Don Martin and view this as the lowest. No one deserves to be treated this way!!!!
Agreed, Fay. This is exactly the kind of cheap shot that discourages women from entering politics.
This is poor too: ...
The 1992 Miss Huronia is caught giving a ...
What does that have to do with anything?
I very disappointed with the Post for publishing this trash. I expect better from them.
Don Martin is a Hater. I have never seen such a childish article. How does this guy have a job writting this crap?
And this Artcle is from a guy who can't even pronuce Barrick Obama's name right!
http://www.proudtobecanadian.ca/index/weblog/8314/
This article is a smear job on Helena, by a very petty man.
But hey he checked with some gals in the PPG so it is okay to smear Helena(eyes roll).
PS: For the record I have a soft spot for Helena, she is the MP for the town I grew up in, Wasaga Beach. And she would always smackdown Ruby Dahlla on MDL.
Don Martin is a lightweight - in journalism.
He usually gets the giggles on the Pundits Panel during the Friday Politics program. However, after reading Ivison's column, I now understand why.
Hey, maybe if he became one of the writers on the Air Farce crew, the program wouldn't need to be cancelled?
The press have systematically gone after wherever they think they find a week spot in Harpers cabinet . They went after Rona Ambrose , O'Conner,and now its Guergis .Josie Vermeer will probably be next .They tried a few others including Diane Finlay and gave up after it got them nowhere.
I think your first mistake was actually reading Martin's tripe...
First of all, professionalism must include checking your emotions at the door. It's up to Helene Geurgis to get equal media time to respond to Don Martin's personal atack. The problematic one being charging that Ms. Geurgis was into a cocktail party while in Mexico on duty. Bet she can prove otherwise.
Same thing happened with Rona Ambrose while in the environmental file. The official Opposition focused on her hairdo, while she had rightly proposed reviewing some odd 26,000 harmful chemicals implicated in our daily living experience. She had planned to put out the analysis on approx. a dozen chemicals when the scientific consensus presented.
MSM pundits can attack, but where is the counter-attack/explanation. Up to the individual in each case.
Glad, Joanne (TB) you rightly pointed to the chauvinism/mysogeny problems. It's got to stop. This is the 21st century. And women at all levels of society, should be advising male counterparts, to pay attention to the issues, not the gender.
Thank you very much, Joanne. You never miss truly important items that COULD get this country and province moving in the right directions.
We recover daily from all the nonsense, don't we?
Isn't a kiss used by the Mafia to inform someone that their life expectancy has just plunged? Do the Liberals never stop with the treachery?
It made me thing of Judas.
Glad, Joanne (TB) you rightly pointed to the chauvinism/mysogeny problems. It's got to stop. This is the 21st century. And women at all levels of society, should be advising male counterparts, to pay attention to the issues, not the gender.
Thank you very much, Joanne. You never miss truly important items that COULD get this country and province moving in the right directions.
Thanks, Anon.
Some women in abusive relationships are told not to cry - some are even beaten for it.
I resent Don Martin trying to tell women what they should feel and how they should display that emotion.
Of course the writer adds his little dig in with this comment,
"During that time, the former beauty pageant contestant,"
What in the world does that have to do with anything other than it is an attempt to put her down.
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