Categories: Polls

Should the media be talking about Anders Behring Breivik’s politics?

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by macleans.ca on Monday, July 18, 2011 4:12pm - 32 Comments
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  • Anonymous

    WTH, I swear the text changed between the time I selected a response and viewed the results?????

  • Anonymous

    Attention should be paid to far-right groups in Canada, not just in Europe.  Let’s not make the same mistake Norway did by sweeping our lunatics under the rug.  Personally, I’m tired of having fellow Canadians tell me that because I’m a gay woman, I should opposed Muslim immigration to Canada.  Those people apparently forgot that I lived through the days when Christians were bombing gay book stores and shooting abortion doctors.  Anyone who’s been paying attention to Canada knows that religious and political extremism can be neutralized without trampling on anyone’s rights.  So let’s talk about that group that thought it would be cool to bring Geert Wilders to town.  Let’s talk about why a politician thought it necessary to try and ban “face coverings” in the polling booth despite the fact that we have mail-in ballots in this country that don’t require people to show their faces at all. Let’s talk about those Canadians who approach us in hushed tones and talk with much consternation about the “Muslim threat.”  If we don’t start taking seriously this quiet undercurrent of xenophobia in our own country, we could be facing the same fate as Norway.

    • TonyAdams

      “If we don’t start taking seriously this quiet undercurrent of xenophobia in our own country, we could be facing the same fate as Norway.”

      You want to start conversation about your xenophobia and racism towards Jews?  Why would you want to do that? I think it would be delightful it society had a debate about Muslims.

      Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini:

      Our fundamental condition for cooperating with Germany was a free hand to eradicate every last Jew from Palestine and the Arab world. I asked Hitler for an explicit undertaking to allow us to solve the Jewish problem in a manner befitting our national and racial aspirations and according to the scientific methods innovated by Germany in the handling of its Jews.

      NatPost – Jan 2011: 

      Vandals targeted five synagogues and a Jewish school in Montreal on the weekend. Rocks were thrown, and a window was broken at the scene of each crime.

      SunNews – Mar 2010: 

      A Montreal synagogue has been targeted by vandals for the second time in a month, with a number of religious items stolen and swastikas left behind.

      TorStar – July 2011:

      A new Parliamentary report is urging the government to take immediate action on the unprecedented increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Canada, especially on university campuses.

      • Anonymous

        I don’t hate anybody, but the similarity of your comments to the writings of one Mr. Breivik from Norway certainly scrares me. 

        • TonyAdams

          When they came for the Jews, I remained silent;
          I wasn’t a Jew.
          When they came for me,
          there was no one left to speak out.

          • Anonymous

            Why is it TonyAdams that if a person is not anti-Islam, you suggest that they must be anti-Judaism?  Is it not possible in a peaceful country like Canada, that a person can just be pro-humanity?

          • TonyAdams

            I don’t know how you can be pro-humanity and not be anti-muslim at same time. Islam has not gone through Enlightenment, it is dark ages religion and it is profoundly evil. 

            My missus has been friends with non-practicing Jew for years. Once or twice a month, when possible, they take walk around neighbourhood for an hour and talk about whatever women talk about.

            Three times in past 18 months while my missus was out walking, a teenage muslim kid appears on his bike and says the most vile things about Jewish woman. Kid rides off when they try to catch him. It is happened many more times but my missus not there. Police won’t do anything, say it is not their problem. Police know the kid but won’t do anything because he is immigrant and they don’t want hassle. 

            Is it pro-humanity to ignore racism? 

            Being tolerant of intolerance is not pro-humanity. It just makes you complicit in other people’s racism. 

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

            We cannot tolerate the intolerant, and should not. In these intolerant countries, 100% of their intolerant ideology (or religion as they want us to believe) is their goal, and wont stop until they achieve it, facts are there to prove it.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

            We cannot tolerate the intolerant, and should not. In these intolerant countries, 100% of their intolerant ideology (or religion as they want us to believe) is their goal, and wont stop until they achieve it, facts are there to prove it.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

            We cannot tolerate the intolerant, and should not. In these intolerant countries, 100% of their intolerant ideology (or religion as they want us to believe) is their goal, and wont stop until they achieve it, facts are there to prove it.

          • Anonymous

            @Tony_Adams:disqus 

            Apparently you are unaware that the Islamic enlightenment preceded ours

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age

        • TonyAdams

          When they came for the Jews, I remained silent;
          I wasn’t a Jew.
          When they came for me,
          there was no one left to speak out.

      • Anonymous

        I don’t hate anybody, but the similarity of your comments to the writings of one Mr. Breivik from Norway certainly scrares me. 

      • Anonymous

        I don’t hate anybody, Tony.  And if you think that intollerance of Jews — which you  blame on Muslims without offering any evidence — is a reason to trample on their rights, then you are beneath me.  My community — the gay community — has endured all manner of hatred and violence at the hands of religious extremists, mostly Christians, but I have never advocated trampling the rights of Christians or Christian immigrants in order to curb the intollerance of their extremists.  The vast majority of humans of all faiths, colours and creeds are decent, law-abiding people.  If you choose to stereotype people based on faith, you are as as bad as the scum that deface synagogues.

        • Anonymous

          PS: Tony Adams, the fact that you call your wife your “missus” speaks volumes about how unenlightened you are.  Further, I should point out that, by your standards, it would only be tolerant of me to hate Jews because your good book calls for the execution of homosexuals, so I would be taking the moral high ground by hating such intollerance.  Thank gods – all of them – that most of humanity doesn’t think like you.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

      Muslims behead Gays, when they are the majority to do so (Sharia law)

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, and that display in Israel around World Pride — all the threats and violence that almost shut the whole thing down — that was real enlightened wasn’t it?  And those fundamentalist Christians that are backing the effort to execute gays in Uganda?  Also a shining example of tolerance, no?  If you want to judge religions by their extremists, knock yourself out. But be consistent and make sure you ban all intolerant religions.  I’ll just hang out here with my hijab-wearing, gay-rights-supporting girlfriends and smile with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re about as extreme as my country ever gets.

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, and that display in Israel around World Pride — all the threats and violence that almost shut the whole thing down — that was real enlightened wasn’t it?  And those fundamentalist Christians that are backing the effort to execute gays in Uganda?  Also a shining example of tolerance, no?  If you want to judge religions by their extremists, knock yourself out. But be consistent and make sure you ban all intolerant religions.  I’ll just hang out here with my hijab-wearing, gay-rights-supporting girlfriends and smile with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re about as extreme as my country ever gets.

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, and that display in Israel around World Pride — all the threats and violence that almost shut the whole thing down — that was real enlightened wasn’t it?  And those fundamentalist Christians that are backing the effort to execute gays in Uganda?  Also a shining example of tolerance, no?  If you want to judge religions by their extremists, knock yourself out. But be consistent and make sure you ban all intolerant religions.  I’ll just hang out here with my hijab-wearing, gay-rights-supporting girlfriends and smile with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re about as extreme as my country ever gets.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

      Muslims behead Gays, when they are the majority to do so (Sharia law)

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Larrivee/1822233214 Dan Larrivee

      Muslims behead Gays, when they are the majority to do so (Sharia law)

  • M L

    Any group of people that espouse violence in order to obtain their ends are a threat to public safety. However it is important not to cast too broad a net in monitoring potential threats. For instance, painting 9/11 as the action of “Muslims”, as opposed to “a few radicalized Muslims” would have sewn distrust, and possibly alienated more people (sending them straight into the arms of radical imams). Support of a broader community is immensely valuable – think of how good Canadian Muslims helped tip off the RCMP to the activities of the Toronto 18. 

    Far right groups have a serious persecution complex (during Zundel’s deportation, I took a look at his site out of curiosity) that would be exacerbated by a truly draconian response. As a result some might be edged towards violence, fearing that they can never accomplish their goals through legitimate democratic means. Potential tipsters – far right individuals that oppose mass murder (and I suspect most do), might be less reluctant to talk to the authorities. So I would err in the direction of monitoring where there are actual suspicions, instead of imputed ones.

    And nothing would be worse than barring the far right from the public square (as Canada’s hate speech laws, and human rights tribunals do already). Living in a democracy means having faith in the ability of our fellow citizens to accurately assess information and make informed choices about the kind of society they want. I have no doubt that tolerance will trump xenophobia in an open and honest debate. Let words fly, not bullets.

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous

    We should not be
    focusing on a deranged, perverted, aberrant individual of the human race, let
    him live out the rest of his existence on earth by himself.

    We should be
    focusing on how to live happy lives for the millions, the rest of us, here on earth.
     

  • Anonymous

    We should not be
    focusing on a deranged, perverted, aberrant individual of the human race, let
    him live out the rest of his existence on earth by himself.

    We should be
    focusing on how to live happy lives for the millions, the rest of us, here on earth.
     

  • Anonymous

    What I do not understand is why he is not called a Christian fundamentalist?  He has been called a crusader, and a right wing christian and a madman but not a fundamentalist.  So, if someone believes in Islam and commits such a crime, they are not madmen, nor crusaders but fundamentalists.  So, ah, how come the double standards?  Are they not all madmen? Are they all not religious fundamentalists? and Are they also not rationally following irrational practices?

    • Anonymous

      Because he said he was.

    • Anonymous

      Because he said he was.

  • Anonymous

    What I do not understand is why he is not called a Christian fundamentalist?  He has been called a crusader, and a right wing christian and a madman but not a fundamentalist.  So, if someone believes in Islam and commits such a crime, they are not madmen, nor crusaders but fundamentalists.  So, ah, how come the double standards?  Are they not all madmen? Are they all not religious fundamentalists? and Are they also not rationally following irrational practices?

  • Anonymous

    I know that this is cynical but the question’s pointless.

    It doesn’t matter what our opinion on this topic might be (especially this topic), the media will be talking about his politics.

    It sells commercial minutes on TV. It sells advertising space in the print media. It sells advertising links in the net media.

    It’s going to be discussed regardless of whether it should be given attention or not.

  • Anonymous

    Who in the world can participate in a survey whose questions are all loaded with political baggage? (like a good deal of Macleans reportage, one might opine).

  • Anonymous

    Who in the world can participate in a survey whose questions are all loaded with political baggage? (like a good deal of Macleans reportage, one might opine).

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