Bringing out the worst in Canadians |
There was a flame war on the web this week. It started at historysociety.ca, the web site of Canadian history magazine The Beaver, which ran an "admittedly unscientific" online poll to produce a list of the 10 "worst Canadians" topped by Pierre Trudeau. The results appeared online on Monday, and the rest is not history -- which we usually put in the past tense -- but a telling look at the tense present, as seen through the lens of the Internet.
The despised multiple murderers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka sit together, way down The Beaver's list at No. 5. Notorious serial killer Clifford Olsen is No. 9. Besides Trudeau, prime ministers Stephen Harper, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien all made the list -- so did Celine Dion and Conrad Black. Abortion-rights doctor Henry Morgentaler took third place. Punk anarchist Chris Hannah of Propaghandi campaigned into second.
"Worst Canadian" has become an Internet meme -- an idea or discussion that spreads online. At Canoe.ca, we fielded hundreds of responses to the question, "Does Trudeau deserve to be ranked as worst Canadian?" Comments polite enough to publish (cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Comment/2007/07/30/4380026.php) show a wide range of opinions, from fond ("he was a loving father and a great Canadian") to flippant ("Trudeau was about as useful as a hood ornament") to far-fetched ("Trudeau is easily the very worst thing that has happened to Canada at any time in its history").
3 comments:
this is rather curious. You say you are an 'internet fisherman with barbless hooks', and that insinuates that you are looking for responses, or, 'bites'. Then out the other side of your mouth, you liken people's posts to dog shit, saying 'do people really think I give a damn about what they post?' It took a lot of my 'coffee time' this AM to make 2 entries on blog, and looking around your blog and seeing the amount of posts, do you really have time to get on with reality after hitting the enter key?
You might just find, there are a lot of normal people out there, who enjoy a small part of their day conversing with a handful of people online, and despite whether or not you agree or disagree with them, you might be a happier person if you regarded it all less as dogshit, and simply human interaction.
Otherwise, might I suggest removing the comment option if it's such an annoyance?
And I might remind you, you are just as "anonymous" as I am, despite a registered blog name.
1. Just because the Comment section is there doesn't mean you have to use it.
2) You seem to spend more than just a "small part of your day." No matter what time of day I happen to post your "comments" follow within a few minutes. Scary.
3)Possibly in the following you can point out exactly where I made the comments you attribute to me......
"People have always been free to express themselves, whether it was at the water cooler, over a few draft beers or a soap box in the local park, but they did not do so with impunity. Those that disagreed with them were in there face immediately which is not the case on 'the internet' where people hide behind "anons." The thing that I find ludicrous is that there are a lot of people who think that people give a damn about what they post. My views are well known and I will admit I spend a lot of free time on the internet and I post a lot once I have hit the Enter key I get on with the reality of life....like picking up my dog's dumps. Hmmmm.....is there a hidden message here?"
4)I receive your comments in my eMail...what is your eMail address?
5)IYAGTBAAALBO!
oh my you seem rather miffed. I visit a couple blogs and or news sites and facebook a couple times during my day as a way of distraction. If my comments seem to appear within minutes of yours, well I have no explanation. I certainly don't have ESP, there is nothing that alerts me that you have responded, and looking at the times posted here, assuming they are correct, I commented on a post you made about 4 hours later, and now, as I'm enjoying a late evening tea, 6 hours after your response, forgive me if I chuckle a little at your paranoia.
If you didn't pick up on it already, I was commenting on a very clear disdain you have for anyone who comments here that doesn't agree with your views. Now don't mistake that for a great concern of mine, it's really just a quick paragraph I banged out in about 5 minutes or less, and after I hit my enter key, well, guess what!
You didn't think I cared THAT much did you???
oh my.
Anyway, now that we've gone off topic discussing how scary I am...
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