Sunday, February 04, 2018

February 2018 Bits and Bites: The Hypocrisy, Infighting, and Just Plain Dumb Edition

I think it is correct to acknowledge that humanity is a complicated lot rife with contradictions. We all have our blind spots where we have difficulty seeing that our words are not always reflected in our actions or behaviors. Many of us occasionally subscribe to the maxim, "do as I say and not as I do." It is all part of being a complicated human being trying to muddle through life before shuffling off our mortal coils.

But then there are times when the hypocrisy of some people is so pronounced, one can't help but be in awe.

ARC submits the following as current a case study for your consideration.

I first offer one Bill Whatcott, a man who for at least two decades been in the news in some form or another for his rejection of abortion rights, the LGBTQ community, and same-sex marriage. He's best known for his incredibly graphic and offensive propaganda that he distributes from door to door or at places such as university campuses as well as his frequent court appearances where he challenges efforts to keep him off the premises of public institutions:


During the last few years he also welcomed the support of white supremacist Paul Fromm, support that Whatcott has also reciprocated:

Like other religious right supporters, he's also a big supporter of Donald Trump:


I and others find it interesting that religious conservatives support a twice-divorced, thrice married man accused of engaging in extramarital affairs, sexual harassment and assault, and who has acquired at least a portion of his wealth through the gambling industry. Whatcott himself has been outspoken about his opposition to divorce, despite the fact that he too is twice divorced and thrice married:




Well it turns out that this particular post has aged especially poorly as Whatcott is actually now thrice divorced and now on his fourth wife:


This came as a surprise to many of Whatcott's followers:


But those friends of Bill Whatcott needn't worry because he has a perfectly fine explanation for his most recent divorce/remarriage.

He had grown tired of his third wife.


Okay, he doesn't EXACTLY come out and say this, but in an exchange on his message board he states the following:



So he was impatient, didn't like living in the Philippines, and his wife's parents didn't treat him very nicely. It also suggests his third marriage might not actually have been entirely legal if I'm reading his justification correctly.

Oh, here's the text message "Ben Kenobi" is referring to:


Bill Whatcott, putting the "ass" in "class."

In another case of what might be considered a bit hypocritical, it would appear that the Canadian "patriot" (read: "anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim") movement has a bit of a sexual harassment problem:


So is the Canadian "patriot" movement on the verge of it's own #metoo moment? Not so fast:


So Jessica is concerned that it might make Canadian "patriots" look like hypocrites since they have spent years condemning minority communities as a whole for the reprehensible sexual violence committed by a tiny percentage, so she's just going to stay quite; I mean, they can't let people believe this is a problem with THEIR men as well, right?

Nice. I'm sure that won't result in any long term problems whatsoever.

Besides, it's only because Canadians have so much "pent up aggression" that some "patriots" have decided the best way to deal with it is to send dick pics to their female allies (who they would TOTALLY respect except they are angry at Trudeau):


One person though isn't having any of it and would like to know who the culprits are:


You know, I might have given Shawn McBeath ("Bain Scott") some begrudging credit for taking a principled stand.... except that he continuously undermines himself with posts like this:



Now, the next bit isn't so much hypocritical I suppose as it is enlightening.

ARC hasn't spoken much about Brad "whiny ferret" Salzberg since his and the WCAI's dismal showing at a rally they planned for Vancouver.

To paraphrase the knight from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" they chose poorly.

Well Salzberg is still around and caterwauling about the fact that naturalize immigrants (i.e. Canadian citizens with the full range of rights and responsibilities possessed by all Canadians) are members of the government:


There are a lot of Salzberg's supporters who suggest that the only person who can be a member of the Canadian government (or vote for that matter) are fifth generation Canadians.

Ironically, given the demographics of the country, this would likely exclude close to 80% of Canadians including those commenting on Salzberg's post.

But really, what Salzberg and his supporters are really saying is that only white Canadians should be afforded the full rights of citizenship.

They are also lousy with when it comes to knowledge about the political process in other countries:


No Kimberly, it is not a requirement in the United States. The only politician it applies to is the president (and perhaps vp.... I'll have to look that up).

ARC and our supporters have also been enjoying the continuing infighting among "patriot" groups. I give you a lovely selection of snipping and sniping from Northern Guard, Canadian Combat Coalition, Ryan Dean, and attacks on Mike Treherne for your consideration:









They are a well adjusted group, ain't they?

ARC finished off with a couple of intellectually challenged folks.

Over the past year Steven Alexander Burke Buckley Goldwater Quayle Gregory Myatt has been touted by his baby boomer supporters as being an intellectual in their movement (such as it is), though given they also believe that Don Cherry to be the second coming of Marshall McLuhan one might take the claim with a grain of salt. Myatt latest scheme is to initiate a lawsuit against the Liberal government and Trudeau personally which he believes will result in the end of the Liberal Party, Trudeau in prison, and hot fudge sundaes every Friday for good little "patriots."

Well after months of research, or so he claims, Myatt thinks he has found the Holy Grail that will allow for total victory:


The Magna "carter," eh?

How come I have a feeling that Myatt has no idea what the Magna Carta actually says but name drops the document (well, sort of name drops it) because it makes him appear smart.

Another member of the "patriot" brain trust is Trev England of Leduc, AB:

".... nonwhite garbage.... shithole countries...."

But they aren't racists. /sarc
England here was suspended from Facebook for about a month, perhaps due to his threats towards Prime Minister Trudeau, Rachel Notley, and other Canadian politicians. He still hasn't really stopped, though this particular example is muted when compared to those that outright advocated (and encouraged) political assassinations:


He also targeted Muslims urging Muslim-Canadians be assaulted and their places of worship burnt to the ground. That also has not changed:


Now these alone, publicly advocating a serious crime, would be enough to put Trev England in the dumb box. However his attempt to protect himself is what really does it for me:


Yep.

He claims his posts are satire.

Trev England has no idea what the word "satire" actually means, and certainly what it doesn't mean is that he has license to call for the murder of Canadian politicians or the burning down of mosques.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the Proud Boys.

Really. I'm very serious about my gratitude.

Last July 1 members of the Proud Boys disrupted a ceremony at the foot of a Edward Cornwallis in Halifax. Those Proud Boys also happened to be active members of the Canadian Armed Forces and boy oh boy, was there a bit of a firestorm that resulted! Anyways the Halifax City Council voted on January 30 to remove the statue from it's location and put it into storage until they figure out what to do with it.

I am totally convinced that had it not been for the involvement of the Proud Boys on July 1, this would never have occurred. They provided the publicity needed for the city council to make the decision.

So again I offer a sincere thank you Proud Boys for your inadvertent efforts on behalf of progressives in this country. I urge you to continue your clumsy activism which in the end only serves the causes you detest.

One group who is decidedly displeased with the actions of the Halifax City Council members who voted to remove the stature are members of ID Canada. A dissenting vote was made by Halifax councillor Matt Whitman who also retweeted a letter from ID Canada condemning the decision. When Mr. Whitman, who has a history of poor decisions, realized he retweeted a hate group he deleted it, but not before people saw the original.

Dude.... just..... really dude.

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