Comments on The Burd Report: A comment that would appear to be buried unless it...

ADCS Bill is not just a blowhard -- he's a big...

2009-09-16T20:07:25.289-04:00

ADCS Bill is not just a blowhard -- he's a bigoted coward.

"ADCS Bill" will not be missed from this...

2009-09-16T18:24:44.822-04:00

"ADCS Bill" will not be missed from this blog, in my view.

Just another blowhard who refuses to identify himself.

Keep your head buried in the sand if you choose. I...

2009-09-16T13:18:47.775-04:00

Keep your head buried in the sand if you choose.
It's very obvious that you don't visit the same park as I'm referring to,so there is no need for me to comment anymore on your blog site.
It's been an "interesting" experience.

The Anonymous Bigot is a spineless lying coward. ...

2009-09-16T12:36:44.757-04:00

The Anonymous Bigot is a spineless lying coward.

"I've watched them urinating on resident's grass, digging holes in the sand to use as a toilet, etc"

This is nothing more than a racist slander to demonize The Visitors.

During the many years when I lived in Toronto I worked with a good number immigrant groups. I understood the dynamics why so many immigrants who arrive in Canada go to the big 3 cities, mostly Toronto. They move to enclaves aka neighbourhoods. They hang with their "own kind" largely for comfort, safety, etc.

Often I told them to get out of the city to visit their new country. Canada is not a collection of Toronto neighbourhoods. Mostly I recommended they go north, real north. Suggested to young Jamaicans that they spend some summer hitch-hiking across Canada as I had done twice in my life.

The reticence I received from many of the immigrants was that they felt threatened by the whities out in the boondocks.

The examples I have read by the white trash bigots in Cobourg living in Corktown has driven the point home to me, just what many immigrants to Canada have said makes them feel discomfort.

For sure Cobourg is a FEEL GOOD town for whitey. After all, let us note that every complainant in Cobourg is white skinned. The charge led by NT photography Pete Fisher was all ablout bigotry.

The newspaper stories were filled with white folks having a big weeny whine -- not once this summer did Pete Fisher or Northumberland Today interview a Visitor. Not once. Why is that? What does it say?

Let's be honest, the whiners in this town are numerous and loud and have spread the message, backed up by Spoonertoons that Cobourg has no use for Visitors, only their CASH. Is that any way for a community to act as a host?

I went to the Park almost every day, all times of day. I took my video camera. I interviewed some of them. They had their extended families, 4 generations in a few cases, all with an immense spread of food, a "tent" with mesh to shade grandma and the new infant from the sun. There was no intent of camping.

I even had instances of groups willing to say, in unison, "Hi Cobourg" to my video camera. These are the people that the few racist bigots (as exampled by the jellyfish jerk calling themselves anonymous) say in response, "YOU'RE NOT WELCOME"

What a thoughtful, insightful post. Thank you, Ano...

2009-09-15T18:24:38.776-04:00

What a thoughtful, insightful post. Thank you, Anonymous.

Sadly, the point you make about confronting disgusting behaviour, whether it's someone trying to bury a diaper in the beach or a person exhibiting racist opinions, can be fraught with difficulties, even danger, although your sentiment is sincere.

Trouble is, disgusting behaviour may be all in the eye of the beholder. If you haven't been taught about disease caused by bacteria, you may see nothing wrong in burying a diaper.

If you're a racist, well, you are entitled to your opinion, it's a free country, and you have free speech, do you not?

And that's where the trouble begins! We have recently seen a high profile former politician charged with negligence causing death when a minor dispute over a minor traffic incident between bicycle and car escalated into a tragedy. We'll never know the details, but it was all caused by one person not caring for the actions of another. Hardly worth a life.

For what it's worth, I don't believe the myth about burying diapers either, but I would definitely be careful about challenging one of our homegrown racists. They never, ever, let the facts get in the way of their opinions, and they won't thank you for pointing our their error.

Quote your statement "To suggest that the vid...

2009-09-15T17:53:57.332-04:00

Quote your statement "To suggest that the video on UTube was planted as a polemic tool is silly"
Who stated that ? I certainly didn't. I simply asked the question.
The mind works in mysterious fashion sometimes.

Code? Thinly veiled code at best. Just to stop ...

2009-09-15T13:55:03.408-04:00

Code? Thinly veiled code at best.

Just to stop calorie-consumption turning me into a Councillor MacDonald lookalike, I walk all through Victoria Park at least once a day every day of the week as well as along the beach boardwalk, the harbour walk, etc.

Before I became aware of all this controversy and so before that controversy could taint my view one way or another, I was simply delighted to see Victoria Park being enjoyed by so many people.

I prefer that to the times when the whole park contains 3 people or less. Try walking through the park in the early evening any day between late October and early April and you will see what I mean.

Even more to my liking is the fact that among the people using Victoria Park, I see so many extended families. They interact in games and over shared food. They laugh, carefully tend young children, who appear to be full of joy.

Often there are 3 or 4 generations of a family up and down from newborns to great grandparents and then extended sideways with uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.

I am envious. What we could learn from that! By "we" I mean those of us who lead those legendary isolated-from-relatives, alienated-from-neighbours North American urban-lives.

Never once have I failed to get a smile back when I nod, smile, say "Hello" or all three. Never once have I observed anything but a polite interaction between visitors and people who live in Cobourg, often unnecessarily apologetic when a kicked ball comes in one's general direction or something like that.

I do see a lot of situations too few parking spots; I have also seen innovative solutions, like a number of mini-vans parking in commuter lots on the outskirts of town, with one doing shuttle-transport duty to Victoria Park then going back for more and more family members. I have seen BBQs but have never personally witnessed anything unsafe about their use.

Before Ben mentioned it, I have always assumed that any mention of burying dirty diapers, using the sand as a toilet, etc to be pure urban myth: simple logic tells me this is likely.

How could anyone witness someone doing this without calling out in objection, "Hey, that's gross!" and enjoying a chorus of agreement from all other people nearby.

I notice that all such stories I have heard are 3rd person reports, "Someone I know told me someone they know witnessed them buring a dirty diaper" etc. No of them has actually seen it themselves but they all have it on good authority through the gossip grapevine. If someone told me they themselves saw such behaviour, I would immediately ask, "Why didn't you vocally object? If you see something like that, let the person know they are out of line!"

I know a bunch of other people who think the same way I do. This is evident when we discuss the issue. Obviously, I don't carry myself in a manner that makes the barely-veiled racists feel comfortable expressing their views in my presence.

One thing those of us who do discuss this ask ourselves is: which of these two groups actually represents the majority view, the tolerant-of-visitors and other ethnicities or the vocal-racists who pay only the lightest nod to hiding their offensive attitude?

And I always add, "Well, if we are actually the majority, we should stop allowing that disgusting little group be the only voice on the matter because then they seem like the majority."

It seems like we are gob-smacked at the audacity of the racists and have no idea what to say in response. We should respond.