SOLIDARITY?

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There has been a big hooraw in Toronto because the Mayor did not attend the Gay Pride Parade. They're having a call-in show about it right now. So the topic of discussion i wanted to introduce is this: Are public officials obliged to show solidarity with any group who calls for it? This is not just about homosexuals--i ask the same question about St. Patrick's Day, about any Christian or Jewish or Muslim holiday, about women's events such as Take Back the Night, a holiday such as Martin Luther King Day. What do you think goys and birls?

For my part, were i in the situation, i would not attend any such event, and i'd make it clear publicly that as i could not possibly find the time to join every group in such an "estra-curricular" activity, i had decided not to join any of them.

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@Setanta,

Not knowing the political stance or stature of this particular mayor, you make a good point about the limited ability politicians (and about everyone else) has in attending a certain amount of events in any given year.

That said, if his political base is in fact supported by a large number of gays and lesbians at the voting booth then perhaps a brief appearance is in order. If he then doesn't attend then he should be wary of the consequences come next election.

If not, then he should have the right to turn down any invitation because as you say only a limited amount of engagements can be attended any given year. Any backlash against such omission from an event would be pretty petty then.

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@Setanta,

i don't get all the hoopla, weekend national news barely mentioned it (too much royal crap), maybe today it'll get some play (now that W&K are not being harassed by les hooligans)

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@tsarstepan,

There's a particular issue with this particular fella as he has deleted evidence of all events he attends from his calendar.

We do know that he had to go to the cottage instead of attending any of the Pride events this year.

He's definitely not everyone's mayor.

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

For my part, were i in the situation, i would not attend any such event, and i'd make it clear publicly that as i could not possibly find the time to join every group in such an "estra-curricular" activity, i had decided not to join any of them.

the problem is that you'd never get elected, let alone re-elected, if you didn't do constituency events. it's a basic evil of being a politician.

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I would try to go to all or none. No in between.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

There's a particular issue with this particular fella as he has deleted evidence of all events he attends from his calendar.

We do know that he had to go to the cottage instead of attending any of the Pride events this year.

He's definitely not everyone's mayor.

This sounds like this mayor just might go down in the blaze of some kind of sex scandal that he's doing a real bad job to burn the already established paper trail.

Either motive for not attending, it seems the populace should throw the bum out.

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The mayor is a tory (conservative), and i feel certain that this has conditioned the response--they were out to find fault before the event took place, and were demanding to know if he would show up. There was a big hooplah about how mayors had always attended, and then they could only bring up the last two mayors. I intentionally did not go into those matters because it is the issue, divorced of personalities, in which i was interested.

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

This sounds like this mayor just might go down in the blaze of some kind of sex scandal that he's doing a real bad job to burn the already established paper trail.

Either motive for not attending, it seems the populace should throw the bum out.

he was investigated for spousal assault a few years before the election

he's a cross between a lump and a thug, very appealing to local Limbaugh followers

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I think mayors should be boosters. It is a people position as much as a numbers game. This did make the national news and it's been a topic of discussion on our local right-agenda call in shows.
Toronto's a big city and obviously he can't make every event, but wasn't part of the parade on his door step at city hall? I agree with Beth, he sounds like a thug and he's doesn't really portray the "Toronto the Good" image.
Then again, maybe he thinks a St. Patty's day crowd is more likely be favour his demographics and vote for him again, as the more liberal Gay groups most likely will tire of him and his politics sooner.

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@Ceili,

Well, that's certainly practical politics. I doubt the gay crowd ever wanted him, and nothing would ever have convinced them to vote for him. Given the relative support for Tories in the west, i'm not surprised that it is a topic of talk radio there. "Toronto the Good," that surprised me. I had thought of that as a turn of the century (19th to 20th) phrase, i didn't know anyone still used it. I'd thought the rest of the country had long ago discarded such an epithet for Toronto.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

Setanta wrote:
For my part, were i in the situation, i would not attend any such event, and i'd make it clear publicly that as i could not possibly find the time to join every group in such an "estra-curricular" activity, i had decided not to join any of them.

the problem is that you'd never get elected, let alone re-elected, if you didn't do constituency events. it's a basic evil of being a politician.

Yes....they do have to go to every possible event. Makes it a hell of a job, since you are kind of work 24/7 so I can see Set's point.

I'd need to know more about the situation to feel able to comment....but if he's hiding his other activities....don't look good.

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Is anyone allowing for a difference in socio-political mores between Canada and the U.S.? As the Mayor of New York seemed happy that gay marriage was just passed by the New York State Legislature, I assume that any other reaction by a mayor, in another city, of another country, might just reflect cultural ways different than the U.S., and especially NYC. Or, at least which groups require pandering to maintain one's political career.

I personally think it is adding apples and oranges to compare mayors from different cities, let alone different countries. Like Canada really loves ice hockey, and other than some northern U.S. climes, ice hockey is of little interest to many.

And this applies to all other groups too. Jews in Toronto are not like NYC Jews, I believe, so a politician in NYC might feel it is mandatory for his/her political career to pander to NYC Jews. Kapish? (That's Italian.)

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@Foofie,

Can you direct quote anyone other then yourself Foofie in this thread that mentions Bloomberg or even New York?

Oh, wait. Nope. You are the first person to bring this irrelevant comparison up in this thread. And the same can be said about gay marriage. You are the first person to bring it up as well.

Freudian slip perhaps?

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It is entirely possible that the Mayor in question calculated he had more to lose than gain by attending. I'm from San Francisco where the event is a must attend for most public officials (though some persistently don't attend). Mostly it's a freak show.

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@dlowan,

Well, i was really more interested in the concept than this specific situation. The situation here in t.o. is conditioned by a lot of other political factors. However, you have addressed the general concept.

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

... You are the first person to bring this irrelevant comparison up in this thread. And the same can be said about gay marriage. You are the first person to bring it up as well...

I'm a simple poster. I do not understand in what way I made a nonrelevant comparison.

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@Foofie,

Quote:

I personally think it is adding apples and oranges to compare mayors from different cities, let alone different countries. Like Canada really loves ice hockey, and other than some northern U.S. climes, ice hockey is of little interest to many.

The irony of your statement is that you are the one making the comparison between NYC and the all encompassing Canada as a singular cultural anomaly not anyone else.

You are making the apples and oranges comparison between different cities and different countries.

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

Quote:
I personally think it is adding apples and oranges to compare mayors from different cities, let alone different countries. Like Canada really loves ice hockey, and other than some northern U.S. climes, ice hockey is of little interest to many.

The irony of your statement is that you are the one making the comparison between NYC and the all encompassing Canada as a singular cultural anomaly not anyone else.

You are making the apples and oranges comparison between different cities and different countries.

I am just saying that politicians might just "do as the Romans do" for their city. Meaning, pandering to one specific group might be mandatory for one's career in one city, and not in another city.

I can argue that politicians, being in the business of politics, would be foolish to think that there can be an objective ethics regarding treating all groups the same, or not. Maybe if politicians were philosophers, but they are politicians.

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@Foofie,

Foofie wrote:

Like Canada really loves ice hockey

ice hockey is of little interest to many Canadians

1 Reply

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