Rob Ford's Toronto

[rbt]

Rob Ford could still be at City Hall, if he decides to drop out the Mayoralty race and run for Councillor. Ward 2 again or his home riding of Ward 4?

He was actually a pretty good city councillor outside of City Hall (got things fixed, guided people through bureaucracy, etc.). If he could gracefully go back to that, he might be happiest. Of course, he's got a media storm following him everywhere now, so this would be an extremely difficult transition; I don't see him saying "I'm not the mayor and big picture is a responsibility of the mayor".

 

[animatronic]

Rob Ford could still be at City Hall, if he decides to drop out the Mayoralty race and run for Councillor. Ward 2 again or his home riding of Ward 4?

If he runs in ward 2 (and keeps his nose clean) he'll win. No way he can repeat as mayor now.

 

[Admiral Beez]

If he runs in ward 2 (and keeps his nose clean) he'll win. No way he can repeat as mayor now.

Yep, that's been my prediction for months now. He'll come out of rehab, say he's better and wants to return to his roots in Etobicoke, and will then drop his candidacy and endorse Tory for mayor.

 

[Dottie]

Do you seriously want us to stop talking about empathy (in which case, STFU about it yourself) or are you just here to troll?

Or is this one of those bullshit "if you don't allow bigotry then you're just as bad" arguments that equate being intolerant of intolerance with that same intolerance?

This "empathy" discussion started when I pointed out that we made fun of Rob Ford for always wearing a suit even when casual clothes would do and made fun of him for not wearing a suit (in Bracebridge in June). The guy dresses appropriately for a change and it's still met with criticism. Someone else brought up empathy (as in they had none of it for Ford).

For all the faults Rob Ford has, he's not a lost cause. I don't want him anywhere near political office, but I'd like to think that one day he could stop being a violent, racist, alcoholic, crack-smoking asshole who makes everyone else's lives worse. Some other people here just want him to die. I would otherwise be happy to have an actual discussion about this, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to talk about Rob Ford. Which was what I was doing before this started. Does that sound like trolling to you?

 

[Dottie]

Rob Ford could still be at City Hall, if he decides to drop out the Mayoralty race and run for Councillor. Ward 2 again or his home riding of Ward 4?

In a new low, fewer than one quarter of voters will vote for Rob Ford in October (with no candidates mentioned - 22%) and this is down from the last time we polled (May 21 -25%). Those who will still vote for him include mid age groups (35 to 44 - 27%), males (27%), the less wealthy ($20K to $40K - 34%) in North York (29%) and Scarborough (32%) but not especially on his home turf in Etobicoke/York (20%). Also voting will be those who drive to work and school (26%), the least educated (31%) but not mothers with children (17%).

I wouldn't bet on that...

 

[dforthandbview]

If Ford does decide to run for his old council seat, he won't just be a councillor again but he'll be the official voice of the opposition (assuming Chow wins the mayoralty). Maybe the plan is to drop out if it's looking like Chow is guaranteed a victory, become a councillor, fight the mayor, watch the city go down in flames (if that happens), and run for mayor again in 4 years as the only candidate that can fix the mess (that is, if he gets his act together).

 

[L23]

Yep, that's been my prediction for months now. He'll come out of rehab, say he's better and wants to return to his roots in Etobicoke, and will then drop his candidacy and endorse Tory for mayor.

That's not going to happen. There's too much bad blood there with Tory, and remember, he said he'd rather Chow win than Tory if he was going to lose (because naturally everything would go to hell if a socialist woman was in charge, and then the people would beg him to come back - this is the gist of what he said a month or two ago). He'll come back from Robhab, claim to be a completely changed man, and will still lose. He won't drop out, and won't endorse Tory.

 

[L23]

TSome other people here just want him to die. I would otherwise be happy to have an actual discussion about this, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to talk about Rob Ford. Which was what I was doing before this started. Does that sound like trolling to you?

And yet despite saying you want to drop the subject of empathy, here's your 5th post in a row that talks about empathy. You want to drop it, then drop it. So yes, you do sound like you're trolling. In which case, I won't be replying to you again.

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

This "empathy" discussion started when I pointed out that we made fun of Rob Ford for always wearing a suit even when casual clothes would do and made fun of him for not wearing a suit (in Bracebridge in June). The guy dresses appropriately for a change and it's still met with criticism. Someone else brought up empathy (as in they had none of it for Ford).

For all the faults Rob Ford has, he's not a lost cause. I don't want him anywhere near political office, but I'd like to think that one day he could stop being a violent, racist, alcoholic, crack-smoking asshole who makes everyone else's lives worse. Some other people here just want him to die. I would otherwise be happy to have an actual discussion about this, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to talk about Rob Ford. Which was what I was doing before this started. Does that sound like trolling to you?

Actually if my memory serves, this conversation started when you stated that his alcoholism should somehow be off of the table and we should all be empathetic towards the plights he's been through. You know who I actually have empathy for? His children. Because regardless of what he's done in office, he has created an unstable environment within their home, has made disgusting public statements about his wife, and treated his entire family as social props. His children have been subjected to his behaviour both at home and in the media. He has absolutely no care or concern for what they are going through or for what they will go through as this will haunt them for the rest of their lives. He is self-centred, narcissistic, irresponsible, and I'm sorry, does not seem capable of loving or caring about anyone beyond himself (seems like the MO for his family). As a parent, especially as a parent, I can not feel sympathetic, empathetic, or compassionate towards him. Ever. Regardless of his public position, he is a terrible human being. But regardless of all of that, I don't want to see him dead, and I would venture to guess that the majority of us here don't want to see him dead. Because we have compassion for his children and the people who, despite everything, still love him.

 

[TOBorn]

This "empathy" discussion started when I pointed out that we made fun of Rob Ford for always wearing a suit even when casual clothes would do and made fun of him for not wearing a suit (in Bracebridge in June). The guy dresses appropriately for a change and it's still met with criticism. Someone else brought up empathy (as in they had none of it for Ford).

For all the faults Rob Ford has, he's not a lost cause. I don't want him anywhere near political office, but I'd like to think that one day he could stop being a violent, racist, alcoholic, crack-smoking asshole who makes everyone else's lives worse. Some other people here just want him to die. I would otherwise be happy to have an actual discussion about this, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to talk about Rob Ford. Which was what I was doing before this started. Does that sound like trolling to you?

It sounds a bit dotty to me.

 

[Yaitsme]

Do you seriously want us to stop talking about empathy (in which case, STFU about it yourself) or are you just here to troll?

Or is this one of those bullshit "if you don't allow bigotry then you're just as bad" arguments that equate being intolerant of intolerance with that same intolerance?

Trolls are as trolls do....ahhh sooo

We're all just lost without he who must not be named. Lol

I'm sure you can all empathize with each other.

And really, who gives a flying squirrel about who is and is not or was and isn't or is and was not for or against or with the terrorists/fords/murderers/pedobears/subways/subways/subways?

Can't we all just get along?

 

[typezed]

He was actually a pretty good city councillor outside of City Hall (got things fixed, guided people through bureaucracy, etc.).

I know this is the common belief, and partly why he was elected Mayor, but I've never really seen much proof of it. Most of us have little idea of what most councillors do to fill their time outside of the monthly two-day meetings. Some, I suspect, are quite diligent about attending to ward and constituent concerns and some are mostly absent. I can make some guesses as to the relative work ethics of our representatives, but mostly I don't know. Ford has this reputation of being someone who answered calls and went to inspect constituent problems because that's what he has told us he did. That's what he tells us he does as Mayor. But we know that he always overstates his efforts, and that he lies without pause. We know as Mayor, under far more scrutiny than he was as a councillor, he has mostly been attentive to high school football, sleeping off his addictions and hanging out in the woods drinking vodka with his criminal friends. I doubt this was any different when he was a councillor.

 

[Kat's Meow]

As several people here have told me, lacking empathy isn't a problem, right?

See there you go again, making broad brush generalizations. Lacking empathy is a problem in general. Lacking empathy for an individual, or group of individuals, who demonstrate precious little of it themselves should be understandable.

 

[Cooper]

If Ford does decide to run for his old council seat, he won't just be a councillor again but he'll be the official voice of the opposition (assuming Chow wins the mayoralty). Maybe the plan is to drop out if it's looking like Chow is guaranteed a victory, become a councillor, fight the mayor, watch the city go down in flames (if that happens), and run for mayor again in 4 years as the only candidate that can fix the mess (that is, if he gets his act together).

Official oppostion leader? I dunno. Rob doesn't have a good track record for bringing people on side, and he's not exactly a wellspring of ideas, even among fiscally like-minded councillors. The media would treat him an opposition leader for a while if he returned to a councillor seat, but I don't know how long that would last. Personally, I'd be happiest if he just went away.

 

[Kat's Meow]

Rob Ford could still be at City Hall, if he decides to drop out the Mayoralty race and run for Councillor. Ward 2 again or his home riding of Ward 4?

There is NO WAY IN HADES he would get elected in Ward 4, or even Ward 3, Doug's riding. Of that you can be certain.