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"Life of Russian hockey veterans is very hard," said Soviet hockey star Sergei Makarov. "Most of them don't have enough to eat these days. These old players are Russian legends."
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We've definitely reached American levels of identity politics in our country and I'm already seeing friend groups breakdown between left vs right, vaxx vs antivaxx etc. It's a sad state of affairs, I wish I had the answer to de-escalating our current political divides but who even knows where to begin.
As a country I really don't think we're that divided. Canadian politics has certainly gotten nastier in recent years, I won't argue that. And it's unfortunate that GOP/MAGA-style politics has obviously infected the CPC and UPC.
However, recent polls posted in these threads show that an overwhelming majority of Canadians were against the illegal actions of the convoy. Not to mention that over 80% of Canadians are fully vaxxed (including 90% of truck drivers).
Every single one of us is tired of the pandemic and tired of restrictions, but I think the majority of people in this country trust in the science and our health professionals and understand why Covid restrictions were necessary to help keep each other safe and prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed.
Just from a personal standpoint, I have friends and family all across the country, and I don't know a single person or family member who is anti-vaxx or pro-convoy. From my point of view it seems like most of us are pretty much on the same page when it comes to this stuff.
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Wanted to give you a shout out for the fantastic writing over the last few days. Excellent posting that deserves recognition for the balanced, thoughtful, and cogent points made.
Posts like yours make this board a better place, and have been something we have been missing, not just on CP, but generally in society throughout the last few years.
Great stuff.
Appreciate the shout out, though I honestly much prefer sporadic lurking. I just found it hard to stay out of this thread having already watched the western world these past 2 years become increasingly defensive and devolving into tribal politics, and this board was not left unscathed. I've been having these conversations in real life, and I guess I wanted to help refute some of the narrative in at least this thread that everything is about being left v. right, when sometimes it can actually just be wrong v. right. Given the wide reach of this public forum, if any of my posts resonated with even 1 person and helped shift their perspective into being able to engage constructively, that would make me happy.
I actually had to go back and re-read all my posts because I was a bit surprised when Erick said they were offensive and a few other CPers agreed with him. Not my intention, so I had another look and suspect my posts were read with a lens assuming I was part of the far left and my comments taken personally as political criticism. I apologize if I came off as offensive, but I think if people re-read my posts knowing that I am conservative, it might be more palatable. Being conservative doesn't make my points any more or less valid, I just think my words will be taken with less malice with this being perceived as a 'left' issue. It shouldn't be the case, because our political identities are not who we are, our values and principles are - but unfortunately these days identifying either left or right can prohibit constructive conversation from the get-go depending on what the topic is.
I think if we could all approach issues based on the merits of the arguments, and not take what is being said personally, we might actually get somewhere. Much as what has been said these last couple pages about people knowing convoy supporters in their own lives, I think the onus is on all of us to continue having these conversations with family and friends (frustrating as it may be), because there certainly won't be a lot of traction from strangers when people are entrenched. Thus, not sure how effective debating on an anonymous hockey forum is, but the upside is that you never who know may be reading. There is a liminal group out there who by all other accounts are reasonable people, the hope is that the disconnect can be identified and bridged.
That was a very longwinded way of acknowledging your shout out, I think I need to work on my wordiness lol.
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I've been having these conversations in real life, and I guess I wanted to help refute some of the narrative in at least this thread that everything is about being left v. right, when sometimes it can actually just be wrong v. right.
In reading your posts, and taking the time to think about them, this is the part that resonated the most with me.
We've lost our ability to have respectful and constructive dialogue with people that have differing views on the political spectrum (but who have a shared common morality). I agree, it isn't a left vs. right thing. It is about having respect for people first and foremost, and then engaging in an rational discussion on a common set of facts.
It isn't surprising at all that we are faced with such tribalism. The entire information sphere we are subjected to on a daily basis is custom designed to feed each person exactly what they need to remain in a state of hyper agitation. It is designed to blur the line between fact and opinion by providing people with easy access to groups that share their belief system.
Social media is the avoidance of cognitive dissonance, via group think validation, writ large.
Pandora's box is wide open, and has been for some time. I don't know how we even begin to fix the problem. But maybe the first step is identifying what the issue is to begin with.
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Pylon on the Edmonton Oilers:
"I am actually more excited for the Oilers game tomorrow than the Flames game. I am praying for multiple jersey tosses. The Oilers are my new favourite team for all the wrong reasons. I hate them so much I love them."
Last edited by IliketoPuck; 02-23-2022 at 04:25 PM.
Reason: clarity
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Look similar; however, the brown jacket he was arrested in (that looks almost the exact same) had a patch on the left breast, whereas this one did not. The facial structure also looks different to me.
Same dude for sure. I think that patch is just in a crease. Hat the same. That grey hoodie underneath can be seen in other photos of him. It's him.
No idea on the accuracy of trucknews.com, but they are reporting that Ontario has essentially shutdown a bunch of truck businesses that were involved in the convoy.
Current Situation: The past few days have been wonderful. When I was doing the safety walks, I was staying super vigilant, not scared, but on alert. The last few days I could walk freely, without concern. People said they felt wonderful just being able to go for groceries.
But now it is shattered. Don't get me wrong. I did not want the EA to be in place forever. I didn't want the provincial state of emergency in place forever. But now that they are gone, we are already seeing convoy supporters pouring back in. I am getting reports of honking all over the downtown core. They are emboldened now. They just waited it out. I have reports on "Centretown Helpers" of at least six sightings of trucks with Canada flags driving around honking.
I suspect on the weekend, it is going to be another weekend of hooliganism, vandalism and harassment. I have 0% faith in the OPS to protect the people of this city.
The jubilance of the last two days has instantly evaporated.
Possibly unrelated but there has been a rash of apartment buildings in the downtown having their electricity cut late in the evening. All of them are cases of vandalism. Most relate it to convoy supporters getting a measure of revenge but there is zero evidence that it is related. The scarring of the last three weeks will continue to make people assume that it is convoy supporters and it just and it could just be a lunatic. Like a serial arsonist, or just a guy getting his kicks out of scaring people.
We will need to continue the "Safety Walks". Even if every convoy supporter was gone, people just don't feel safe. And it is sad that people in my city will not feel safe for a very long time.
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It's going to be very interesting to see how the US convoy plays out. Do they have identifiable leadership that could be arrested? Staying there more than a couple days will require the same broad resupply logistics Ottawa did, with fuel, food, and saunas. Will it be peaceful? Canadians are typically a bit calmer in their approach, and weren't all armed, so the danger level is elevated. Will police enforce, or be on the side of the protesters?
No idea on the accuracy of trucknews.com, but they are reporting that Ontario has essentially shutdown a bunch of truck businesses that were involved in the convoy.
I know there are a couple of lawyers hanging around...question: So with the class action I would think that there would be an attempt to claim or name "assets of the protest" if so, I would think that all of the online funding in any form could be listed as an asset of the protest?
It's fun to watch the organizers expose themselves for exactly who they are by clumsily stumbling around denying it. I don't know whether it's impressive or sad that this collection of complete idiots managed to con so many people, but I'm going with alarmed.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
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Can we send all these Freedumb people to Ukraine?
Maybe their blockades will stop the Russians from advancing and they can hold the line, while NATO figures out what to do?
Last edited by DylanScores; 02-25-2022 at 11:27 AM.
