The Conservatives have just handed the Brandon-Souris by election to Rolf Dinsdale
Here’s why. Quoting It in full. Link here.
Online attacks against Rolf Dinsdale cross the line
NOVEMBER 16, 2013
BY DEVERYN ROSS
A few months ago, I wrote about the use of social media by some Brandonites to bully, harrass and intimidate others. I pointed out that the cyber bullying was not limited to teenagers, but that adults were active as well.
With the Brandon-Souris by-election campaign now in full gear, social media is being used by each of the candidates to spread the word about their campaign activities. Sadly, it is also being used by others (many of whom hide behind fake identities) to throw insults at the candidates and their political parties.
The vast bulk of the online attacks have been made against Liberal candidate Rolf Dinsdale and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, in most cases by persons who either appear or are known to be committed Conservative supporters.
Here is a sample of some of the online screed that has been hurled at Dinsdale by one anonymous local Twitter user over just the past week:
“Your buddy/shiller Warren Kinsella has a pretty gross track record thus far in politics.”
“Your handler/bandmember Warren kinsella seems to be an authority on Nazi-ism. Wolves on the hunt”
“Punk Skunk Skinhead Neo-Nazi begs to be MP for #bdnmb-Souris in Canada. Is this what our veterans fought for?”
“Seeing R. Ford’s speech today, all I could see was @Rolfdinsdale apologizing to his kid about revelations from classmates re his past.”
“#CPC just spent 7 years to work fixing #LPC messes & growing Canada. Lefty Libs think they can do better?!”
“@Rolfdinsdale Devil’s in the detail, or should I say Sh*t From Hell. The deeper I dig…the more Sh*t I find! You are a naughty boy!”
“@Rolfdinsdale ‘s bud W. Kinsella is known as Prince of Darkness, Human Shrapnel Machine or Sh*t From Hell as his coach or poli handle.”
“@Rolfdinsdale Yer bud Warren Kinsella will turn on U like a cornered rat by history. He burnt more bridges than your fellow Nazi’s.”
“@Rolfdinsdale With your checkered past with friend/bandmate Warren Kinsella, aren’t you embarrassed to show your face in public?”
“@Rolfdinsdale See your fellow band member Warren Kinsella (Google) has a similar sordid history just as you. Mongrels are iffy pets.”
As I write this, local Conservative supporter D’Arcy Barker has just posted this on Twitter:
“If #cndpoli Toronto didn’t elect a crackhead for Mayor, did the Federal Liberals not elect a pot head for Leader?”
If you wonder why it is so hard to attract quality candidates to run for election at any level, you have your answer. Politics is a nasty business and is not for the thin-skinned, but how many among us have skin thick enough to endure the vicious insults that are being thrown at Dinsdale several times each day?
The attacks on Dinsdale and his friend Warren Kinsella are not merely disgusting; they are factually wrong. Kinsella has spent years exposing and fighting white supremacists, neo-Nazis and skinheads in Canada and has written books on the issue. To brand Dinsdale and Kinsella as supporters of that repulsive form of thinking is nothing short of slander.
It is not merely slander, however. It is also an attempt to use false, inflammatory information to convince voters to vote for a candidate other than Dinsdale, and that makes it a threat to our democracy.
The attacks against Dinsdale may be a sign that the Conservatives are worried that their candidate, Larry Maguire, could lose this election, but this is the wrong way to win an election.
There is no evidence that Maguire condones these attacks. As an active Twitter user, however, he must be aware of them. The fact he has not denounced them is troubling.
Care to comment? deverynrossletters@gmail.com
