The Intransigent Faction
14th August 2011, 00:27
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what's been happening in Toronto lately, the conservative Mayor Rob Ford's administration has been planning cutbacks on social services, public libraries and public sector jobs.
A couple of weeks ago, in a populist move, Rob Ford invited all Torontonians who would come to speak their minds to an executive committee meeting about what should or should not be cut from the city budget. The meeting went hours into the night, and naturally, the response to the cuts was overwhelmingly negative.
Now fast forward to the past couple of days. A pro-Ford councillor, Giorgio Mammoliti, went on a tirade about how there were communist councillors, communists invading the NDP, etc, trying to install "a system of government where government takes over all private property and controls the thoughts and views of people". He also dismissed all these people "whining" about the public sector cuts as "communists".
What's even more revealing is this is a man who was first elected as an Ontario NDP candidate and who once led a Canadian Union of Public Employees maintenance workers’ local.
I'd just like to say, as long as this high-profile pro-Ford councillor is around ranting against supposed communists, we as actual communists need to stand up and say "Yes, we are communists, and we have a better alternative." We need to set the record straight on what we actually stand for, and take advantage of how this man is characterizing public outrage at service cuts as "communists whining". It seems like, if it's approached right, this could be a good opportunity to counter fear-mongering right-wing doomsday rhetoric with serious propositions to the people for a better system that can meet their needs.
A couple of weeks ago, in a populist move, Rob Ford invited all Torontonians who would come to speak their minds to an executive committee meeting about what should or should not be cut from the city budget. The meeting went hours into the night, and naturally, the response to the cuts was overwhelmingly negative.
Now fast forward to the past couple of days. A pro-Ford councillor, Giorgio Mammoliti, went on a tirade about how there were communist councillors, communists invading the NDP, etc, trying to install "a system of government where government takes over all private property and controls the thoughts and views of people". He also dismissed all these people "whining" about the public sector cuts as "communists".
What's even more revealing is this is a man who was first elected as an Ontario NDP candidate and who once led a Canadian Union of Public Employees maintenance workers’ local.
I'd just like to say, as long as this high-profile pro-Ford councillor is around ranting against supposed communists, we as actual communists need to stand up and say "Yes, we are communists, and we have a better alternative." We need to set the record straight on what we actually stand for, and take advantage of how this man is characterizing public outrage at service cuts as "communists whining". It seems like, if it's approached right, this could be a good opportunity to counter fear-mongering right-wing doomsday rhetoric with serious propositions to the people for a better system that can meet their needs.