— Feature, Musings —06.07.2023 04:04 PM
My latest: passion over reason
Reason over passion.
Pierre Trudeau become famous for that one. Some academics claim that Trudeau actually said “reason before passion,” but it doesn’t really matter. The sentiment is clear.
Namely, that we should always be rational. Not emotional.
It was a nice sentiment, and one that people liked at the time. But it described a far-away world that we all aspire to live in. And not, you know, the world in which we actually do.
Because, down here on planet Earth, people continue to make a lot of important political decisions based on passion and their gut. Not reason, and certainly not intellect.
The most successful politicians understand this the best. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is one of them.
Earlier this week, when asked about the certifiably-insane decision to move convicted child murderer in Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison, Ford said this:
“He’s nothing but a scumbag. This SOB needs to be in jail 23 hours a day. As a matter of fact, I’d go one step further – that one hour he’s out, he should be in general population. That’s what should happen to this SOB.”
In effect, Ford was likely calling for Bernardo to be killed. That’s what often happens when “skins” – sex offenders – get placed with other inmates. They get killed.
“Visceral and vituperative,” the Toronto Star’s editorial board sniffed, alliteratively. Ford was “bellowing,” the Star tut-tutted.
Elsewhere in the pages of the Toronto Star, someone with the John Howard Society – an organization that advocates for prisoners – said that “public hatred of a prisoner should not justify harsher confinement.”
Similarly, a bureaucrat who formerly oversaw the federal prison system told the Star that such prison transfers “should not be based on revenge… we, as a country, gave up torture quite a while ago.”
See that? If you are upset about a man who raped and tortured children being sent to an “open campus model” prison – well, you are a vengeful, visceral and vituperative monster who favors torture.
As such, you’re probably opposed to Bernardo getting “stress management training” at his new home. They offer that there. (More family visits and “recreation and leisure time,” too.)
So, the Toronto Star editorial board and some special interest types are okay with Paul Bernardo getting a nicer place to rest his head at night. But I’ll wager most Canadians aren’t. When pressed, most of them probably side with Doug Ford.
That’s because politicians like Ford are better at what political consultants call “the values proposition.” That is, when discussing values – hopes, fears, the ineffable stuff of life and death – conservative-minded politicians do better. Progressive politicians get tongue-tied.
A few years ago, for my book Fight the Right, I predicted that the Tea Party movement would take over the Republican Party. And that the Tea Party’s erstwhile leader, Donald Trump, would become a lot more powerful as a result.
Ironically, some Democratic Party thinkers agreed with me.
Stanley B. Greenberg, a US pollster who was married to a Democratic Party congresswoman, noted that “voters are generally turning to conservative and right-wing political parties, most notably in Europe and in Canada.” Why?
Because, he said, voters believe “government operates by the wrong values and rules, for the wrong people and purposes. The people I’ve surveyed believe the government rushes to help the irresponsible, and does little for the responsible.”
Another notable American progressive, Geoffrey Nunberg, agreed. Said he: “The Right is better at values. The Right has a natural advantage, in the modern context, because a lot of the issues they are promoting are emotional issues.” Canadian progressives, like American progressives, Nunberg told me, are basically “clueless” on the values stuff.
Which is why Doug Ford hasn’t really experienced much blowback about his comments on Paul Bernardo’s fate. Because progressives know, deep in their beating (and bleeding) hearts, that anyone who rapes and tortures and murders children on video has forfeited his life. Period.
So, sorry, Mr. Trudeau. Reason over passion is fine.
But Paul Bernardo still deserves an hour in general population.
And most of us would be there to cheer. Passionately.
Paul Bernardo should never be transferred. What a stupid decision!
When will Bernardo be granted parole? Any thoughts?
As Ronald pointed out elsewhere, the NPB was responsible for this monstrosity. There is only ONE member out of all of them left that was appointed by Harper. The rest were appointed by Justin and his team. The current specific ministers responsible are Blair and Mendicino. There is only one spot to place the blame.
When it comes to blame the Liberal government is a black hole; responsibility will never be seen.
I don’t understand why no one is going after the NPB and how this is the inevitable result when the whole bunch of them have been appointed by Justin.
Warren,
We should have in the Criminal Code life without the possibility of parole for these types of inhuman cases. You do the time, until you drop dead.
I imagine that the Charter would have to be modified so that this could pass judicial muster.
Or you just invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.
Raped and murdered two teenaged girls? Did he not also with the help of his scumbag wife … …oops sorry victim, also dismember and encase their bodies in cement? The trial really laid out what a waste of skin he was when describing the contents of some of the videos during the trial. But let’s be fair, if Karla is out, married and living the life with her children then why is he the focus of all our hate. Is it because the system fucked up and she walked with 12 years? If I am wrong then I am wrong.
Wink,
I may not have this correctly but they factored in his relationship with her and its nature not to mention the murder of her sister. But I’m going from memory now.
I’m going from a very faded memory here so I stand to be corrected, but I thought there was an unfortunate timing issue with Karla, so that the Crown made a deal with her before the tapes were discovered and the full extent of her culpability was known?
Boy.
I don’t know what to think about this article.
Justin Trudeau is the premier practitioner of passion politics and the voters in urban areas are still lapping it up, despite 500 reasons to stop. If I hear him say “we have your back” or “will always be there for you” once more I’m gonna puke. Especially because his phoney voice is usually dispensing huge amounts of public money at the same time.
Meanwhile, rural Canada is flyover country for the Liberals, perhaps because conservatives can spot a phoney a township away.
My go to upchuck line from Justin is when he starts to speak on behalf of “Canadians”. “Canadians know” or “Canadians think”. I am a mathematician and the statement is just mathematically wrong.
Martin,
Yeah, Canadians know without a fraction of a doubt that this Prime Minister is basically a blithering idiot on his best day. What can I say…
No wonder they keep hiding him away so he doesn’t have to take his well-deserved lumps in QP. QP is way over this guy’s so-called intellectual capacity.
I’m all for the scorn being heaped on Bernardo, and the lax criminal justice system that has put us into this controversy in the first place.
However, I find it interesting that this is catching so much attention when there are numerous cases every year involving depraved rapists and killers who are not only downgraded to medium security, but in some cases actually released after only a decade or so behind bars. Often, these monsters go back out and harm people again.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, because Bernardo belongs to a particularly unsympathetic demographic these days, whereas often the other “scumbags” (to use Ford’s word) are coddled by things like the Gladue directive and other similar built-in excuses.
The symbol of Lady Justice is blind, and that’s how our justice system should truly be. Rapists and murderers should receive the same punishment, and the same scorn, across the board.
“Often, these monsters go back out and harm people again.”
Really – how many? I know at least two people who killed people and now are released and they never offended again, the system works!
Benjamin,
Most of the time but not always.
Steve,
The system has no choice but to work by gradation for each offending category. Those at the very top of the pyramid should never see the light of day, but you simply can’t apply that type of arbitrary rule across the board. We’re not about to build ten to twenty additional maximum security facilities to lock everyone up until the next ice age comes. Simply not feasible, both politically and especially fiscally.
Why not? I’d certainly vote for it. However, more notably, I’d vote for a justice system that is truly blind with respect to the accused. No more Gladue considerations, or other similar “he came from a tough childhood” nonsense. No more alleged “mental health” defenses that miraculously vanish when the perpetrator has served a few months behind bars.
The goal of the justice system should be to protect the public. We need to stop painting criminals as victims.
Mr Bernardo has forfeited any degree of clemency by his horrific actions. He is not in a position to be rehabilitated as the crimes that he has been convicted of (and I feel quite comfortable alleging he has committed far more crimes than he has been convicted of) are of a nature that prohibit his integration back into Canadian society. Even the PM has felt it necessary to weigh in on this matter. It is beyond the pale that any type of change in his incarceration conditions would even be considered.
If Bernardo is ever released he will be murdered
within hours of his exit most assuredly.
Canadians have a Charter right to security of the person.
Bernardo is not a person or even Canadian. He’s
a scumbag worthy of death upon exit from maximum
security.
I’m a leftie so-called ‘progressive’ that is thinking
progressively & proactively.
I think WK’s messaging thesis is especially true in the United States – these days, and for many years now, Republicans generally are better at messaging than Democrats are. The border and immigration issues in the US are Exhibit A for that.
And Ruy Teixeira’s article “The Fox News Fallacy” is a very perceptive and true analysis of a related problem for Democrats in the US, where they automatically think that if Fox News is giving an issue any play, the issue must be “invalid” and not worthy of paying attention to (such as the border and immigration). And they thus end up conceding the entire information space to the Republicans on that issue. Which is just plain stupid.
Doc,
A secure border is total bullshit. No president has ever done it and none ever will. You can’t simply fence off the Rio Grande unless you want to spend trillions. Funny eh, no appetite for that and more than likely it’s not even physically possible anyway.
Fortunately, God is already giving DeSantis a serious thumping for how he treats asylum seekers and other immigrants. Great! Now, if Abbott suddenly drops dead, I doubt I’ll somehow manage to say that’s too bad.
As for the old POS, he’s about to learn the meaning of a mandatory bifurcation. Couldn’t happen to a more swell guy.
Johnston out. Buh-bye. It’s about time.