Thread by @sunnshiiny

Mr, Connors is upset that someone called out his poorly thought out plan to introduce moderation to CPC & their extremist agenda.

I am sorry if you were offended, but I am not sorry for being blunt and forthright. This is an insane idea & deserves to be labeled as such.

https://twitter.com/calmecam/status/1214275929222070272

I literally just wrote a mega thread yesterday to detail why interacting with conservatives as if politics were normal at the moment, is currently inadvisable. But I didn’t state this explicitly.

I am now.

Conservatives have obliterated democratic norms and rely heavily on obstructionism, the use of disinformation and promotion of conformity. (To which those who have a predilection for authority, respond.)

That is current con authoritarian politics in a nutshell.

Some Canadians seek to use the standard norms, which we all learned 30 years ago or more, to interact in the political arena.

Respect for differing opinion, Cooperation,
Consideration,
Willingness to compromise,
Honesty,
Mutual trust,
Compassion.

If anyone is in doubt that norms no longer apply, please look at ANY con twitter. There is an abundance of evidence.

In fact Andrew Scheer, Jason Kenney, many con MP’s, MLA’s and Con Senators have removed ALL decency, trust & cooperation from political discourse in Canada.

In Alberta, communications staff for Cabinet ministers compete for who can be the most rude and obnoxious to constituents and to the electorate that dissent from UCP ideology. No I am not kidding or exaggerating.

Kenney has hired a professional twitter troll for over $200K/yr to troll progressive Albertans. Again, not exaggerating.

Normal governments do not hire communication staff to verbally shame, humiliate and insult constituents. But neofascist authoritarian wannabe dictators do.

That is where we are in Canada. It’s taken 30 years, but the far right has insidiously chipped away at societal norms in the political arena and there are no rules for decent discourse and exchange of ideas.

I’m old enough to remember when politics was far less abusive.

I’m not deluded, women politicians have always been treated with obvious disdain (from all parties). But the exchange of ideas and communication of dissent was far less colourful in the past.

There are no societal norms governing political & personal behaviour anymore.

This is why constant provocation of centrist politicians by both Left and Right politicians occasionally produces snarky retorts and the odd outburst in anger.

Anyone over 40 remembers when politics in Canada was different. And we sorely miss it.

However, the current reality is that poorly behaved far right and far left politicians have changed the political arena. Rude, ignorant, salacious and perfectly spoken insults for sound bite news clips are the rule today.

This is no way to conduct oneself in public at anytime.

But Cons have made an art form of insulting whomever is the Liberal leader. NDP regularly uses disinformation (smears and lies) to target the PM or Liberal ministers.

Thus the problem.

There are no rules or norms governing political and partisan discourse.

That Canada has a Prime Minister and Cabinet members that conduct themselves with some decorum is a testament to the past rules and norms, not the current situation.

Pretending like this is normal does two things. It normalizes incorrigible behaviour into the political arena, and it perpetuates more.

Ignoring it is not an option. We must push back and reinforce norms, even though push back is disdainfully disregarded.

But that’s not what Mr. Connors is suggesting. He’s suggesting centrists pick out the next CPC leader. He postulates this might bring some decorum, normalcy & moderation to the political realm.

That is a fantasy. It will not happen and it will do nothing but make things worse.

How do I know this? Well, experience for one. My father is an extremist Dominionist Christian. I have not been able to moderate his behaviour, beliefs or values in the 52 years I’ve been alive. And I’m quite confident he will die a radicalized and angry man.

But it’s not just my experience with an out of control authoritarian relative.

Donald Trump is a prime example. So many pundits opined that he couldn’t do too much damage in 4 years, so give him a chance. Many Bernie supporters voted for Trump thinking that very thought.

It’s slightly less than 3 years in office and Trump has committed numerous crimes, dismantled American institutions and brought the nation into another middle eastern war. Not bad for such a short time. Huh?

Neofascists aim to create anarchy and then assume control.

That’s what neofascists do. Take over like a virus and destroy social adhesion, dismantle institutions and hurt a lot of people in the process.

Did anyone of those pundits reassuring the American public envision babies in cages would be the new American norm?

Doubtful. They thought the constitution and institutions would reign Trump in and constrain his ability to destroy American democracy. Well, they were wrong. Very wrong. Because they believed you can use logic and reason with a neofascist narcissistic sociopath.

Some might argue this is an American problem. It could never happen in Canada.

Need I remind you the CPC has never criticized the babies in cages, Muslim ban, crimes committed in broad daylight by Trump & Republicans and voice support for long gun laws similar to US.

If anything, Canadian conservatives seek to emulate their southern neighbour counterparts.

The CPC, UCP, Ontario PC’s and several conservative pundits are acting like dictator wannabes.

You can’t negotiate with dictators. Authority is all they know and understand.

The last thing I’d like to point out... Mr. Connors is a white, middle class, man.

If the cons are neofascists, he isn’t their first, 2nd, or even 3rd target.

People like me are. Indigenous, POC, immigrants, faiths other than Christian, LGBTQ, women. We are the targets.

It’s us who will suffer the most under neofascist policies and abuse.

So thank you very much, but I’ll forego that indignity, if you don’t mind. And I will speak for those who are high on the hit list. How dare you sacrifice us for a hair-brained foolish scheme?!?

How dare you call me out for adamantly cautioning a poorly contrived plan when it isn’t your life that would be seriously impacted.

Take your head out of the sand and recognize we can not deal with fascists with logic and reason.

It DOES NOT WORK!

Please stop deluding yourself & others too afraid to admit that we are in serious jeopardy in Canada.

Canada is not exceptional. Our collective past is filled with example after example of heinous, cruel, vindictive, horrible people forcing their will on the rest of us.

The sheer number of racist, misogynist, bigoted extremists we witness on Twitter everyday should tell you our democracy is no different than any other that’s become victim to fascism, ideological tyranny and populist con artists.

If you think this is a bit strong, consider the children stored in tents at the US southern border, ripped away from their parents and consigned to a life of perpetual abandonment issues. Consider the seniors here in Alberta that were cut off Medicare without warning.

Consider the Alberta women who have been forced out of decent salaried jobs because of ideology. Consider the immigrants who came to Canada with hopes and dreams and are spat upon by complete strangers who fear them because their skin contains more colour.

Consider the school aged children whose education will be sacrificed so wealthy parents can receive full funding for private schools and religious extremists can receive full funding for teaching their children bible verses and revisionist history.

Consider the LGBTQ children and adults who will be forced to deny themselves and live in constant fear of being exposed for just being who they are. Consider the chronically ill who will be a financial burdens when healthcare is privatized and they can’t afford coverage.

Consider the widow with young children who needs to upgrade to get a job to pay for herself and her children, or risk losing them to child welfare for failure to provide the essentials. Consider the climate plans of cons. They intend to push it to the brink.

Four degrees before serious plans to cut back on fossil fuels. Climate change is catastrophic in Australia. Imagine billions perishing in famines, floods and heat waves no human can withstand.

Then tell me we should take the chance of choosing the CPC leader for them and hope against all odds that the person we choose as leader will be able to control an entire party of neofascists and extremist Christians.

If you still think it’s a good idea, you’re as much of a threat to the more vulnerable of society as the cons and radical left libertarians are.