Musings —05.08.2012 10:26 AM
—PMO boss, 1; Biggest Asshole in Canada, 0
It reminds me of a friend who happens to be a former Premier of Ontario. Shortly after leaving politics, this ex-Preem was approached on a Toronto street by some loon, who launched into a loud invective-filled rant. Remembering that he was no longer Premier, and no longer needed to bite his prime ministerial tongue while being abused, he thereupon said:
“Fuck off.”
And walked away.
I love, love, loved that.
Not sure if it’s the same Premier, or the same story, as what you mentioned, but what I read *somewhere* – damned if I can remember where – is that after David Peterson lost in ’90, someone walked up to him on the street and said words to the effect of “You were the worst premier ever and I’m glad you lost.”
Whereupon Peterson said, essentially, “Sir, one of the good things about being out of politics is that I don’t have to listen to as*holes like you anymore”, then turned on his heel and walked off.
A little more wordy than “Fuck off”, but an even better response, IMO. That crank who taunted him had it coming (and I’m no fan of Peterson’s time in office!).
Jason – if what you say is true, that Peterson said that, then Mike Harcourt stole it, cause that is exactly what he said on a radio broadcast in Vancouver.
And yet Pat Martin gets vilified when he responds similarly.
Warren: You are not paid by the said asshole. The guy from the PMO is.
I think the guy was a jerk and a troll but that said Macdougall is a public servant and shoudl never speak like that to a taxpayer, anyomous git or not.
I hope he continues this behavior, it means in a couple months he will be Stephen Cartered
Do we call political operatives “public servants” nowadays?
Cudos to the guy for having a retort. As to its quality…well, my thirteen year old would say the same. Pretty lame.
The level of political discourse has definitely gone down since the days of Benjamin Disraeli and Winston Churchill. However, despite all of this childish verbiage, the original comment by @oxy28 still bears a bit of truth, N’est-ce pas?
Sorry Warren, but I must disagree with you on this issue.
What both Andrew MacDougall and this former Ontario Premier said is nothing short of unrefined, uncouth, tactless,
unprofessional, common and low class behaviour.
It amazes me how prominent individuals in North America utter such things. It is a sad testament to the fact that
North American society is increasingly rude, crude, vulgar, low class and pedestrian level in nature. It is also the
result of what happens what a society flattens all of its hierarchy from being on first name bases with the boss in
the workplace to credit cards affording the working poor a sense of false class mobility. People tend to “know their
place” far more outside of North America, and I do not think that is necessarily a bad thing.
I was recently on a transatlantic flight flying first class. There was this loud, rude, crude, vulgar, slovenly dressed
pig sitting across from me who was wearing a tank top, short shorts, flip flops, and a backwards baseball cap.
He was consuming the complementary champagne like it was going out of style and he kept raising his voice and
using profanity. He remarked to the well dressed gentleman beside him that he was sitting in first class a result
of being given a free upgrade and that he had “lucked out”. This tattooed rubbish and his salt & pepper tough guy
goatee belonged in the luggage area of the plane as far as I was concerned.
The dignfied and gentlemanly thing for both Andrew MacDougall and this former Ontario Premier to have done
would have been to simply ignore the low class comments posed to them.
Three cheers for old fashioned manners, customs, boundaries, hierarchy and social graces.
PS: At the risk of being further proverbially lynched by others here, I feel compelled to point that the PMO’s communication director is yet another Conservative WASP.
Would you like to see the return of the British Raj, Nurie……you know, the days of no dogs and coloured alowed?……cuz for some people, those WERE the good ol’ days……
I dont deny that good manners, decorum, etc have become less of the norm than days of past…..
But I dont think I want to go back to the days of “knowing ones place”…..where the all the rights and priveleges went to those who were “of the manner born”……
I can tell you this…..I suspect that even if the man had been quiet and only drank a moderate amount of the complimentary champagne, you would have still judged this man on his appearance rather than the content of his character…..
Bad behaviour knows no class boundaries Nurie…..Ive seen many “well bred” people act like complete jerks too…..even in your own(I presume) South Asian community….
@frmr disgruntled Con now Happy Lib
HOW RUDE
How dare you mention the British Raj which enslaved and dispossessed millions of people.
I was referring to the clear loss of manners, refinement, etiquette and hierarchy in Canadian society.
I was NOT supporting the return of institutional discrimination, segregation or slavery.
You are also incorrect about your view of “knowing ones place”. I was referring to this term with regard to behaviour and brevity. For example, do you condone how so many people these days dress like disgusting slobs and go into posh and upscale restaurants?. Do you think its right that so many people go to restaurants and let their kids run amok complete with putting their hands into buffet foods they are not going to eat, running full speed into waiters and disrupting the dining please of others while their parents are indifferent?. Are the parents of such brats selfish and nasty?. No, not at all, they just lack the proper manners, etiquette and social graces. They do not know their place or those of their children in such an environment.
You are quite right that I do not believe that slovenly dressed, rude, crude, low class individuals who lack restraint and discernment as grown adults should be in the first class section of an airline; especially when they got “bumped up”.
I greatly admired the political positions of the late Chuck Cadman MP who broke with the Reform/Alliance Rednecks to sit as an independent MP who then famously cast a vote to keep the Martin Liberals in power. I was sad that he passed away from cancer, but quite frankly, his wearing faded blue jeans into the House of Commons while chewing gum during this vote which was televised nationwide, was very much low class, uncouth, tactless and unrefined. Can you image someone dressing that way and chomping on bubble gum in the British House of Commons or House or Lords?.
By the way, being upper class, posh, refined, couth, tactful and classy has nothing to do with money. Toronto Mayor
Rob Ford comes from a lot of wealth and privilege, but he clearly lacks proper breeding, couth, tact, refinement,
discernment or class. I have given money to homeless people in the past who spoke with impeccably good grammer
and verbiage, and who had lovely manners. Likewise, I have known and witnessed many wealthy people who are
rude, crude, boorish, ignorant, common, low class, vile and disgusting.
A well bred person does not act in the way in which this gentleman on the airline did. Nor do they act like the PMO’s
communications chief. I fail to see how anything that MacDougall said was good, correct, decent, couth, refined, tactful, well mannered, upscale, posh or classy. Can you imagine the communications chief for President Obama or Prime Minister Cameron using such sarcastic retorts?.
PS: The slovenly dressed pig on the flight I referenced earlier used profanity in the presence of children.
Seems to this observer that someone demonstrating tact, refinement, discernment or class wouldn’t be harping on other people’s race all the time.
You would like to think that would be the case, but apparently not.
Nah, it’s still the case.
It’s just a demonstration of who isn’t demonstrating said qualities, that’s all.
Well I dont know Ms. Jahangeer…..but in your original post you spoke of people “knowing their place”, which harkens back to how white folk in North America spoke about about Afro Americans, and
Afro-Canadians…..You spoke of how in other countries this apparently was more common……your words, Madame, not mine……
The British Raj was a shameful period in British history…..but indeed, the Raj did foster the belief that Indians should “know their place”……
It wasnt all that long ago that women fought for universal suffrage, and in the womens liberation movement against misogynist males who believed women should “know their place”…..
I did find it, therefore, just a tad ironic that you yourself should use the phrase, which of course is what I was alluding to when mentioning the Raj….
It is now quite clear that you meant something else entirely…..
As well, If you look at the last sentence of my post, you will see that I am quite aware that money does not equate to “breeding”…..
Would I have responded to the tweet in the manner of Mr. MacDougall? ….., probably not…..but I can certainly see the humour in the turn of phrase……
Scuse me if that lessens my deportment in your eyes, but quite frankly, Ms. Nahanjeer….Je me’n fous…..
“It amazes me how prominent individuals in North America utter such things. It is a sad testament to the fact that
North American society is increasingly rude, crude, vulgar, low class and pedestrian level in nature”
If you think North American society is so bad and terrible, why are you here?
Why don’t you fly first class to another continent that is so much better and enjoy life away from WASP’s?
I know why, because North America is a pretty great place to live, so stop your bitching and complaining.
@Bill
You are going on a formal complaint to the webmaster of this chat forum for your xenophobic comments.
I never said Canada or North America was “bad and terrible”. I was merely pointing out that North American society
is increasingly rude, crude, vulgar, low class and pedestrian level in nature as it relates to many other countries
which tend to be far more hierarchal.
You have shown the ugly face of whiteness and white privilege in your remarks. Why would you suggest that
I leave because of something I dislike?. If I were a highly assimilated, unilingual, unhyphenated, Canadian
born and bred person of WHITE ANGLO SAXON PROTESTANT origin who was a left-wing NDP voter who was
complaining about “greed and inequality in North America”, would you suggest that I leave?. I highly doubt it
because you would most likely think to yourself, “she is a left-wing whiner” but you would know both consciously and unconsciously mind that I was “like you”. In other words, a hardy canuck born and raised, so of course
I wouldn’t move to another country. But whether consciously or not, your statement is proof of your own inherent
racism with the presumption that someone such as myself who is a visible minority, even if I was born and
raised here is still “not really a Canadian as much as someone who looks like Rob Ford”. Your racism and
euro-centric assumptions are truly disgusting. PM Harper once referred to Canada as being like a “Northern
European welfare state” and he complained about lazy people in the Maritimes with “Atlantic Canadian defeatist
attitudes”. So he was complaining, bitching and whining too as you so crudely put it. But would you ever seriously
suggest that he leave if he doesn’t like it?.
Whether Conservative, Liberal, NDP or Green. Whether truly anti-racist and supportive of immigration, bilingualism
and multiculturalism or not, way too many highly assimilated, unilingual, unhyphenated, Canadian born and bred people of WHITE ANGLO SAXON PROTESTANT origin have this assumption, consciously or unconsciously that unless a person is a real hot dog eating canucky mangiacake, then they are not truly Canadian and can always “go back home if they don’t like it here”. Well, you and your descendants are going to be in for a big shock in the years and decades ahead, my friend, as Canada becomes majority non-White and continues to have a huge portion of its permanent population foreign born with multiple identities and loyalties.
Now go back to your toque and dog sled, ya damn mangiacake!
Owned Bill. That’s called getting owned.
Nurie, your so full of shit it isn’t funny.
I never said” go back home if you don’t like it here”.
I said if you don’t like it here, take your racist ass and fly it first class to any continent you desire, particular continent is not important to me.
Hot dogs, toques and dog sleds, all good stuff, so therefore I must be a mangiacake. A damn happy mangiacake.
Mike Foulds: You see this is being owned, you like to see Nurie spew racism and hate. Your a fucking idiot.
Nurie,
You are the most racially intolerant person I’ve seen on this blog, ever!!!!! Look in the mirror – if you really don’t like Canada, then LEAVE or SHUT UP.
BTW, if you could see my last name you would know that I am not a WASP. I am a proud Canadian who detests people that cannot respect others of all races religions and ethnic backgrounds. Shove it – you POS.
…yr boss is an arseh…
…so are you…
…no, you are…
…I said it first…
…I said it first…
They both must be from Ontario.
Reminds me of Pee Wee Herman ” I know you are but what am I, I know you are but what am I”?
No double standards here. That was a pretty clean and fair comeback.
Perhaps this makes a better point?
War artist destroys works as protest against Tories – Politics – CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/05/08/pol-war-artist-protest.html
http://www.cbc.ca
A renowned Canadian war artist is destroying five pieces of his own artwork — including one he shredded live on CBC’s Power & Politics
Anyways, funny enough, but if you actually think about it, there is no comparison.. the PM is the winner.
Newtown Neurotics Kick Out the Tories
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6y-TnMhCg6o#!