Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Mayor Rob Ford compares rival councillors to Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin didn’t care about taxpayers.

That’s the most benefit-of-the-doubt way to take a radio comment made by Mayor Rob Ford on Tuesday morning, which likened five political rivals to the murderous Russian dictator.

Speaking on the John Oakley show, Ford told the AM640 host that certain councillors are “two steps left of Joe Stalin.”

Ford was being questioned as to whether he had lost support of council’s middle. Oakley pointed to the fact that self-proclaimed centrist Josh Matlow recently stated he would not back Ford’s plan to do away with the land transfer tax.

“I consider him a left-wing NDPer. I’m not surprised. It’s just like saying Adam Vaughan or (Gord) Perks or (Janet) Davis or (Paula) Fletcher is not voting with me,” said Ford.

“These people are all two steps left of Joe Stalin. So I’m not discouraged by that and I don’t expect it. They don’t care about the taxpayers. But I know one person who does, and that’s me.”

Councillor Perks refused to comment on Ford’s words. “I’m trying to do real work,” he responded.

Matlow went to Ford’s office to discuss the comment afterwards.

“I wasn’t asking for an apology. I just wanted to have a conversation about it so we can move forward. We’re discussing so many issues right now: affordable housing, transit. I want the drama to stop. It’s not helpful.”

Vaughan chalked it up to Ford being Ford.

“It’s one of those things that Mayor Ford says that no one understands. He’s just lashing out. I don’t think anyone should compare any member of council to Joseph Stalin,” Vaughan said.

Ford’s mouth has got him in trouble before. In 2008 he angered Toronto’s Asian community after telling council “Oriental people work like dogs.”

Peter Vronsky, a professor of history at Ryerson University who specializes in serial homicide and war crimes, said that despite the fact the Russian dictator killed twice as many people as Adolf Hitler, people seem generally less offended by him.

One reason might be that Stalin was an ally during WWII, he said.

Stalin reign over the Soviet Union lasted for a quarter of a century. His political ruthlessness, push for rapid industrialization and collectivized farming led to the deaths of millions. Thousands of his political foes were executed and sent to labour camps.

“Technically, Stalin is considered to be a right-wing communist, if you can appreciate such a concept, (but he was also) among the century’s largest mass murderers,” Vronsky said.

“If you’re going to compare a municipal councillor to Joseph Stalin, who was a dictator and not elected, that’s where the offence is.”

Fidel Castro would have been a better choice, Vronsky said.

Joseph Stalin, 1879-1953

When the Communist dictator finally died of a stroke, he had ruled the Soviet Union for nearly three decades.

The Great Purge: In the 1930s, Stalin was responsible for the execution, internment in labour camps and exile of millions of perceived and real political foes. He expanded the secret police and encouraged neighbours to spy on one another. These repressions led to the decimation of the country’s army, leaving Russia unequipped to battle Hitler, and the death of as many as a million people.

Famine: Stalin pushed rapid industrialization in the largely peasant country and collectivized agriculture, leading to mass starvation. Soviet troops and police raided peasant crops and stole food from their homes. Some historians estimate as many as 10 million perished in a man-made famine in the early 1930s in the Ukraine.

Original Article
Source: Star 
Author: Robyn Doolittle 

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