Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
I have tremendous disdain for both [typical] Albertans and the obstructionists. As a born and bred Albertan, I have to spend a lot more time with fellow Albertans though, so their schtick grates on me a little. You know what was more annoying than watching the Flames lose last night? The two know-it-all oil & gas guys' conversation behind me, that got dumber and louder as they got drunker. One row in front, I [thankfully] couldn't hear as well, but it sounded like the exact same conversation. In real life, I'm very careful to avoid being the 'smartest guy in the room' (though that inherently does not translate well through text), because it is a simply insufferable character trait - a major factor in my disdain for typical Albertans, like my own brother (the disdain I feel for him doesn't interfere with my ability to love and support him like a...brother).
I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, though I think a lot of you can't see the forest for the trees. I'll be the first to admit that I'm out of the loop on a lot of the nitty gritty details in O&G (b/c it is insufferable to converse with typical Albertans about it). You wanna know why the pro-pipeline side has lost so miserably in the battle of public opinion? Blame TIDES all you want, but a big reason people are more willing to listen to their truth than your truth, is because they don't deliver their message like condescending pricks (to be clear, not talking about any individual posters - I'm speaking more about real-world conversations, but this behaviour is also ubiquitous on message boards/social media).
I enjoy hearing a bunch of different perspectives on topics on message boards like this - some of them make my eyes roll, some of them just open my eyes. You're more than welcome to ignore my long rambling posts - they're more for my own benefit than anyone else, but I do really appreciate the [occasionally thoughtful] feedback as it helps me consider my position even better.
I'd say I'm pretty damn close to the middle on this issue, though I am absolutely in favour of this pipeline. I am also in favour of holding it, and other projects (especially of this scope) to far more rigid standards than we have in the past. If meeting these standards threatens the viability of the project, then I'd have concerns about the viability of the project to begin with.
Ooops, this turned into another long rambling post, but I haven't really gotten into enough virtue signalling yet, so here we go. Personally, I'm not particularly concerned about the vast amounts of water used for resource extraction (though it's obviously less than ideal), but I really do wish potable water and sanitary living conditions were available to all Canadians. As a human being, it's just a little hard for me to worry very much about this economic oil and gas 'crisis' when I know that not much progress has been made on the crisis in Attawapiskat. You know what I've done, as individual, to help? Absolutely nothing practical or meaningful.
How is poverty in FN communities linked to pipeline development? They're really not. But, when pipeline proponents start spewing ignorant drivel about the way crooked FNs are obstructing their ability to prosper from O&G like they did in the good ole' days, it makes me think and feel a great many things, not least of which is some schadenfreude at your so-called suffering.
We can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can build a pipeline and work on reconciliation at the same time. I'd like to think we could advocate for a pipeline without being condescending pricks, but I have less hope for that every day.
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Look if people are being racist that's one thing. But it's also a mistake to just assume that all FN opposition is altruistic. For example, the case that quashed TMX in August was launched by an FN band that's not even on the route. They argued they weren't consulted properly and the court agreed, but when the ruling was announced did they celebrate their right to be consulted more? The thing they were suing over? No, they celebrated what they knew was a gut punch to the project. That's bad faith and gaming the system, pure and simple. This was after years of extensive consultations with private corporations trying to work within the system and still getting denied on false pretenses, not simply a matter of forgetting to dot i's and cross t's as you suggested previously. You can't say you want more strict regulations but then not have any examples to cite, these projects have been in the works for almost a decade at this point, longer than anywhere else in the world, I think it's safe to say they're regulated enough.
Who is this helping? Not the majority of pro-development FN's that recognize these projects as a boost to their communities. Not Attawapiskat, where the only possible connection one could make with a beleaguered northern community completely reliant on Government funding and pipeline development is that some of the additional income generated from these projects could be further funneled to said community. Not the government coffers of Alberta that pay for hospitals, schools, and roads, things we all use and need. Not the service company families living in beaten down towns like Drayton Valley and Lloydminster. Not 20 somethings in the workforce like me who were in junior high during the last boom so how much people made or didn't make is really irrelevant to the conditions facing us now. And yeah, not the older richer guys from the "good ole days" that seem to be the center of your ire. So if you're willing to feel schadenfreude towards all those groups when you really just have a problem with the meme of Successful Alberta Baby Boomer Oil Man aka condescending pricks that's your choice.