Rob Ford's Toronto

[DTGeek]

This got me accused of being boring, long-winded (which I was, but when I didn't respond to every specific point, I was accused of ignoring others, so it was lose-lose) and of using false modesty.

I haven't followed your history, but this is unsurprising. There is no shortage of people here who prefer to communicate through sophistic sloganeering. Intellectual laziness isn't a trait exclusive to "Ford Nation", and so as much utter disdain as I have for the Fords, I feel many a twinge of irony when reading this thread.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

"Darren Moore ‏@DarrenMooreD22 1h
I find it astonishing that @TorontoPolice is the same force that arrested over 1000 people at G20 but can't arrest 1 mayor for crack use."

Ford most definitely should have been charged a long time ago -- but to be fair, this is also the same force that didn't charge people who were using drugs in St. James Park, during Occupy.

 

[VTB]

A scary thought:

Could Rob Ford be the most famous (infamous) Canadian ever?

A big part is obviously played by the ubiquitous online world, but the unbelievable farce that just goes from ridiculous to simply more ridiculous must have something to do with it as well!

 

[TOperson]

A scary thought:

Could Rob Ford be the most famous (infamous) Canadian ever?

At one time Pamela Anderson was the most famous Canadian so, yeah.

 

[One Nut Kruk]

'Infamous' is definitely the proper term. Ford isn't globally known for being a great person or leader.

 

[zang]

He has also stated that he will do a drug test for anyone at anytime. Why doesn't someone take him up on that?

He says it for the same reason Sylvia Browne said publicly she'd take James Randi's million dollar challenge, then spent the rest of her life avoiding it; it gives false confidence of her faith in her "powers" to her followers. Ford's modus operandii seems to be tell falsehoods with confidence, then hide until it blows over.

 

[sweetlou]

My other reaction to this ITO, is why are we letting so many criminals and gang bangers into the country? Sorry, I had to say it. They never came to Canada with marvellous intentions and intend on carrying on like in their old countries.

Agree, they should pack Robbie up and send him back wherever it is he came from.

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

Since his given names are Robert Bruce I think the Scots could find themselves taking him in (although a friend of mine suggested Robert "Brewski" would be more appropriate).

 

[hper]

The problems is that he probably also thinks that he's actually helping the little guy, but he's not.

No, the bigger problem is so many 'little guys' actually believe Ford is helping them. And he's not.

 

[LowPolygon]

If you support Ford, you get accused of being a troll on here almost no matter what.

ok you're not a troll--you're mentally ill.

because at this point, anybody who 'supports Ford' has a pretty serious personality disorder.

 

[SunriseChampion]

because at this point, anybody who 'supports Ford' has a pretty serious personality disorder.

I would say that his supporters tend to display sociopathic tendencies. I'm no psychologist, mind, but tell me I'm making this up.

So, yeah, what you said

 

[Parker]

Where did I mention Wynne's sexuality? Nice try. And who said I have a problem with the way she looks? I just said she looks like a man; which is true. If it isn't, then why are you offended?

You know, it's the old "can't read inflection over the internet" problem. I personally think "she looks like a man" can be taken 3 ways:

1. A neutral observation; (she has a somewhat masculine and upright bearing.)
2. A criticism or dismissal; (she's not feminine enough, she's ugly)
3. An attack, often directed at lesbians. (She's a freak, she wants to be a man, she's not a real woman)

Number 3 is sadly often directed at lesbian sports figures, recently Amelie Mauresmo, though Navratilova used to get it a lot.

Now, giving you the benefit of the doubt, we can say you meant it as a neutral observation, but given prior interactions, is it so surprising others would think you were making a dig at the Premier? And to pretend wide-eyed ignorance of that is what I would rate as a disingenuous act, suitable solely for trolling.

 

[soimelk]

This is just not true. When I did post on here, I made a point to (a) respond to and acknowledge as many responses to me as I could, and (b) admit when I was wrong and seek clarification when I was unsure of something. This got me accused of being boring, long-winded (which I was, but when I didn't respond to every specific point, I was accused of ignoring others, so it was lose-lose) and of using false modesty. Interestingly enough, none of this stopped people from simultaneously accusing me of being a troll.

If you support Ford, you get accused of being a troll on here almost no matter what. In fact, I've noticed that the only Ford supporters on here who don't get accused of being trolls seem to be the ones who post idiotic stuff verging on parody, which is probably because these posters fit into some's idea of "Ford Nayshun".

I couldn't disagree with you more about this board. There is very little in the way of facts, insights or substantial discussions happening here. The user base is obviously comprised of intelligent, educated and well-spoken people, but there is very little substantial discussion. There is a lot of mud-slinging, a lot of unsubstantiated gossip, a lot of echoing back the same opinion, a lot of updates from MetroMan and some straight-up conspiracy-theory level stuff (i.e. Ford murdered Anthony Smith, I'm David Price, Peepers is Joe Warmington, Ford is running a child-sex ring with the Don Bosco football team). There's nothing wrong with any of this, but you can't turn around and pretend like this is anything other than an echo chamber.

First, what you call "conspiracy theory" chatter is justified based on the type of dishonest and slimy persons the Fords have proven themselves to be. So many violent acts have occurred to a number of people associated with the video, and the idea the Fords could be linked to them is not irrational. The police thought so in bringing in homicide investigators. I would bet the video holders thought so when they were extorted by Lisi and deleted that video on their hard drives. Now that the crack use is confirmed, Ford supporters seem bent on portraying the man as a redemptive project, totally ignoring his malicious and vicious personality, which I find dangerous.

To your point about a lack of serious discussions about city matters. Unfortunately, because Toronto is saddled with an incompetent, lying, drug and alcohol addicted narcissist who refuses to do what's best for the city and resign, he's all we are talking about right now. Perhaps if supporters of Ford who cling to the selfish notion that his "agenda" is worth the price he is exacting on Toronto would join in calls for his resignation, we'd be on to other matters.

 

[the lemur]

Is it just me or does Madiba's second long walk to freedom remind you of what unfortunate people we call leaders in this country?

Yes. Harper has no apparent issue with people like Rob Anders (who insisted Mandela be considered a terrorist) and various bigots in the Reform/CPC universe.

Ford, meanwhile, is casually racist and irredeemably lacking in compassion. He would have made a good apartheid-era Boer, with his bright pink face and his barbecues.

 

[CowboyLogic]

ok you're not a troll--you're mentally ill.

because at this point, anybody who 'supports Ford' has a pretty serious personality disorder.

Thanks for helping prove my point about how many users here would rather insult and engage in ad hominem attacks rather than actually discuss issues maturely.

Rather than actually try to understand any of the issues surrounding Ford or this city, you'd rather pretend that 33% of the city is comprised of mentally-ill sociopaths. And hey, all the power to you; its a lot more ego-reassuring if you can convince yourself that everyone you disagree with is evil/stupid/mentally-ill.

Anyway, I just chimed in because the whole Peepers stuff was giving me serious deja vu, and he seems to still be under the illusion that the majority of people here will want to actually discuss these issues with him, as opposed to accuse him of being Joe Warmington.

Anyway, I'm out for now. Till next time...