You know what would be hilarious to focus attention on in Toronto? Plastic bags. No serious, the right wing media in Toronto will not shut the hell up about a 5 cent tax on plastic bags and the banning of them at stores. A ban will do some good. Not only that, but at least one wing nut at the Toronto Sun is whining that everyone is paying attention to plastic bags while someone was killed in the Eaton’s Centre while numerous others were injured. Well, the right wing media, the Sun particularly, were the ones hyper focused on this bag ban to begin with.

Now Rob Ford the mayor of Toronto has come out railing against the people for the whole bag ban situation. He’s complaining that they’re not supporting him and his useless idea of getting rid of the ban. The people don’t think the ban is a bad idea and as a result is unable to rally people behind his idea. No matter how much his personal propaganda outlet, The Sun, repeats his position verbatim, its not working. When he can’t get his way, he blames the people.

“It’s the people’s fault. Honestly, sometimes I get so frustrated because the people are just sitting back listening. They don’t pick up the phone, they don’t go down to city hall, they don’t ask questions, they just … it’s frustrating.” [1]

Well sir, what did you expect? They don’t support you. Is there tremendous apathy with regards towards politics? Yes there certainly is. When people stood up not wanting to lose their public libraries, or the last of the good paying city jobs, you insulted them, trashed them, even (as I believe) got George Mammoliti to accuse the Communist Party of Canada of being behind it! You’ve attacked anyone who got involved that didn’t kiss your ass. Well the public knows if they don’t want to do what YOU and your corporate masters want to do, they’ll just get shut out, ignored and insulted. In the context of municipal politics in Toronto, you have no one to blame but yourself, your own quasi-fascist way of operating and your corporate masters.

The ban on bags will be good. Just look at what his people at the Sun consider no good reason for keeping a plastic bag tax: Didn’t generate revenue for the city, restricted people choices of bags, etc.. They forgot the whole part about less bags being thrown away, they forgot the whole less bags in landfills. Why deal with the really existing material changes that took place? No, instead they whine about some meaningless choice. When faced with a lack of real reasons, they resort to the kind of ridiculous anti-materialist abstractions to, well fail at making a point! Here is a prime example form Joe Warmington “The Nightscrawler”:

“Singapore has banned chewing gum, New York sugary drinks and now it’s Toronto’s turn to make its mark in the theatre of the absurd…

…How about trafficking in plastic bags?

It will give the gangs some more contraband to move in the black market. Maybe bag turf wars?” [2]

Some times their behaviour and ideas force me to question whether to pity them or hate them. This is the typical fear mongering tactic they resort to while trying to make a point on something. The invocation of big government running our lives, now apparently trying to scare us with the spectre of crime! A loony can imagine roving gangs of bag sellers sneaking into our kid’s school to ask them if they want a hit of plastic! What’s worse is the outright lying by Warmignton. Sugary drinks have not been banned in New York, they have only regulated the size of the cups sold. So if hyperbole is not enough to defend a failing point, resort to outright lying.

The obviousness here is striking, the typical right wing political leader mentality: If they’re against you its all far-left terrorists, if they don’t support you then they just don’t care what happens. When your opinion doesn’t match the reality of public opinion, blame reality. Or in this case, the people.

Sources:
[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/06/07/ford-plastic-bag-ban385.html

[2] http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/06/bag-ban-shows-councils-absurd-priorities