streetfestival

Does anyone think for a second that a man [(Trump)] who brags about attacking his own citizens will let Canada off with a gentleman's trade agreement?

The rhetoric from Washington is escalating. FBI director Kash Patel accused us of flooding the United States with terrorists. Homeland Security director Kristi Noem says our border represents a threat to American safety. Now Attorney General Pam Bondi is accusing Canada of creating a crisis in human trafficking.

These are orchestrated outbursts of falsehood to demonize Canada. This is the part of the fascist playbook. The stakes are frighteningly high so I understand the PM's desire to tread carefully. But there are areas where we can't cede ground. If we do, the fascists will take it. That is how they operate.

What keeps me up at night are the words of Louis Fischer, a journalist who documented the Nazi rise to power. He wrote that Hitler's opponents couldn't comprehend the real nature of the Nazi threat. As reasonable and democratic people, they made the mistake of believing that they could negotiate with Hitler. Or they thought that they were wiser than Nazi street thugs. They reassured themselves that Hitler was "just being Hitler."

And so, they willingly ceded ground, believing it was a strategy to bring the Nazis into the democratic fold or outwit them. In ceding ground, they fell into the abyss.

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This is what concerns me about the Roberts' invitation. It signals either naivety or desperation. If Roberts was the one who blew off the meeting, it's because he didn't need to take the measure of the new government. The invitation alone gave him all he needed to know.

In writing this, I feel the need to state that I am rooting for Prime Minister Carney. Everyone knows that I am not a Liberal. I never will be. But he won the election by offering himself as a wartime prime minister.

We need him to be that war time prime minister now.

As the Liberals have shifted rightward—not just on immigration but also on military spending, climate policy, and public safety—the federal Conservative leader appears to have gone looking for an issue on which to distinguish himself. He is now signalling that scapegoating immigrants and people seeking asylum will be central to that plan.

Poilievre’s allies in think tanks, lobby firms, and the media think he’s found a winning strategy. In the wake of Poilievre’s defeat in the last election, former Conservative staffer Josie Sabatino described it as a “new era” in which Poilievre can “move beyond the risk-averse messaging of a campaign.” National Post columnist Geoff Russ called it “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally turn immigration into an issue our politicians can openly and honestly debate.” Conservative activist Amy Hamm declared that the days of labelling Conservatives as racist for their views on immigration have passed.

Anti-immigrant sentiments will only grow the more immigrants are falsely blamed for problems in housing, health care and unemployment—all of which are better explained by the policies of austerity-loving politicians and the corporate class. None of these dynamics are new in Canada, but they are likely to grow with more oxygen from federal Conservatives.

A racist group planned a 'mass deportation rally' or some crap in Christie Pits (a park close to downtown straddling Koreatown and an Ethiopian/Eritrean enclave), commemorating a 'riot' in which a Nazi group stormed the park and beat up players and spectators of a Jewish baseball game in the 1930s. In response, an antifascist group planned a community counter rally. (CBC coverage.)

Soon after the start times at Christie Pits, the racists congregated. The cops, who outnumbered the racists 2 or 3 to 1, surrounded the racists. The antiracists, who outnumbered the racists 20+ to 1, surrounded the cops.

The cops created a human exit tunnel for some racists to leave the park. Those racists proceeded down the middle of main streets (Bloor St, Yonge St) to Dundas Square (4.5 km). As did some cops. As did many anti-racists.

The anti-racists chanted things like "No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here," "Toronto loves immigrants," "Toronto hates fascists," "Toronto hates nazis." The anti-racists effectively @#$%ed up the march, pissing the racists off and effectively diluting their event most of the way, but after 4.5 km the racists outnumbered the anti-racists. It seemed the racists had planned the march and the anti-racists were responding spontaneously.

One of the racists' most-used chants was "Charlie Kirk. Rest in peace."

Back at Christie Pits, some of both groups remained. The anti-racist setup was much bigger than the racist one. Only one group had tents, bands, food stations, etc.

@PapyrusBrigade@mstdn.ca @nev@status.nevillepark.ca @sportponies.bsky.social@bsky.bird.gy