I have never been asked to “check my privilege”. That is by no means indicative of my actual status in life, one that’s already vastly higher than most by virtue of being born in a First World country. Not only do I come from a middle class family in a wealthy nation, but I also happen to be both male and straight. Those two facets of my person alone have freed me from a world of verbal [and potentially physical] abuse. It’s no mystery to me how good I have it going.
Replace “U. S. of A.” with “Canada” and this pretty much sums it up.
Taking all of that into account, and I really do dwell on the reality of how much better off I am than others on an almost daily basis, I can say with confidence that I would not enjoy hearing those three words. I acknowledge that they would feel like not only an admonishment for not thinking through whatever I had just said or written, but an outright dismissal of my viewpoints.
I want to state this as clearly as possible: no part of me supports the usage of any phrase to “strike down opinions” or otherwise silence others. I am a strong proponent of discussion and this activity flies in the very face of that. My issue is that the purpose of the article I’m responding to appears to be the throwing out of these three words completely, and generally appears to completely miss the point. Continue reading
Culture War Reporters 
Shame Day: Sun News
Sun News and New Prosperity Mine
Some of you may remember the report I wrote this past summer describing the debate over the New Prosperity Mine application in Williams Lake. I attended a few debates over the mine with my mother-in-law and there was a very strong division in the room. Supporters of the mine wore blue scarves, were primarily white, and mostly discussed the economic benefits. Most of the individuals speaking out against the mine were from the reserves surrounding the mining area, where they would be most closely affected.
Why do they want to kill off these poor guys? But seriously, according to what I heard in the presentation, even losing a few grizzly would be a huge problem.
There were also several very detailed environmental reports brought forward after the general public discussion. While I wasn’t able to make every one due to work, I was able to sit in on a report by a grizzly bear specialist. They shared exactly how the mine project would harm the already threatened grizzly bear community in the area. Again, that was only one one of many other extensive environmental reports.
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Posted in Canada, government, Islam, news, politics, writing
Tagged Avaaz, boston bomber, CBC, commentary, Enbridge pipeline, Ezra Levant, Ford Nation, Fox News, Fox News North, free market, government subsidy, graph, grizzly bear, hot chicks, journalism, lawsuit, libel, Margaret Atwood, media, Media Bias, Muslims, New Prosperity Mine, news, poll, private sponsors, privatization, privatize CBC, Rob Ford, Rob Ford smoking crack, sexy outfits, Stephen Harper, straight talk, Sun News, terrorism, Williams Lake