Sunday, May 06, 2012

Bitter men and bad coffee

Alex Himelfarb's lament for the loss of Canada in the recent Harper budget includes a quote from Monte Solberg in the Sun:
For 40 years “progressives” called the shots in Canada, and their influence affected and infected everything. They left big bruises on the economy, social policy, immigration, the armed forces, law, foreign affairs, cultural policy and, of course, the Constitution. Much of the Canada that we grew up with was indiscriminately swept away, good and bad alike.
Well, maybe not completely swept away. That old middle-class Canada could still be found hanging around Legions, hockey rinks and the kind of coffee shops where the only coffee they serve goes by the name “coffee.” But make no mistake — that Canada had been kicked to the curb and anyone who believed in it was expected to shut up and pay their ever-increasing taxes while their progressive masters turned their country inside out.
It's quite tempting to read Solberg's little rant as satire; but no, the man is clearly serious. The whole conservative social project is built around a vision of Canada as a social club for angry white men drinking bad coffee or worse beer while they swear at hockey, taxes, and anything else not just like them or which they're too lazy to understand.

Assholes, they want a nation of assholes. From sea to shining sea. Two piss yellow beers, one stickered Labbatt, the other Molson. Timmies and CoffeeTime. A war somewhere for the army to fight for shits and giggles, just like they cheer and jeer their kids or grandkids at minor hockey. 'The wife', untrusted with matters of money and politics and motor-vehicle operation, is at home boiling the broccoli and her mind to mush 'cause that's the way he likes it'.

There's no middle-class there, Monte.

That's regressively mediocre brick-dumb provincialism and an utter waste of opposable thumbs and complex brains. There's nothing to "believe in" there.

Theirs would be a laughable cause if only they weren't declaring war on their children to pursue it.

7 comments:

sunsin said...

And does this mythical "real Canada" even exist? I think you'd have a hell of a time finding it outside of the writer's fantasies. Certainly it isn't a commanding bloc of voters across the country.

It's Harper's Army Group Steiner.

Boris said...

Oh, it exists, but imbrictated within the diversity of society at large. It's that diversity they want to eliminate because it makes them uncomfortable.

Niles said...
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Niles said...
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Niles said...

40 years. So, 1972. Ex-CPC MP Monte would have been 14 then and he grew up in Alberta, in Calgary and environs. Apparently, the 'progressives' good ol' Monte is railing against includes the Alberta Progressive Conseratives led by Peter Lougheed, who finally ran the Socreds out of power in 1971.

His 'middle class' is the small period of time post WW2 when veteran benefits helped men actually get education and funds to *make* the middle class and everyone was depressurizing from being both having to deal with a worldwide depression and then a world war.

His middle class is a population descended of mostly northern Europeans/mostly English speakers who were *globally* billions less in population than we are today and tens of millions less in population than Canada is today. Calgary alone has gone from 400,000 to over 1,000,000.

His 'middle class' was mostly suburban/rural because cities didn't have the density they have now and many of them were immigrants, significantly Americans in Alberta, and significantly for Harper's bunch, including most of the 'Calgary school' academic elites settling in at the university.

His 'middle class' didn't include the Aboriginal populations, where Status people only got the federal vote in 1960 and were still being forced by law into residential schools.

When was it ok to buy condoms et al without being furtive? When could you could buy offsale hard liquor out of something besides the back of a pharmacy? When did The Pill become legal? Sunday shopping be allowed? Divorce laws become relaxed? 'Modern' universal health care had only been set up for 6 years in 1972 and it wasn't until 1984 user fees and extra billing were sat on(which is being chewed back now). School kids get dental care now. The moonlanding happened in 1969. R&D in agriculture and all other sciences funded by governments has reinvented the world. People can not-go to church and still avoid ostracization. Gay people don't have to lie about their lives to avoid going to prison.

Yeah, we could totally go back to the utopia of 40 years ago. You know, I lived back then too, and I don't remember so much of a utopia. I remember societal change being inevitable as communications and technology improved and their generations turned over faster and faster. I bet Moany Monte even typed his whingeing on one of those new fangled computing devices and hoped it would be seen on the internets.

Monte's 'middle class' appears to be dog whistling for godly 'white' folks being endangered in a zero sum game by the incursions of Others. Good to see him out fearmongering for the reichwingers and godly folks wanting to exploit scared people.

If he pines for the fjords of the world of 40 years ago when all was blissful and unaffected by 'progressives', I suggest Monte hop to it and take everything out of his personal life the last 40 years have brought to life.

Those folks at the Legion are tweeting on their smartphones about how Harper's government is cutting off veterans in need.

Luna said...

Niles said, "School kids get dental care now"

Wait, what? They do? In BC? Because if that's true, someone owes me a shitpile of money.

Niles said...

Luna, Saskatchewan led on dental care for kids with universal coverage starting in 1974.

The universal program was killed by the fellow travellers of Moaning Monte, the Grant Devine 'progressive' conservative govt in 1987, apparently because it was too successful and an international role model and that just couldn't stand.(PS: that would be the criminally corrupt Grant Devine govt, of whom, the remnants scarpered off to form the Saskatchewan party, Harper's bestest Mini-Me at the provincial level.

Even so, at least some of the provinces, including BC, cover basic dental care for 'some' kids, depending on age and income of family. Your mileage may vary.