Pages

Monday 16 April 2012

Could things go too far?

At 5.35 PM, April 16 this post had a number of names redacted at the request of those named. While their names are removed, I think you will still get the gist of gravity of the situation.


~~~~~

The Alberta election has been getting very heated as the Wildrose continues to be a strong opponent to the governing Progressive Conservatives.  On Twitter the #abvote hashtag stream has become a minefield of a constant barrage of attacks. The attacks on Wildrose and its' supporters are getting more and more vicious.

I've been called "homophobic"; ironic since I have a bisexual daughter. I even stated that - yet the attacks continued.  I've been called "racist"; also ironic since I'm married to a man who is part native.

In fact he too recently had an interaction with Pat Walsh. Pat was very briefly employed by the Wildrose. He has since gone back to the PC's. He was Rick Orman's co-campaign manager, is a strong supporter and very active in the current campaign.  After trying to debate issues, Pat was clearly losing ground, so he shot this out at Cory "Shouldn't you be in a tanning booth?".


Cory and I have been around long enough that we let a lot of this crap slide. When we meet with people and discuss issues, things like sexual orientation and skin color have zero impact on our perspective or how we receive their view of issues.


There comes a point though when things can be carried too far. That point is when people may be fearful for their well being. Some might say "that's crazy, something like that will never happen in Alberta".

Well, I certainly hope it won't, but posts like the following from NAME REDACTED on Facebook do put up some red flags for me. This is what a Registered nurse in Alberta has to say about Danielle Smith:


.....someone pushes her onto the LRT tracks, or she gets caught in gangland crossfire (these are my dreams, don't take them away from me)

Picture deleted.

Some have commented on Twitter I shouldn't post a pic from Facebook, that it should be private. I'm not Facebook "friends" with those mentioned here, so that leads me to believe it is public and/or they have their settings set to public. All the same, I've agreed to removed the screen snaps.

You can still however see it here and here.



She posted that on NAME (TWIT # 1)  REDACTED  page yesterday and I waited until today, to see if  NAME (TWIT # 1)  REDACTED  would do the right thing and remove the comment. She hasn't.

If your curious as to who the two people who "liked" Michelle's comment, here they are.

Picture deleted.  

It's sad, ironic and hypocritical that many of those who "claim" the Wildrose and/or its' supporters to be full of hate seem to be doing a far better job at "actually" demonstrating they are not only hateful, but also appear to be okay with physical demise of individuals.

A reader has sent me note that both Michelle and   NAME (TWIT # 1) REDACTED   can be found on Twitter as well.

NAME REDACTED:  (TWIT # 1) 
NAME (TWIT # 2) REDACTED  TWITTER REDACTED  (one hosting the horrible comments)

People who "like" and perhaps share Michelle's dream of seeing Danielle Smith hit by train or bullet.


NAME (TWIT # 3) REDACTED
NAME (TWIT # 4) REDACTED 

h/t to 'tuned in' readers for the tips on Twitter accounts.


Interesting reaction:


And an apology.



Thank you Pat.

And an email demand:

I am demanding that you take my name off your site. There is absolutely no context to my "like"
I think the vast majority of people would agree that a "like" on Facebook, equates to agreeing with and supporting the post you have "liked". All the same in the interest of internet peace: Demand granted.


As of this afternoon   TWIT #2 REDACTED    has changed her Facebook settings so it is no longer public. All information contained in this blog were obtained late last night and first thing the morning of April 16 when it was still publicly available.

13 comments:

  1. Just a note... you can't delete another person's comments on your Facebook status... that's not how Facebook works. You'll be waiting a long time if you are waiting for the woman who had the comment posted on her status to remove it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it is in your timeline you can delete it.

      Hover your mouse over upper right corner of comment and an "X" will appear. Click that and "poof" it's gone.

      Delete
  2. It is not unrealistic to expect people to be accountable for the things they say in an open forum, especially something as inflammatory as what Michelle wrote. And yes, Facebook is an open forum, whether you have privacy settings on lockdown or not. Can you trust all of your friends?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it is sick that in order to defend herself the author would bring up a child's sexuality and her husband's race.

    1) Your step-daughter being bi-sexual doesn't give you an automatic membership to pflag. It also does not in any manner whatsoever speak to your level of tolerance. You did not state that it was a step daughter that "supports your political views and understands your views and feels loved in the relationship between you and her." In fact he voice was not even heard.


    2) Your husband's ratio of native does not qualify you as a non-racist either. In fact it is an absurd statement. If you cannot grasp what I am saying try this one on for size:

    Hitler may not have been racist he had Italian and Japanese allies.

    Quite absurd; I am sure you will agree. Racist dos not automatically mean you have no tolerance for a race other than your own. It means that you discriminate and then act in opposition to someone because of race. Believe it or not racists can have friends of the race they act out towards.

    You have not defended yourself appropriately and by using such examples you have painted yourself deeper into a corner. The "I am not racist I have a _______ (insert race here) Friend!" defense is old, flawed and speaks to a lack of understanding more than providing a defence. I have not researched you enough to see if you are racist or not..... You are definitely ignorant.

    Thanks

    Me
    (on twitter as JousterIII)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment.

      First I wasn't "defending" myself. I feel no need to.

      Second, it's my daughter, not step-daughter. You are certainly free to your opinion as to what "qualifies" one to speak to the subject.

      My mention of those two scenarios was simply to set the tone of what I've experienced in the past few weeks.

      And bring up Hilter... well Godwin on you..

      Delete
  4. I would like to apologize to anyone who misunderstood the context of that post and was under the impression that I wish harm on Danielle Smith. That post was meant to underline the gravity of the possibility that healthcare workers can deny care to someone in dire need, based solely on that worker's personal beliefs. I personally do not wish any harm on anyone, mostly because I don't care enough to do so. It is unfortunate that there are people out there who are not familiar with sarcasm, humour, and apparently humanity. My views on politics do not reflect on my employers, family, or friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps, Michelle, you should also apologize to Danielle Smith for your irrational ramblings.

      And, in the future, be more careful about the things you say in a public forum.

      Delete
    2. RNs take responsiblity for their actions at all times.Wed Apr 18, 01:10:00 am

      You made these comments publicly and have embarrassed your profession in the process, I suggest you make contact with CARNA and fess up before they come for you.

      Delete
  5. While I certainly don't agree with the comments being made, especially in a public forum, it is not particularly uncommon for these type of statements to be made especially concerning something people feel passionately about.

    What worries me is the lack of tact in which you responded to them; contact them personally to request they remove the comments and apologize, or invite them to come and address their issues and concerns at a public event. They are representing themselves, whereas you are representing a political party- regardless of any disclaimers you put on the internet.

    Furthermore, it is incredibly disheartening to see you use the "I can't be racist, I have (minority) family", excuse in this post, that hardly captures or reassures the very real systematic & smiling racism Albertan minorities face. As a woman with Aboriginal heritage, those issues are important to me and I do not like to see them trivialized in that way.

    I'm in Smith's riding and if this is any indication of the sort of tact I can expect from the WRP my vote will be going elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Destiny,

      Thanks for commenting. The individuals involved, posted on a public page. The owner of the page left the comments standing even though they were clearly inappropriate. Two other people "liked" the comments, thus sharing it with yet another level of Facebook users.

      Ezra Levant had Tweeted it late last night he has over 13,000 followers and then Dave Breakenridge, who has nearly 2600 followers. So really for another 1000 or 2000 to see it on my lowly blog is hardly earth shattering.

      And no, on my blog I don't represent the party. Thankfully though, I'm a member of a party that doesn't stifle free speech. This allows me to call out others when they make statements I don't agree with and hold them accountable.

      Just as you have questioned my words. It's all fair. Once you put something out there you have a few choices;

      - stand by your words.
      - correct your statements,
      - retract them,
      - apologize if need be.

      For example, you have painted and entire party based on my membership in one. Care to share what politically leanings you might have? Should we paint that party with a brush of one person?

      Cheers,
      Jane

      Delete
    2. Yet you've apologized for nothing regarding how you treat Albertan for providing you with Point of view

      Delete
    3. Not sure how to respond to this. Largely because it doesn't make sense.

      All the same, I think you are asking me to apologize for publishing my point of view. This is the great thing about living in a free country. I'm free to write my point of view and people are free to read it or not read it.

      If they choose to read it; they might like it, they might hate it. They are free to their opinion.

      Delete
  6. bunch of dolts, do they really think you can erase the internet? Guess they havent herd of google cache.

    ReplyDelete