Hey, county Windsor-Essex peeps, Come get your man. This is a sitting councillor for the Town of Essex spreading blatant racism a year into a deadly pandemic that is not only directing killing people but also harming *many* others as a result of awful xenophobia like this.
This is who to contact at the Town of Essex. I’m thinking the Mayor (lsnively@essex.ca) and Deputy Mayor (rmeloche@essex.ca) should hear about this for sure.
He previously sought the Ontario PC nomination for the riding of Essex. He didn’t get the nomination but this should absolutely be remembered if he seeks the nomination again (or at the federal level).
His precious job for over 30 years should be noted. So ignorance isn’t an excuse here. And there’s reckoning to go around on being allowed to dog whistle (or worse) under the guise of “free speech.” (Full disclosure: he was my editor for a short period.) windsorstar.com/columnists/van…
Oh, and it somehow gets worse. On so many levels. 😡
Previous*. Welp, I’m too mad to care about typos.
First tweet should have directly* not directed. Whatever 🤦🏽‍♀️
🤷🏽‍♀️
Updates: we need to discuss how he is framing this as an attack on himself/free speech instead of facing consequences for being a jerk. If you get called out for spreading harmful misinformation, that is not a right vs left but a lie vs truth thing. 🤷🏽‍♀️ iheartradio.ca/am800/news/upd…
Again, this isn't about "cancel culture" or COVID-shaming. It's about recognizing this racist talking point is being weaponized not only at a geopolitical level but also at an individual level when it comes to a *steep* increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. windsorstar.com/news/local-new…
(As an aside, this should be mandatory reading on how the term "cancel" has been co-opted from Black culture into the White mainstream in this way) washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/canc…
What is *really* interesting is his defence has shifted that he fell for an ~Internet meme.~ A meme!? This man worked several decades in the news industry and is an elected official - and he is saying he doesn't know how to check Internet sources. 🙃 windsor.ctvnews.ca/essex-town-cou…
We also have to discuss how the framing of a lot of these stories gives him a *larger* platform to defend himself, double-down & not apologize. The q should not be was this wrong/racist? It should be what will you do to rectify + apologize to the local Asian-Canadian community?
Additionally, every single one of these stories should contextualize these comments with a) why the comments are offensive and b) a reference to anti-Asian hate crimes data from police that indicate a jump of 700%+ in the past year alone. Draw the explicit line.
We are past time ~discussing~ whether or not racism is real. It is. It is not up for discussion anymore. It has serious life & death consequences. Move past this so organizations like the Essex County Chinese Canadian Association don't have to say this.
The Essex County Chinese Canadian Association indicated local elected officials should call this out. From what I can tell, there have been statements from Essex Mayor Larry Snively, Essex Councillor Sherry Bondy, Leamington Mayor @HildaMacDonald...
If I have missed statements from others, please let me know.

And perhaps, even more than statements, the question should be: what action will be taken to make clear this is not appropriate behaviour for an elected official *and* to prevent this from happening in the future?
Both the federal and provincial Conservative parties indicate they want to diversify their supporters. So what has been the response from local riding associations? Or MP @ChrisLewisEssex? I believe a response from the Essex riding association was deleted:

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More from @SarahMushMush

9 Apr
Before even diving into the story, I absolutely *love* this photo, @winstarjanisse. What a beauty 🙌🏽 🌉
With respect to the story: I certainly empathize with folks separated from family or having their business out on hold due to the border closure.

I think we also need to acknowledge the layers of who has never had an issue with a border in their life and who has.
I mean, it takes a heck of lot of privilege to not think something is a problem until it personally affects you. Like this dude getting mad only when he was added to a no fly list.
Read 5 tweets
28 Nov 20
While we wax poetic about Windsor-Essex being one of the "most diverse areas" in Canada, this is what Black students face. We can't address this if we continue to pretend racism doesn't exist in our region.

Thank you @atuwindsor2020 for shining the light here.
"[The frat members] are part of our community & we have to take responsibility for what they did, which was racist, homophobic, etc. And so for [UWindsor president Rob Gordon] to then... push against this, I think is really disingenuous." @Sujith_Xavier cbc.ca/news/canada/wi…
Read 5 tweets
28 Nov 20
Important commentary on Ontario's largest school outbreak (49 cases) right here in Windsor re: low-income vulnerability, social circumstances, and not having current demographic data. Ft. @annekersmit and @Frazier_Fathers via @jennlagrassa cbc.ca/news/canada/wi…
The school board (and health unit!) not keeping and/or releasing demographic data of schools + neighbourhoods is an issue. Toronto clearly demonstrated there is a correlation between certain neighbourhoods and COVID-19 cases. We would probably see the same if data was available.
Demographic data would be a powerful tool for many reasons - including online learning, as demonstrated by the school board itself: 391 students are attending Begley in person while 146 opted for online learning or paper packages, one of the lowest rates for the board.
Read 5 tweets
14 Jun 20
If you're going to publish a piece on migrant workers, maybe speak to a local farm worker or two before you throw out a bunch of stereotypes about said group and use these assumptions to imply their sickness/death has to do with their actions alone. Infuriating.
I know this is an opinion piece but come on. The author was a whole university professor. He should know a thing or two research and not making arguments based on conversations with a couple friends who happen to own greenhouses.🙄
Perhaps the most cruel part of the column is the tone used to describe two "unfortunate" deaths and a number of infections as only a "small" number? So, what would be a palatable number instead? Are these people disposable?
Read 11 tweets

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