By: Bill Lee
The recent publicity about Toronto's sort of Mayor Rob Ford and his enabler brother calling out the Chief of Police here as being biased in his duties by mentioning Ford by name in a couple of public interviews and indeed for investigating the Mayor at all has gotten me thinking. Not about his lust for publicity, of course he has that and is in constant campaign mode to boot. Not about him being a bully, of course he is a bully. Not that he is a privileged, dysfunctional individual with serious addiction problems. Of course he is all of those. It is the image of a deeply self-involved human being who has apparently not sense of the needs, feelings or rights of anyone else. But perhaps the most iconic image of Ford did not involve drugs, alcohol or berating other public figures. It was the image, caught on camera last November of this very fat man, our Mayor travelling at a surprising speed around the council chambers, looking not at all where he was heading or who might be in his way; and then colliding with a councillor, a rather small woman named Pam McConnell. When the collision occurred, Ford said not a word and gave not a word, not a backward glance at the woman he might have injured. Totally self absorbed behaviour.
Of course this all bothered me, as I am sure it bothered most folks, even some in Ford Nation I would imagine. But for me has conjured up an image that defines the neo-liberals (whose agenda and philosophy Ford so often spouts) their absolute focus on their self-serving ideology and their absolute indifference to who might be in the way. Whether it is Harper and his yes thugs in Ottawa, Hudak and his gang at Queens Park or the brothers Ford (and their ilk) down at the TO City Hall, they are of a piece. They have one agenda in mind, cut spending, cut services, cut regulations, cut government. Their eyes are on the prize of a world not only safe for the free market but run by, and catering to, the smallish group of well-to-do white and straight (mostly white and straight) men (mostly men) who benefit from such a regimen. They have no interest in whom they run down or run over in the process any more then Ford had when he slammed into McConnell. Like former Ontario Premier Mike Harris passing off the damage done by getting rid of water regulation (the tragedy of the town of Walkerton was one clear result) Ford just extricated himself as quickly as possible from the mess he had caused and kept on charging. Nor did he apologize for his thoughtless and dangerous behaviour (ok, he did, but only after being shamed on the floor of Council). This is the Neo-Liberal way, barge around, deregulating, cutting every program and tax they can, all totally oblivious to the damage they are causing to the citizens, particularly the marginalized citizens. Well, perhaps they are not totally oblivious, like Ford when he smacked into Pam McConnell, they probably just don't care. Indeed I am sure they do not care (so why apologize). Their minds are on their "bottom line" and their own self interest. And this is who is, for the most part, in control of our political offices in Canada these days. Ford may be defanged but his "programme" which is indeed being endorsed by folks running for the job in October - John Tory, Wong and their friends, is alive and well. Tim Hudak may not be in power but he is striving mightily to spread his odious anti-labour policy schemes. And Harper may be under attack by a finally less servile press but he is still pushing through his omnibus bills with their assaults on Indigenous people, Labour and the environment. But there is blame to go around here. We have bought into or allowed the notions of ourselves as consumers, clients and tax-payers to supersede our true identity as citizens who don't live by low prices and low taxes alone but by our commitment to mutual responsibility and care. We have allowed the small minded, private, materialist vision of society to dominate our political life. We have allowed the Liberal Party to "run from the left and govern from the right" far, far too long. We have allowed the NDP to move to some sort of mushy centre where subjects of poverty are not seen as "winning" issues to run on. Let us be clear, if we do not organize politically and even use extra parliamentary action we doom ourselves. Only organizing within the civil society can we develop and exert the power to overthrow the agenda of the selfish and myopic neo-liberals. If we do not we will all be run down, no less then was that City Councillor.
The recent publicity about Toronto's sort of Mayor Rob Ford and his enabler brother calling out the Chief of Police here as being biased in his duties by mentioning Ford by name in a couple of public interviews and indeed for investigating the Mayor at all has gotten me thinking. Not about his lust for publicity, of course he has that and is in constant campaign mode to boot. Not about him being a bully, of course he is a bully. Not that he is a privileged, dysfunctional individual with serious addiction problems. Of course he is all of those. It is the image of a deeply self-involved human being who has apparently not sense of the needs, feelings or rights of anyone else. But perhaps the most iconic image of Ford did not involve drugs, alcohol or berating other public figures. It was the image, caught on camera last November of this very fat man, our Mayor travelling at a surprising speed around the council chambers, looking not at all where he was heading or who might be in his way; and then colliding with a councillor, a rather small woman named Pam McConnell. When the collision occurred, Ford said not a word and gave not a word, not a backward glance at the woman he might have injured. Totally self absorbed behaviour.
Of course this all bothered me, as I am sure it bothered most folks, even some in Ford Nation I would imagine. But for me has conjured up an image that defines the neo-liberals (whose agenda and philosophy Ford so often spouts) their absolute focus on their self-serving ideology and their absolute indifference to who might be in the way. Whether it is Harper and his yes thugs in Ottawa, Hudak and his gang at Queens Park or the brothers Ford (and their ilk) down at the TO City Hall, they are of a piece. They have one agenda in mind, cut spending, cut services, cut regulations, cut government. Their eyes are on the prize of a world not only safe for the free market but run by, and catering to, the smallish group of well-to-do white and straight (mostly white and straight) men (mostly men) who benefit from such a regimen. They have no interest in whom they run down or run over in the process any more then Ford had when he slammed into McConnell. Like former Ontario Premier Mike Harris passing off the damage done by getting rid of water regulation (the tragedy of the town of Walkerton was one clear result) Ford just extricated himself as quickly as possible from the mess he had caused and kept on charging. Nor did he apologize for his thoughtless and dangerous behaviour (ok, he did, but only after being shamed on the floor of Council). This is the Neo-Liberal way, barge around, deregulating, cutting every program and tax they can, all totally oblivious to the damage they are causing to the citizens, particularly the marginalized citizens. Well, perhaps they are not totally oblivious, like Ford when he smacked into Pam McConnell, they probably just don't care. Indeed I am sure they do not care (so why apologize). Their minds are on their "bottom line" and their own self interest. And this is who is, for the most part, in control of our political offices in Canada these days. Ford may be defanged but his "programme" which is indeed being endorsed by folks running for the job in October - John Tory, Wong and their friends, is alive and well. Tim Hudak may not be in power but he is striving mightily to spread his odious anti-labour policy schemes. And Harper may be under attack by a finally less servile press but he is still pushing through his omnibus bills with their assaults on Indigenous people, Labour and the environment. But there is blame to go around here. We have bought into or allowed the notions of ourselves as consumers, clients and tax-payers to supersede our true identity as citizens who don't live by low prices and low taxes alone but by our commitment to mutual responsibility and care. We have allowed the small minded, private, materialist vision of society to dominate our political life. We have allowed the Liberal Party to "run from the left and govern from the right" far, far too long. We have allowed the NDP to move to some sort of mushy centre where subjects of poverty are not seen as "winning" issues to run on. Let us be clear, if we do not organize politically and even use extra parliamentary action we doom ourselves. Only organizing within the civil society can we develop and exert the power to overthrow the agenda of the selfish and myopic neo-liberals. If we do not we will all be run down, no less then was that City Councillor.
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