Monday, September 14, 2009

For Whom The Bell Trolls

One of the things I like about being to the left of centre is the possibility of self correction and knowing that there is no final purity of ideology to be adhered to. Unless, that is, you happen to be everyone's favourite all season troll, the ubiquitous Ti-Guy. There's a reason that Ti has been banned by at least one other left leaning blog, he's an unapologetic, trolling shit mouth.

The shame of it is that in his lucid moments he is entirely capable of valuable insight and erudition. Sadly those traits aren't his claim to fame nor are they his default comment mode. And since he has found it in his bowel shaped heart to include me on his list of those who fail to pass his personal purity test
and since I am one of the front page writers here, I figure it be time to respond.

From my post regarding
the latest Liberal ad here is Ti's contribution to the discussion:

Ti-Guy said...
Shorter psa:

I scream all the time. I'm an asshole when it comes to politics. Oh, look, Karen Redman is safe, I'll vote Credidiste.

Huh? Karen Redman lost by a few hundred votes. How'd that happen?

I hate politics. Shriek! SHRIEK! SHRIIIIIIIIIIEK!
10:25 PM

Now this has been a bug up Ti's well cinched ass since the last election. I did not vote for the Liberal incumbent in what, at the time, appeared to be a safe riding. I don't hold my nose when I vote, ever, if there's no one on the ticket I can vote for I'll withhold my franchise. So, here's the frightening low-down for Mr Trollypants, Karen Redman didn't run a campaign in the core of her riding. She barely ran a campaign in the suburbs of her riding. At every step of the race she was out hustled by her opponent. She didn't deserve to win on the basis of her campaign. I contacted her riding office on a number of occasions, before and during the campaign, by email and by phone and not once did her riding office see fit to even acknowledge those letters or calls, no robo-response, nada. Stephen fookin' Harper's office emailed me back when I wrote and yelled at them, as did Layton's, as did Duceppe's, as did Dion's and Prentice's and every other minister and member of parliament that I wrote, expressing my kudos, complaints, opinions and concerns. But not my own MP, she couldn't be bothered. Quite frankly, Karen Redman actively lost my potential vote.

When it came time to cast my ballot, I did what I always do, I voted for the candidate whose platform I liked best and who seemed most likely to represent my interests. I voted for an independent who had no hope of winning but who presented what I felt were the most positive policy positions. Had I felt that incumbent Redman was in peril of losing that Liberal seat to the dreaded Conservatives, I still would have voted for the best candidate. And just to make sure that Ti has a good load of crap in his pants for his inevitable tantrum, had I thought that the Conservative candidate was running on the best policy platform, I'd have voted for him. Hope that clears things up on the Redman issue once and for all, Ti.

As for
screaming all the time and being an asshole, well, I'll leave it to the individual readers of this blog to determine who's screaming and who's shrieking and who's an asshole. Which isn't to say that what Ti writes isn't without a grain of truth, the best lies usually do generate from a speck of truth. I often don't like politics because the act of politicking has a tendency to work against the best interest of the nation. It is too often about gaining and holding power than about serving the public. I do detest the falsity that our system seems to generate in these stage managed times and I feel it is well within my rights as a public commentator to criticize any party and any leader, at any time when I think they are betraying the electorate or attempting to mislead.

And finally, Ti-Guy, you are welcome to hold forth at length in the comments to this post. Call me every name in your vitriolic lexicon but from here on forward I'll be moderating your comments on my posts. Since you feel it is appropriate to behave like a Patrick, I'll treat your comments with the respect due a Patrick. If you fall into your default mode of mindless invective I'll delete you. Oh, and here, this is for you. You deserve it.


24 comments:

thwap said...

Ti-Guy's pretty awesome, except when his sad devotion to the Liberals gets the better of him.

They really do suck.

Anonymous said...

Wow Lindsay, seems that Ti-Guy got under your skin for stating the obvious...

Ti-Guy is one of the better "commenters" out there... you mad because he directed some of his barbs your way....?

Lindsay Stewart said...

Ti can be one of the very best commenters and I don't dispute that, he just often chooses not to be and resorts to mindless sniping. He's welcome to it. He was invited to go front page here some time ago, with my blessing, he chose not to. If you think his comment about the last post was accurate CWTF, well, I guess either you and Ti didn't read the post or I failed to express myself for all of the screaming and shrieking I was doing.

Ti-Guy said...

Oh, c'mon. You took me way too seriously. I like to get you going sometimes because no one I know can scold as gleefully as you do. Except for my parents...they're pros.

I didn't really mean to hit a nerve. I probably feel the same way as you about our current political morass, but the fact is, we're stuck with it. There's no way out of it.

Ti-Guy said...

except when his sad devotion to the Liberals gets the better of him.

They really do suck.


And this is why I'll never vote NDP. I don't define myself by who I choose to vote for. And there's no way in hell that collection of ranters and tenured academics could ever deal with the corporate power that would make mincemeat out of them the minute they formed the government. Besides, the NDP have, many times before, made it clear they don't want me. I'm too tainted.

Finally, it may be just coincidence, but in every riding I've ever lived, the NDP candidate was pathetic. They didn't even send canvassers around the last time.

Lindsay Stewart said...

I reserve the right to have prickly days. I further reserve the right to haul anyone out onto the carpet at any time. And I accept that I'll get my ass handed to me when I deserve it. When I do, I'll do my best to suck it up and I'm pretty sure I won't always succeed.

I disagree that there's no way out of the current political morass. To me that sounds like the acceptance of defeat. We can't just sit on our hands and vote for people that are steering the country onto the rocks. We have to yell and make ourselves heard. We have to demand better of the pols who should represent our interests. And it can't just be partisan nonsense, we need to present options, ideas and alternatives. That's the power of these stupid blog things, we have the platform by which we can inject ourselves into the debate in a positive fashion.

I want to see people's ideas for change, alternatives to the status quo and I want us to have the will to fight for those things. If all we can aspire to is, "oh well, they aren't quite as shit as the guys I hate", then maybe Ti is right. Maybe I do hate politics because it makes us betray ourselves. That's why I keep writing about how I want better from these people. If we're willing to settle for less, I assure you that is exactly what we'll get.

Ti has been whacking me with the Karen Redman stick for a year now, well, this was an attempt to take it away. It wasn't working because I stand behind my decision to vote for a no-hope candidate, a protest vote if you will. Consider this a hissy fit on my part or consider it a call for writers of Ti's obvious talent and ability to set their sights higher. Your call.

Ti-Guy said...

And it can't just be partisan nonsense, we need to present options, ideas and alternatives.

No. We just need politicians who can actually be shamed by their own constituents. Options, ideas and alternatives are nothing more than illusions, distractions and promises that no one has any intention of keeping.

Lindsay Stewart said...

"We just need politicians who can actually be shamed by their own constituents"

Okay. Where do we get some of those?

"Options, ideas and alternatives are nothing more than illusions, distractions and promises that no one has any intention of keeping."

If we don't have ideas and standards of our own to judge by, then we are ceding the agenda without debate to the politicians who have, so far, proven that they can't be shamed by their constituents. As completely stupid and manipulated as they are, the town hall tea baggers seized control of the public discourse on health care in the US and rolled the double majority Democrats over and applied the rodger to them.

Conversely, all of the American left, the progressives and hope&dream kids have stopped moving, stopped agitating and stopped participating. They figured they had won when the votes were counted in November and they were wrong. They figured electing a charismatic orator was sufficient and they were wrong. They aren't pressing their demands and the Repiglickins are. Shaming politicians and holding their feet to the fire is a long term task. If we don't know what we want, they'll be happy to tell us what they've decided we want.

If my greatest talent is as that of a scold, then so be it. But I'm going to do my damnedest to have something good to scold with and to scold for.

Ti-Guy said...

What do American politics have to do with this?

Those people are still trying to grapple with public health care, for Christ sakes. What is this, the 1950's?

I really don't think we need any new ideas. We just need to make what we have work better. And hope that the final collapse of the American empire comes sooner, rather than later.

The only idea I can come up with is bombing CanWest-Global's headquarters, but some priss told me that that's like, illegal or something.

thwap said...

"And this is why I'll never vote NDP. I don't define myself by who I choose to vote for."

Did I say you did? Do I define myself by the way I vote? You occasionally squeak out some lame-ass defense of the Liberals and some (often) mindless critique of the NDP.

And there's no way in hell that collection of ranters and tenured academics could ever deal with the corporate power that would make mincemeat out of them the minute they formed the government.

As opposed to the Liberals? More nonsense.

Besides, the NDP have, many times before, made it clear they don't want me. I'm too tainted.

I'm sure they'd never notice if you voted for them. And if they did, I don't think they'd mind.

Finally, it may be just coincidence, but in every riding I've ever lived, the NDP candidate was pathetic. They didn't even send canvassers around the last time.

Smaller party, less volunteers.

KEvron said...

(munches popcorn)

KEvron

Lindsay Stewart said...

Enjoy the popcorn KEv, I'm watching an episode of Dr Who just now. Dig Ti, dig. ;-)

KEvron said...

twats should be around any minute now to drop some redundant punctuation. i've cut a hole in the bottom of my popcorn box, in anticipation.

KEvron

Ti-Guy said...

Dr. Who sucks.

*storms off*

KEvron said...

btw, linkee no workee.

KEvron

LuLu said...

Did someone say Doctor Who? Which episode if you please?

Lindsay Stewart said...

Link fixed KEv or you could have scrolled down a couple of posts. Enjoy the Fraggle Rock marathon stormy Ti. *Imitates wicked awesome Dr Who theremin theme*

KEvron said...

"you could have scrolled down a couple of posts"

this ain't my first barbeque.

KEvron

sooey said...

Haha - this reminds me of when they fight in hockey, pulling their pads around, sliding all over the ice.

But you're both right because you're both AWESOME!

(I didn't know you spoke Chinese, KEvron. Although, I think that should be "rinkee no wolkee".)

I think Trudeau was the last time it wasn't an "anybody but" vote for Liberals. But we can't have another Conservative government, so Ignatieff it has to be.

What's the worst that can happen? That he declares war on Pakistan?

KEvron said...

"I didn't know you spoke Chinese"

i don't, but i'm fluent in pidgin.

KEvron, internet traditionalist

Ti-Guy said...

I want that Silver Anus by the way. Just send it to Liberal Party HQ and they'll make sure I get it.

Off-topic: Part of Toronto being evacuated due to explosion threat. Most popular comment at the CBC blames immigration policy.

This country is fucked.

sooey said...

Oh stop being so dramatic. Or move to Ottawa. That'll learn ya.

Omigawd: "recist"!

liberal supporter said...

That's not an asshole. This is an asshole.

sooey said...

Cancer is funnier'n Dennis O'Leary.

Caring matters. It's what we need to do.