It was a Monday in Canada.
Last Monday, to be exact.
Justin Bieber was being put in his car seat . . .
. . . Avril Lavinge was snorting a line of blow from the strip of man-curlies ascending from Chad Kroeger’s ass crack . . .
. . . the residents of South Central Saskatchewan were breaking trail through 16 feet of snow . . .
. . . and a group of Cree youth, AKA the Nishiyuu Walkers, reached their destination at Parliament Hill after walking 1600 kilometers in support of Idle No More.
In an article titled, Journey of Nishiyuu walkers’ names now etched into history of this country, Jorge Barrera of APTN wrote,
The idea for the journey was spawned by a vision walker David Kawapit experienced during the protest fast by Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence who pitched a teepee on an island in the Ottawa River to demanding a meeting between First Nations leaders, the prime minister and the governor general.
Kawapit, 18, said part of the vision involved a wolf and a bear. He said the wolf symbolized First Nations people in Canada and the bear symbolized the government.
“A wolf alone can be easily killed by it, but with its brothers and sisters everywhere, it can call upon them and it can take down the bear with ease,” said Kawapit. “That is what became the unity part of this. We all need to stand together.”
As it should have been, the Nishiyuu Walkers were greeted by an estimated 4000 – 5000 supporters, and they also met with some political figures.
All in all, a triumphant demonstration of giving a shit; of dedicating oneself to a conviction based on ground root, communal goodness, and consequently inspiring further discourse.
But wait.
Where was Prime Minister Harper; aka our Fuehrer; aka Emperor Herper, the symbolic, open sore on the genitals of the Canadian people?!
Oh, it’s all good. He was just greeting a couple pandas on loan from China.
While I’m generally supportive of men petting animals, especially when it’s documented and uploaded to the internet, this seemed very ‘FUCK YOU, PEASANTS!’, and this ‘FUCK YOU, PEASANTS!’ attitude seems to be Harper’s permanent approach tothe people he ‘serves’.
While sifting through the comment feeds of mainstream reports on the panda visit, I came across the typical dichotomy of defiant rage VS apathetic statism. It was only a few years ago when I maintained the assumption that big government at leastintended to serve in the best interests of the people. But as the world continued to slide into some sci-fi infused carnival show, and critical, independent news became fluidly accessible, I began to read more and more, and then I realized, ohhhhh. Oh s-h-i-t.
I ‘get’ the complacency that some are exuding: the “yes, sir” loyalty to the state that still exists due to our lingering comfortability, and the allowance to continue to fixate on our own personal bubbles because of our belief that we’re untouchable. In Harper’s defense, panda cuddles were probably scheduled far in advance, and in contradiction to a comment from a Defiant Rager who quipped that the panda cuddles were “pointless,” they weren’t: The pandas leave a money trail, of course.
– Pandas heading to Toronto, oiling the wheels of Canada-China relations
– How panda diplomacy became bear-knuckle haggling
Whether Harper had been there to meet with the Nishiyuu Walkers or not, their efforts to stand up for their people, and in my belief, all Canadian resistors, should have been formally acknowledged and addressed by our prime minister– THAT would have demonstrated the workings of a legitimate democracy. And while details surrounding Harper’s Nishiyuu absence/ panda cuddles are unknown to us (and Canadians do have ‘bigger fish to fry’ than Harper’s no-show that day), this incident does hold a deeper significance, and it does set a precedent as to where our leader’s priorities lay.
– Harper sells out Canadians in approving oil company takeovers
– 5 things to know about Canada – China investment treaty
– Canada – China FIPA: Critics Say ‘Flawed’ Agreement On Fast Track To Ratification:
“This is exactly what China wants if their aim is to acquire major ownership of Canada’s resources … and move them out and be processed in China.”