Jack Layton Dies...

[Smallc]

I have yet to see any evidence that Jack beat his wife.

[BubberMiley]

I have yet to see any evidence that Jack beat his wife.

But if you were a die-hard CPCer, spreading such rumours would be considered loyalty to the cause.

[Guest Derek L]

The fact that the man has died does not mean I have to get all phony

about it and say nice things about him.

I came on this forum awhile back and said 2 things. One I said he would

not be around much longer because at the time it was evident he was dying

but none of you seemed to be aware of that.

The other is as much as I dislike the topic I stated he had a reputation for

getting into domestic violent fights with his wife near where I lived and so

for me having seen some of them on the street I am not about to wax

poetic about him.

He was a man with a large ego, a nasty mean streak and a raging intolerance of

people who did not share his views. He was rigid and dogmatic and self righteous.

That said he lived, sleeped, breathed politics. He was a privileged socialist

someone who never went without food or shelter and lived an elite lifestyle of an

academic but fancied himself a working man defending the working class.

All that said, I respect the man's right to his political views and his hard work in

rebuilding the NDP party relying heavily on his personality and ego.

Can't stand what he stood for and the way he treated his wives but I respected his

hard work for his constituents and his ability to engage in politics a nasty sport

at the best of times.

Unlike some I am not going to come on here and hero worship him. I do think it

is sad he died before he had a chance to live his role of opposition leader.

He would have loved the job of being chief whiner of the parliament.

Being a man of good health who always biked and exercised his cancer must have been

hard on him. Hopefully he is now in a better place.

Which wife? Chow or his first wife? Perhaps it was Chow attacking him after he got pinched in the massage parlor? Never heard this rumor, and I tend to think if there was any truth to something as that, it would have been in the news..........What you're doing is libel, and unless you can back it up, i'd retract the statement........just saying......No point in flogging a dead horse.

What is libel?

Libel is the type of defamation with a permanent record, like a newspaper, a letter, a website posting, an email, a picture, or a radio or TV broadcast. If you can prove that someone libeled you, and that person does not have a good defence (see the section on defences below), then a court will presume that you suffered damages and award you money to pay for your damaged reputation. But going to Supreme Court is expensive and even if you win, you may not get as much as it costs you to sue. In deciding on damages, the Court will consider your position in the community. For example, if you are a professional, damages may be higher.

http://www.cba.org/bc/public_media/rights/240.aspx

[jbg]

The fact that the man has died does not mean I have to get all phony

about it and say nice things about him.

***************

Being a man of good health who always biked and exercised his cancer must have been

hard on him. Hopefully he is now in a better place.

Overall, excellent thoughts. A bit blunter than I would have been but oh well.

[CANADIEN]

The fact that the man has died does not mean I have to get all phony

about it and say nice things about him.

You don't get it. That's not phony, that's human nature. Unless one is dealing with an Adolf Hitler, a Pol Pot, a Ted Bundy, an Osama Bin Laden, or someone who has done us huge personal harm, most persons choose to remember the good side of someone who has just died. part of how we cope? I am not sure. But that's not phony (even if some overdid it).

As fpor the rest of what you wrote, suffice to say that it takes a very small person to engage in a person attack and innuendos against a dead person who cannot respond and is not even buried yet, the way you did.

Edited August 24, 2011 by CANADIEN

[Boges]

I totally respected Jack as a politician. I thought he was fare more genuine than anyone that ever led the Liberal party. I do feel this Orange Crush thing is a sham and his party isn't any better suited to make a difference than they did pre-May 2nd.

What I find offensive is this rush of Grief Pron. And the vitriol focused on anyone that doesn't say Jack was a great man seems to be totally opposite to what he said in his final testament.

[Michael Hardner]

What I find offensive is this rush of Grief Pron. And the vitriol focused on anyone that doesn't say Jack was a great man seems to be totally opposite to what he said in his final testament.

Well, when certain public figures die this type of coverage goes on up until the day of the funeral. Think about police officers who died on duty here.

You just have to let it happen - don't tell people that they can't mourn.

[Shakeyhands]

He was a man with a large ego, a nasty mean streak and a raging intolerance of

people who did not share his views. He was rigid and dogmatic and self righteous.

LOL... Which party Leader are you referring to again?

[Boges]

Well, when certain public figures die this type of coverage goes on up until the day of the funeral. Think about police officers who died on duty here.

You just have to let it happen - don't tell people that they can't mourn.

Oh the Police Officer crap really got to me. Wall to wall coverage about an officer who was doing his job.

[Black Dog]

Oh the Police Officer crap really got to me. Wall to wall coverage about an officer who was doing his job.

The "troops" are even worse.

[Boges]

The "troops" are even worse.

The "Troops" didn't get anywhere near the pub as the two GTA police officers that died this year.

I do however believe WW2 vets etc. do deserve a day for remembrance.

[Black Dog]

The "Troops" didn't get anywhere near the pub as the two GTA police officers that died this year.

That's because dead soldiers became old hat. Even Christie Blatchford stopped writing tear-stained hagiographies from the tarmac at Trenton and went back to her usual fare of dead babies.

Dead cops is still novel enough to be newsworthy.

[Boges]

That's because dead soldiers became old hat. Even Christie Blatchford stopped writing tear-stained hagiographies from the tarmac at Trenton and went back to her usual fare of dead babies.

Dead cops is still novel enough to be newsworthy.

Well when 100+ people die doing something it doesn't become shocking anymore.

[Sir Bandelot]

Like I said elsewhere, the response to his death is something that goes deeper than the man himself. People are somehow resonating with this. One reason could be that people need to feel hope, and need to believe there are leaders who really do care and are not pathological liars.

Not saying Layton was any of these things, but that is the kind of message he tried to put out. ANd not just at the end if his life, neither

[Boges]

Like I said elsewhere, the response to his death is something that goes deeper than the man himself. People are somehow resonating with this. One reason could be that people need to feel hope, and need to believe there are leaders who really do care and are not pathological liars.

Not saying Layton was any of these things, but that is the kind of message he tried to put out. ANd not just at the end if his life, neither

It's resonating because he had election success in May. People thinks he's swell because the NDP is the official opposition now.

[Black Dog]

Well when 100+ people die doing something it doesn't become shocking anymore.

No but they are still regarded as "heroes" despite doing nothing more than their job.

[Boges]

No but they are still regarded as "heroes" despite doing nothing more than their job.

I think the greatest generation are full of heroes.

Soldiers today often sign up because they don't have anything better to do. Their plight is much different than Soldiers that fought in the 40's.

I think the two cops that died recently died bravely. And were heroic in their demise. Especially the one that got killed in Durham region by that moronic, criminal teenager.

But the outpouring of grief and from people that never knew these people was fabricated and false.

[cybercoma]

Soldiers today (as well as cops in general) should not generally be considered heroes. I'm sure some of them have done heroic things and they absolutely deserve that title. But, Boges raises a good distinction that ought to be made here. Many of those that fought in the trenches in the Great War and many of those that went overseas for WWII were not there because that's the job they chose. They weren't there because that's what they wanted to do with their life. Many of those soldiers were there because our government forced them to be there. Those are heroes. Those people that were forced into battle against their will and still fought for this country and everyone in it. They are heroes. Not someone that signs up of their own free will knowing full well the risks of their job. That in and of itself is not reason enough to be a hero.

[Smallc]

Many of those soldiers were there because our government forced them to be there.

Actually, that never happened. Canadians were never forces to serve overseas. The Canadian Forces fighting in Afghanistan and Libya, and doing peacekeeping and humanitarian work around the world are not in any way less heroic. The idea that you would volunteer for such things, as has always been the tradition of the military in this country - that's heroic.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Smallc

[cybercoma]

They're volunteering? I thought they were being paid.

[Smallc]

They're volunteering? I thought they were being paid.

No one is forcing them to go. That's the point I was making. They're heroes, and in a different sort of way, so was Jack Layton.

[cybercoma]

I dunno. I just think hero is thrown around way too casually. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though and each person's heroes are a matter of personal opinion.

[Smallc]

I dunno. I just think hero is thrown around way too casually. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though and each person's heroes are a matter of personal opinion.

I suppose it may be thrown around, but then, I don't think that it's as important a word as it's made out to be. To many people, soldiers are heroes (police...not so sure - my opinion, of course). To many people, Jack Layton was a hero. Though I may disagree with some of them as to their reasoning, I'm not going to take away from that.

[Thorn]

Would it be inappropriate to observe that the next time the RCMP selects officers to be pall bearers they should consider selecting those who are approximately the same height? Also, how has Nycole Turmel reached her sixties without learning how to dress respectfully for a solemn occasion?

Edited August 24, 2011 by Thorn

[Boges]

Non-Commissioned soldiers in WW2 are more heroes than draftees. They Recognized freedom was being threatened and they gave their lives to preserve it.