An Open Letter to Tamils and All Other Causes

[BoringBob]

You might want to add this:

"... and if you don't want to respect other citizens of Canada, then the airport is just north of the 401, use it!"

 

[snowleopard]

You might want to add this:

"... and if you don't want to respect other citizens of Canada, then the airport is just north of the 401, use it!"

Boring old argument Bob ... we've heard it a million times

Ironically, the same option is open to all of us ... and not many seem to use it

Any other suggestions?

 

[elmo]

The tolerance BS gets old after a while too.

 

[snowleopard]

The tolerance BS gets old after a while too.

To me, it's all a tired old paradigm which isn't working anymore... time to change or perish.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

 

[BoringBob]

Boring old argument Bob ... we've heard it a million times

Ironically, the same option is open to all of us ... and not many seem to use it

Any other suggestions?

Actually, the same option is open to my grandparents. I was born and raised in Canada, making me (GASP!) Canadian.

First generation "refugee" immigrants who can't behave have earned an escort to the door, nothing more. If they want to be part of Canada, be part of Canada. If you want to screw Canadians over and bring your homeland war over here, making us suffer for something that isn't our fault or problem, well, hey, the door is over there. Go back and fight if you are going to fight, and if you aren't, the protest in a manner that doesn't screw other people's innocent lives up.

Citizenship and residency in Canada is a privilege you earn, not some bizarre right you get just for showing up at the door.

So your argument about this not being valid is old, tired, and very kumbaya group hug. That is getting old very fast.

 

[healer677]

Should they decide to demonstrate this long weekend again on a major highway i my thought is - if I were shitfaced drunk and plow through let's say the first row - can i be sent away for vehicular homicide? Or will be a regular run of the mill drunk driving charge?

 

[sibannac]

Actually, the same option is open to my grandparents. I was born and raised in Canada, making me (GASP!) Canadian.

First generation "refugee" immigrants who can't behave have earned an escort to the door, nothing more. If they want to be part of Canada, be part of Canada. If you want to screw Canadians over and bring your homeland war over here, making us suffer for something that isn't our fault or problem, well, hey, the door is over there. Go back and fight if you are going to fight, and if you aren't, the protest in a manner that doesn't screw other people's innocent lives up.



So your argument about this not being valid is old, tired, and very kumbaya group hug. That is getting old very fast.

Sorry to tell you that what the Tamils are doing here is in the Charter of Rights as a fundamental right that all Canadians have and that is freedom of peaceful assembly. Those protesting have earned there privilege as the vast majority of the protesters are Canadian Citizens. Because they have dark skin shouldn't be why your making this statement ( I really can't think of any other reason you might have here - sorry)

Citizenship and residency in Canada is a privilege you earn, not some bizarre right you get just for showing up at the door.

Even before the Charter of Rights a high Court in Canada has ruled on the right of protesters to assemble , gather and parade.

Peaceful Assembly and the Media:
"Assemblies, parades and gatherings are often the only means that those without access to the media may have to bring their grievances to the attention of the public." Justice Berger, Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (1980).

The fact that an assembly or parade is peaceful and so far the Tamil protests have been then whats the problem, it's a right granted all citizens whether they are born here or not. Remember a right denied is a right lost, you really can't pick and choose.

If it's a real pain in the ass for you well take transit into downtown Toronto until this passes until them we just have to put up with a minority group of Canadian citizens exercising their rights.

 

[Egor]

I love it when the Canuks go red-neck.....

OTB

The only readnecks on the scene were the ones threatening to punch me out for exercising my democratic right to free speech, the same way that they were.

 

[The LoLRus]

Sorry to tell you that what the Tamils are doing here is in the Charter of Rights as a fundamental right that all Canadians have and that is freedom of peaceful assembly

This is where you're wrong, you dont have the right assemble on the Gardiner or any other major street and block traffic

 

[Egor]

Its much easier to move along one obnoxious white bread than try and move a hundred obnoxious Tamils

And it's much easier to sit back in the comfort of your own home and type obnoxious messages on your computer than it is to get out there on the street and stand up for your opinions, isn't it.

 

[BoringBob]

Sorry to tell you that what the Tamils are doing here is in the Charter of Rights as a fundamental right that all Canadians have and that is freedom of peaceful assembly.

Incorrect - you do not have the right to protest in a manner that disturbs the public peace and order. blocking an expressway is a major no-no, not even close. Blocking ANYTHING without a permit from the city is enough to get you in crap.

if they want to protest, they can go find a park somewhere and parade around all they like, invite the media, whatever turns them on. As soon as they start blocking streets (and especially sending their kids to help them block streets) they are out of bounds and need to be dealt with accordingly.

IMHO, if they are using kids in these protests, perhaps the social services people need to check to see if these children are being abused. See, unlike their country, we have rules for shit like that.

Welcome to civilization, Canadian style: be part of it, or hop a plane back home.

 

[Back Burner]

And it's much easier to sit back in the comfort of your own home and type obnoxious messages on your computer than it is to get out there on the street and stand up for your opinions, isn't it.

Kaboom!!!!

And Egor blows up the thread.

 

[onthebottom]

The only readnecks on the scene were the ones threatening to punch me out for exercising my democratic right to free speech, the same way that they were.

I think there is plenty of racism and red neck attitude on these many threads..... the skin heads must be loving it.

OTB

 

[Aardvark154]

The Armenians tried it.
The Jews tried it.
The Ukranians tried it.
The Cambodians tried it.

To the best of my knowledge none of the above groups were conducting an ongoing terrorist campaign against the state. The Tamil terrorist groups have been doing so for almost three decades! That is a HUGE difference.

 

[Back Burner]

I think there is plenty of racism and red neck attitude on these many threads..... the skin heads must be loving it.

OTB

Some seem to be on TERB. No names of course. They can "speak" for themselves. They sure can't hide it.

On a more positive note; Emily(MPA2) and I are deciding on honeymoon destinations. Any recommendations?

 

[Ref]

On a more positive note; Emily(MPA2) and I are deciding on honeymoon destinations. Any recommendations?

It would be an honour if I could write a review of your honeymoon with Emily.

 

[Back Burner]

It would be an honour if I could write a review of your honeymoon with Emily.

Based on your last review? Not a chance nancy boy.

 

[Rockslinger]

Go back and fight if you are going to fight,

This is what real men do. This is what the Croatian Canadians did when Croatia was getting its ass kicked early in the Bosnian War. They didn't hide behind a bunch of women and children on the Gardiner .

 

[Barca]

Dear Tamils:

Let me first say that I also come from a country that suffered, for a very long time, a great deal of political and military abuse. The kind that takes decades to recover from and whose scar wounds will never leave the face of its people.

I understand and sympathize with your cause. I hope the best of outcomes for your plight: That the innocent survive, that children are not killed and that the guilty face their responsibilities.

What I need to ask you is to please have respect for the City of Toronto. Whose name is "Meeting Place" from the history of its cultural origins.

Many of us have come here from other countries to form a better life for ourselves and our families. This city has welcomed us with warmth, social assistance, acceptance of cultural diversity. It employs us, educates us, entertains us, supports us and provides a safe and colorful foundation for all the members in our family. Be they young or old.

I sincerely and humbly implore you, please, to NOT pay back the city that has been so helpful to you by blocking its bloodflow. Closing down a major venue like University Avenue is a touchy enough subject. Taking illegal command of the Gardiner Expressway, on Mother's Day, is very much another issue with very many dangerous and alienating ramifications.

Please remember that many of these people who were captured in their travels by your efforts are not all familiar with your cause. Many of them were on their way to see their Mothers for dinner and are not accustomed at all with this kind of passionate, political demonstration. It's not to say that Canadians should not be more politically aware, very many should, but this was the wrong way to introduce them to your cause. It will foster resentment and alienation towards your plight, therefore making your climb a steeper one to climb. You need as many people to believe in your cause as you can reach.

Please, be kind to the city that continues to help you to this moment. Do not back down from your will but keep your passions from becoming irrational. There are proper ways that will allow you to make your points legally and safely. Remember that you are in CANADA and there is a system here set in place for you to voice your frustrations. If you play by the guidelines of that system, you will achieve many worthwhile goals. If you don't believe in this process, perhaps the Canadian environment is not the ideal one for you.

Please think about this before you charge a major highway again. Most importantly, I beg you to never, ever put children in the face of potentially violent situations. If you resolve nothing else, at least please pay heed to this sincere petition.

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent".

- Mahatma Ghandi

On Behalf of all concerned and conscious Canadians and Torontonians.

Be well and Good Luck.

Listen and Learn.

Thank you Bridgeman...you are a scholar and a gentelman.

 

[tarkovsky]

IMO, all these posts with racist undertones are the result of immigrants going too far with their demands. Canadians have had enough and it is becoming ridiculous now. Instead of trying to make Canada into Pakistan how about Pakistan-immigrants try to become Canadian? There's a crazy thought.

Be thankful and respectful of the people and culture of your new country which GRANTED you entry. No one asked you to come here; you willingly left your home and knew it would NOT be the same as your home. IMO Canada treats its immigrants better than any other country on the planet. In the rest of the world, immigrants are spit upon; look how France treats its large Algerian immigrant population.

As with any strong reaction, the event being villified (in this case, the Tamils' blocking of infrastructure) is just the proverbial last straw of what has been building for years. The Tamils are screwing with Canadians' personal lives, making demands that Canadians aren't even in a position to give. Nice way to pay back a country that helped them escape the very slaughter they're protesting.