Rob Ford's Toronto

[Bennett000]

Classic CowboyLogic. There's a part of me that's glad he pulled a Ford, and didn't live up to his word Perhaps it's my inner troll.

Yeah, rebuked by several people and endorsed by several others. And still rebuked less than a typical Peepers post.

In case you missed it Peepers had numerous people stick up for him. I did so too albeit in a backhanded way.

If you want me to go back and find examples, I will. It happened. Multiple times. But I need a week.

With respect to finding posts where people wish harm, namely death to Rob Ford, as search engine will speed up your query. Some search engines will let you limit your search to specific websites, they'll even let you limit your search to exact phrases. For example, using this query in the popular Google search engine will bring up every post in this thread that uses the word "die":

site:urbantoronto.ca "Mayor Rob Ford's Toronto" "die"

This query could be refined further, but it's already yielded results that support my position. Way back on page 49 there's Adma expressing distaste for the "Ford must die" sentiment. In addition to this, the first hits contain a lot of people mentioning they don't want Ford to die. Given that my position is that death wishes to Ford wouldn't be well received, it seems like there's a lot of evidence that supports my position.

But take your week, find whatever it is you're going to twist into an argument, and bring it up.

That just proves everything I was saying. You essentially agree with me then: anyone pro-Ford is considered to be a troll on here.

Since the aftermath of the crack admission, yes, I do agree with you. Supporting Ford in his current compulsive lying state is effectively trolling. Back before Ford's numerous bare faced lies were exposed to the public, there was an argument to be made in Ford's favour; although not an argument I agreed with.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

What is 'g'?

Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Hydroxybutyric_acid

AoD

 

[TOperson]

I know some that are almost that "gang bang-y", but mostly not. Just people I actually would be and am friends with.
People with real jobs. People unknown to police. People with no or very minor criminal records.
Even dealers who sell harder drugs like meth, coke, g, or whatever aren't necessarily a stereotype of a dealer.

It was your comment about "I know drug dealers who aren't that paranoid" (about being secretly recorded) that struck me. Because drug dealers who operate at a level that they need to think about being recorded are (I would think) further up the food chain than the person who sells small quantities to their friends and acquaintances. And you evidently know more than one dealer at that level, which strikes me as unusual. It has nothing to do with fitting stereotypes, just probabilities. There can't be so many dealers-at-that-level around that the average person knows a bunch of them.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Classic CowboyLogic. There's a part of me that's glad he pulled a Ford, and didn't live up to his word Perhaps it's my inner troll.

Like I have said, it takes special effort to screen through the literally hundreds (if not low thousand) of postings to identify the specific ones he responded to, post-vow of silence. This is suggestive of a deliberate attempt to troll the thread. Baiting for a ban is only further evidence of that.

AoD

 

[ShonTron]

Wow. This blast from the past (December 6, 2010) is rather apt:

Once a publicly elected official starts picking and choosing which media they'll speak to, you can throw their accountability out the window. Harper's being doing it from the get go. I hope the Star continues to push Ford and digs even deeper to reveal the kind of person he really is.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

I am a secular atheist and I enjoy eating Popeye's chicken.

Bottled water is halal. Do Islamophobes complain about drinking water? If so, then Islamophobes would be limited to a diet of pork and alcohol.

Examining my diet, I realise that I may be Islamophobic, especially on weekends.

In case anyone is unclear, this is s'posed to be a joke riffing on Johnny Au's list of foods to which he supposes Islamophobes might be limited.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

It was your comment about "I know drug dealers who aren't that paranoid" (about being secretly recorded) that struck me. Because drug dealers who operate at a level that they need to think about being recorded are (I would think) further up the food chain than the person who sells small quantities to their friends and acquaintances. And you evidently know more than one dealer at that level, which strikes me as unusual. It has nothing to do with fitting stereotypes, just probabilities. There can't be so many dealers-at-that-level around that the average person knows a bunch of them.

I know he's hardly the average person, but how many drug dealers do you suppose Ford knows? I'm guessing enough to qualify as a bunch.

If we include past dealers, then let's start with Doug Ford, who will - in a past life - meet you at the plaza to sling you some hash.

 

[SFO]

Like I have said, it takes special effort to screen through the literally hundreds (if not low thousand) of postings to identify the specific ones he responded to, post-vow of silence. This is suggestive of a deliberate attempt to troll the thread. Baiting for a ban is only further evidence of that.

AoD

One more thing? It's totally disingenuous for people like Peepers and CowboyLogic to suggest their ideas were stifled while people saying "Rob Ford should be murdered" or "maybe Rob Ford runs a child porn ring" were allowed free rein. In fact, as I recall both of those premises were pretty quickly shot down by group consensus---the same group that has tried many, many times, unsuccessfully, to let the troll types know that injecting BS into the discourse isn't welcome. Most message boards are self-policing in that way---on this board BS is (often) politely but (usually) firmly rejected, for the most part, whether it's pro- or anti-Ford. Dissenters can call it "groupthink" if they want. What should we care? Yes, there is a "we" here, a community---it shouldn't be a shocker to anyone that this board shares not only a topic but, in my opinion, a fair but firm mindset regarding that topic. It started out as "Rob Ford is bad for Toronto" and rightly evolved into "Rob Ford is bad," full stop. If you're coming here looking to challenge that, or to fling around outré opinions of any kind (yeah, maybe Rob Ford has sex with teenage football players... suuuuuurrrre...), the onus is on YOU to be persuasive.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

It was your comment about "I know drug dealers who aren't that paranoid" (about being secretly recorded) that struck me. Because drug dealers who operate at a level that they need to think about being recorded are (I would think) further up the food chain than the person who sells small quantities to their friends and acquaintances. And you evidently know more than one dealer at that level, which strikes me as unusual. It has nothing to do with fitting stereotypes, just probabilities. There can't be so many dealers-at-that-level around that the average person knows a bunch of them.

I've known two people who fit this bill; both of them dealt drugs at a level which had the potential to land them in prison for a number of years and were responsible for a large proportion of supply to a significant population in their respective areas. By appearance, dress & mannerisms, neither would be unremarkable in an office, mall or walking down the street in a middle-class area. Both had 'proper jobs' for most of the time I knew them although one was a student when I first got to know them.

In neither case did I meet these people through drugs, but rather through mutual friends, although I suppose their dealing probably did expand their social circle somewhat. I'm sure it's possible to go through life without knowing a distributor of drugs, but such people are everywhere, and they are just like you & me. That's the reality of the failed War On Drugs.

As MTown points out, the meme of the drug dealer as a gang signing, bandanna-wearing, heat-packing menace on the corner isn't really that useful if you wish to understand how illegal drugs get from person to person. Ford hanging with the Dixon Bloods merely underscores how relentlessly stupid he is; addicted or not, he could get his drugs some other way, but...

 

[detroitbootybass]

Frankly, I'm glad that Peepers is gone (I can only hope he is never unbanned).

While I enjoy sites that have diversity, I can't stand ones that allow bigots a platform to spread their vile messages. And Peepers used UT in such a manner... so I say 'good job' to the mods who made the right choice in removing an obvious internet troll.

 

[kbdid]

Doug Ford on CP24 with words coming out of his mouth "media on the Star's side...Toronto Star a 'hurting newspaper'...blah blah blah repeating that elderly neighbours saw someone looking over the fence....lie...lie...lie...selling newspapers...Toronto Star as low as you can get..."

ETA, and oh, yeah, Dale is The Star's pawn in all of this.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

kbdid:

The only surprise is that it took him so long to go down this road. Got to note the irony of accusing others of being low given his brothers' claim on TV.

AoD

 

[TOperson]

I've known two people who fit this bill; both of them dealt drugs at a level which had the potential to land them in prison for a number of years and were responsible for a large proportion of supply to a significant population in their respective areas. By appearance, dress & mannerisms, neither would be unremarkable in an office, mall or walking down the street in a middle-class area. Both had 'proper jobs' for most of the time I knew them although one was a student when I first got to know them.

In neither case did I meet these people through drugs, but rather through mutual friends, although I suppose their dealing probably did expand their social circle somewhat. I'm sure it's possible to go through life without knowing a distributor of drugs, but such people are everywhere, and they are just like you & me. That's the reality of the failed War On Drugs.

As MTown points out, the meme of the drug dealer as a gang signing, bandanna-wearing, heat-packing menace on the corner isn't really that useful if you wish to understand how illegal drugs get from person to person. Ford hanging with the Dixon Bloods merely underscores how relentlessly stupid he is; addicted or not, he could get his drugs some other way, but...

I never said a word about what drug dealers look like or whether they hold regular jobs or whatever. That is so not my point.

But the idea that knowing a few of them, whose operations are significant enough to worry about secret recordings, is a common thing - that I find hard to believe. Yes, the Fords likely know a bunch. That family has a long history of drug use/involvement, so of course they know drug dealers. But is that in any way the norm? If it is, it goes a long way towards explaining why the Fords still have some support.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

I never said a word about what drug dealers look like or whether they hold regular jobs or whatever. That is so not my point.

Sorry; I didn't intend to imply that you thought that, although I can see how my quoting you might have made it look as though I was. My plan was simply to chime in with my experience, i.e. that it seems normal to me to have met and known such people.

But the idea that knowing a few of them, whose operations are significant enough to worry about secret recordings, is a common thing - that I find hard to believe. Yes, the Fords likely know a bunch. That family has a long history of drug use/involvement, so of course they know drug dealers. But is that in any way the norm? If it is, it goes a long way towards explaining why the Fords still have some support.

The people I knew certainly weren't paranoid in the way described here, so perhaps my point isn't that useful.

I certainly do think that knowing drug dealers is unremarkable. How much of the support the Fords still enjoy is explained by that contention I couldn't rightly say. I still think that "saving money", a simple lack of checking to see whether Ford is really doing a good job or just talking about it, coupled with a sense of putting a stick into the eye of the privileged liberal latte-sipping downtown cliché, explain most of their remaining supporters... although that's just my opinion.

Is there any word on the escort story? I'd love to enjoy breakfast tomorrow with a newspaper describing Ford using escorts to procure sex & drugs. Will my dream come true?

 

[sno man]

Doug Ford on CP24 with words coming out of his mouth "media on the Star's side...Toronto Star a 'hurting newspaper'...blah blah blah repeating that elderly neighbours saw someone looking over the fence....lie...lie...lie...selling newspapers...Toronto Star as low as you can get..."

ETA, and oh, yeah, Dale is The Star's pawn in all of this.

My question to Doug would have been "What interest do The Sun, Globe and Nat Post have in helping the Star sell newspapers?"