A screaming, off-the-hook, actually insane-sounding labor union boss went berserk for the helpful CBC cameras today. It was quite fun to watch. Great theater. Oh not in that Fox News Channel at three in the morning kind of way… I mean unhinged, hysterical, and serious, rather than purposely insulting satirical comedy. And on CBC. You know, where their web site moderators approve comments directed toward dead Canadian soldiers who died for our country in Afghanistan, like ”…this is what you deserve. And before all you neo-cons out there start telling me to show respect for people ‘guarding my freedom’ and other such nonsense, save it. The soldiers are nothing but common war criminals…” on news stories of more Canadian soldier deaths.
CAW union boss Ken Lewenza seemed to me to be calling for a sort of class warfare, with his massive army of left-wing unionist (and NDP division) soldiers marching against, well, anyone who isn’t extreme left-wing unionists or NDP like them. “Until they’re so sick of listenin’ to ya that they succumb to the pressure!”, he yelped. And that was directed toward Liberals in the Ontario Legislature! One can only imagine the fury if the government was conservative and capitalist and prone to allow the free market to work as it can.
He particularly bashed “right-wing”, “corporate agenda” folks, who have of course been “the cause” of the financial meltdown (while, he was sure to note, his workers are most definitely not the cause). No word on how he feels about the folks who buy the cars they build (which if I’m not mistaken include right-wing folks, business people, corporate folks… you know—Canadians. Which will never again include me.)
This should really help pull us together as Canadians. Don’t worry, no Conservative Defence Ministers or spokeswomen like Geoff Norquay will say boo about the state-owned CBC broadcasting the rantings of an unhinged militant left-wing union boss who seems to be calling for class warfare against the “right-wing”, and the “corporate” Canadians in our country. Like me. (They’re still busy monitoring Ann Coulter and Fox News Channel for comedic insults, and then the apologies after their official government demands for apologies. And then that smoke afterward…).
Apart from sane, Lewenza doesn’t sound very capitalist and free-market to me. He sounds like a communist. As noted above, Lewenza demands that the government “takes care of workers”. Again that’s government “takes care of workers” —as if to imply that they are incapable of taking care of themselves. And as if this were the Soviet Union. On both of those as ifs I’m skeptical.
Are they babies? Is this Cuba? Only in Lewenza’s dreams. And as he said, if he had it his way as president of the CAW, he’d be inside the Ontario legislature instructing the government—or, one presumes, as government—as to what will be done. Actual words: “If I had it my way, as the president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, we would not be talkin’ OUTSIDE the legislature, we’d be talkin’ INSIDE the legislature demanding! demanding! demanding! that this elected government led by Dalton McGuinty takes care of workers!!!!!!!!!”
And here, at left, is a gratuitous picture of Karl Marx. Thank you.
His treatise (“his” meaning Lewenza, although I understand the confusion): ”…but in this global financial crisis that wasn’t caused by workers!! Weren’t as a result of workers greed or caused by the de-regulation of banks!!!! The right-wing— the corporate agenda have had their way for a decade now [wild applause from sheeple crowd] and workers are losin’ their right to defend their right to defend their interest today!!!! [huh? …but anyway, wild applause from sheeple crowd] … and I wanna thank Andrea and the New Democratic Party for bein’ here …”. Well of course you do. He forgot to thank the CBC. And Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Geoff Norquay for keeping it zipped.
CBC anchor cuts in: “You’ve been listening to a very angry Ken Lewenza …”
I’m only surprised the CBC anchor didn’t describe his yelling as very “nuanced” and “passionate” instead of using the term they normally reserve for conservatives when they’re quietly speaking about anything at all.
All in all, a nice deflection away from where Canadians should really direct their anger, which is at governments, for their failed social engineering efforts and their repeatedly, selectively, making terrible choices and using our tax dollars to pick bailout recipients — mostly like Ken Lewenza’s ever so ill-begotten auto workers whom I now support with my tax dollars (you’re welcome Ken—no hard feelings?) — and for meddling in the capitalist system and not allowing free-market capitalism to actually work, and then blaming capitalism—and me—for it not working.
READER EMAILS To: ProudToBeCanadian
Date: 3/25/2009 1:09 PM
Subject: CAWBeing an auto worker myself this kind of thing really makes me cringe. Much like the marginal Buzz Hargrove in his farewell speech giving the finger to Stephen Harper. Aside from being immature and crude these idiots can’t do enough to destroy the goose that lays the golden egg.
The insults that apparently they don’t understand are directed at customers as you well point out Joel. Sadly like myself there are more conservative minded people working here and the ranks are growing. Believe me it pains us to see this as well as the other antics the thugs involve themselves with.
We’ve pretty much reached the end of the road in our industry.
Sadly most people don’t understand companies like the Big Three cannot manage themselves. They are so heavily controlled by government regulation and of course the union they are powerless to manage their own business and these are now the consequences of these practises and behaviours. So now when things are dire the brain trust in the union decides to make a spectacle and lose even more sales.
Leftists are dangerous at all times. Is this really the type of people left wing Canadians want to lead us and manage our government? These are the people behind the scenes that guide our liberals and the likes of Obama down south. Is this what people really want? Shameful. Leftists and the carnage they cause with the ever present unintended consequences will be the undoing of the auto industry and our country as well. The same destructive terminal disease has afflicted both. It’s now only a matter of time.
“Dacre”
Note from Joel re former CAW boss Buzz Hargrove, whom I’ve also described as sounding like a communist: Regarding Dacre’s assertion that Hargrove gave our Prime Minister the finger upon his exit from the union, please note that when Hargrove flipped off the Prime Minister of Canada in his public, nationally televised (after the fact, when it could have been left unbroadcast), nobody in the Conservative Party—not even Defence Minister MacKay nor the self-esteemed adviser and Conservative Party spokesmodel Geoff Norquay—issued forth any message of indignant outrage, or demands for a public apology. Nor, for that matter, did any liberals or any media.
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