Shooting down debate

Walker Morrow wrote:“They do not understand, these terrorists, the potential goodwill
and economic benefits that come from these games, because they have a
limited intellect and do not understand how the world truly operates.”
Those were the words of Burquitlam Liberal MLA Harry Bloy who made
the comment recently in the BC legislature. But who was he referring
to? Who are these “terrorists,” these people of “limited intellect”?
Are they flag-burning, rock-throwing, hate-spewing fanatics of some
sort?
Well, no. They're just people protesting the fact that BC is hosting the Winter Olympics.
To Bloy such a protest apparently equates to terrorism. After all,
how dare anybody interfere with the massive, over-budget Winter Olympic
machinery? How dare people protest a venue that, by many accounts, is
throwing half the mainland under the bus for a happy economic outcome?
(An outcome, by the way, which seems to be less and less likely the
closer BC comes to the 2010 Olympic Games.)
Bloy also stated that “You know, there was a disappointing factor
about the Olympics. It was that 200-odd group of terrorists who came to
Victoria from across Canada to interrupt the Games. Anyone who could
support this group should be ashamed of themselves."
Isn’t there something rather sad about an elected official lamenting
the fact that citizens are seeking to participate in public affairs, to
make their voices heard? Shouldn’t Bloy be encouraging citizens to
involve themselves in the political process, not attacking them for it?
Mind you, in a way, I suppose Bloy deserves congratulations.
After all, he has ably managed to take the discourse over the
Olympic Games to a new, poisonous level. Indeed, he has elevated the
discussion to the point where, if you support the Olympic proceedings,
you're in the normal range of publicly - read 'governmentally' -
accepted opinion.
It’s an opinion which regards all the other troubling stuff -- the
red tape, the over-spending, and the over-legislating --- that has come
hand-in-hand with the Olympics as just an unfortunate bit of collateral
damage - certainly nothing to get too concerned about.
And if you do happen to be one of those people who are just a little
bit concerned by these bits of collateral Olympic damage, well then,
it's obvious you're some kind of unstable demagogue, a nut, and an
illiterate terrorist.
With a few perhaps carefully, or perhaps not so carefully, chosen
words, Bloy has attempted to make the pro-Olympics stance the only
acceptable stance in the eyes of the BC government.
And, while that is something that you would expect from, say, a
lobbyist, or a pundit, or anybody else with a vested interest in
maintaining a certain viewpoint, it is something that is far from
fitting for an elected official.
Rather it's downright ludicrous; almost a farce to the extent to which it shows disdain and disregard for the electorate.
In this case, it is Bloy who does not understand how the world truly operates, or how democracy is supposed to operate.