The wedge- a Canadian Marxist's favourite weapon...
I was involved with the early stages of putting together FreeGeek in Vancouver– it was an exciting cause that I couldn’t help but jump into when I heard about the first meeting. I moved to Montreal by the time things really got rolling- but, watching from afar, I got my first taste of seeing a non-profit get attacked by many of the same people who were involved in the hijacking of Occupy Vancouver. I didn’t follow the people back then, but I did see the effect. “Safe space” politics were a large part of the disruption at both.
Shortly after I moved to Toronto I found a very interesting website called causepimps.ca. And, wow, did this site ever open my eyes! Suddenly, everything I saw that happened at Occupy Vancouer & FreeGeek made a lot more sense. And, as you now know, Occupy Toronto was also hijacked….
This site discusses the concept of a ‘honeypot’- an organization that is ripe to be exploited and is therefore a target for radicals to infiltrate and pervert. If one looks closely, you will notice that this is a rather common occurrence. It appears that the Pride parades are no exception. And, the infiltration appears to be by the ‘usual suspects’.
A prominent group who are trying to pervert the Toronto Pride parade (besides the men from the Black Eagle) are Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA). This group has taken an event that has become a celebration of gay culture and has infused it with divisive politics. Does this sound familiar? Well, if you have been involved in Canadian activist communities, it will. There is a unified group of people in this country who have been continually using divisive issues like this to take and hold power- Occupy, FreeGeek and Pride are only a few of their victims.
At Occupy and FreeGeek they used “Anti-Oppression” as a tool to create division. By misusing the concept of privilege, they were able to divide people by race, gender and orientation. This wouldn’t work very well in the gay community, as people generally unite under a common umbrella. So, in the case of Pride, they have selected Israel/Palestine politics as their wedge.
Israel is well-known for not only its tolerance, but its promotion of their gay community. Gay people I know who have travelled there have confirmed this- they said it was a one of the better places to visit. Not surprisingly then, Israel has become one of the most popular gay destinations in the world.
Opponents of Israel, those on the Palestinian side (which includes almost all Marxists) call Israel’s promotion of gay culture as pinkwashing. They say it is Israel’s concentrated effort to build positive PR compared to other nations in the Middle East, where gays are treated quite poorly. QuAIA don’t appear to speak much about the facts gays face prejudice, criminalization and even death sentences in the Middle East. This is strange- because, you’d think this would be a more relevant issue for the gay community.
Middle East politics are one of the most divisive issues on earth, and the gay community consists of people with opinions on either side. So, it is easy for one to see how QuAIA can be used to cause division. And, the division has been brutal.
So, who is behind this?
Tim McCaskell
I looked-up the person who registered QuAIA’s website domain, his name is Tim McCaskell. Tim was one of the founding members of a radical activist group named Aids Action Now. Tim is also on the editorial ‘collective’ of a gay publication called The Body Politic- a far left magazine with strong Marxist tendencies. Like some of the Marxist hijackers at Occupy Toronto, Tim was a speaker at the Marxism 2011 conference!
And, as usual, all radical roads lead to David Eby!
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Occupy Toronto also has connections to the antics of AiAIA in the form of “Anarchist Ashleigh” Ingle- Black Bloc leader, and teacher to the children of Toronto’s 1%. Ashleigh is quoted on this issue in Xtra! saying:
“It’s a really sad day when the political climate of the city is in such a place that it will force a political organization out of the Pride parade”
Ashleigh was quoted in another article, No Photo Ops, With The Fucking Cops, she calls for excluding the police from the Pride parade:
“we should not see the presence of our violent oppressors at our celebratory protest as a victory… we should not want their acceptance.”
There are many gay members of the Toronto Police Service- calling for them to be excluded because of their politics is no different. Is this not slightly hypocritical Ashleigh? Or, is it a deliberate attempt for you to cause more community division? Having watched Toronto’s Marxist community in-action, I have little doubt it is the latter.
Ashleigh Ingle: Black Bloc leader, Occupy & Pride hijacker!
The plot for a Canadian Marxist hijacking is more predictable than a Hollywood movie. First, find a divisive issue/cause, drive a wedge inside the community/group you are trying to hijack, and then watch motivated people leave the movement our of anger and/or frustration. Meanwhile, the people who are ‘in the know’ about what is happening take-power and the honeypot is now theirs.
This process isn’t new, and people involved in Canadian activism aren’t blind to it- that said, there is something about our culture here that leaves people uncomfortable pointing these things out. Partially this is Canadian’s lack of will to ‘rock the boat’- but, equally, this is as a result of fear. As people who have been following my reading will be well aware of- anytime someone calls-out these people on their antics, they get vengeful and socially violent. For an example of this, read my article from yesterday- Liars, Damned Liars & Sakura Saunders.
The term ‘solidarity’ is often used as a weapon to stop people from questioning these tactics. If I have one suggestion to Toronto’s gay community is that you should stand-up against these antics, look past the issue the hijackers are presenting (it is, after all, manufactured to divide you) and stand in-solidarity for the sanctity of the Pride celebration.
Together, united, you’ll never be defeated…
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let’s face it occupy thinks the masses are dumb and thinks they can just keep rebranding themselves.
If we keep watching them and keep records of what these people are up to when the collapse comes we can show others this pattern of behaviour which would be none other than a new world order change agent’s.
It is interesting to read your observations, and inferences. I do not know the extent to which those who follow a Marxist critique of contemporary society are necessarily taking the path of destructiveness for destructiveness’ sake. I have found in Occupy and in some other causes such as Cop Watch a decade ago, a form of sociopathic and unaligned behaviour that has been unwilling to find areas of common ground – preventing the possibility that solidarity can be achieved.
In Edmonton in the 70s and 80s there was a Trotskyist Fourth International study circle that used to hold readings and lectures at a basement on Whyte Ave. This was a very civilized and informing gathering, that served to provide a philosophical and historical dialogue and was intended to provide an opportunity for left wing lawyers and academics to present arguments for their social analyses. There was absolutely nothing nihilistic in this kind of organizing; it was not intended to whip up useless and fractious negativism. Since that time, there has been an extreme and noticeable lack of political and economic activism that has much historical point.
Occupiers associated with the facebook page Global Spring are – I would suggest the closest that I have encountered in recent years. to a constructive alternative to the divisive and barren kinds of ploys that are seen mucking up the activist scene in Canada. There are well intentioned and potentially very useful groups that are part of Council of Canadians and the social economy that are developing valuable alternative energy and economic models. I am not pessimistic, but I do see why you would be jaded about actions of those who are devoting time to division and alienation of positive adherents to activist groups.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to be part of Toronto Prides festivities for several years now , working as a lead for the disability and accessibility team, this year, i will be involved in a different capacity ( I would rather not say for the time being ) The year we had the G20 here in Toronto , Price was literally just a few short weeks after that. I was greatly saddened when my own student union staff and executive made such a grand spectacle of ensuring that would be two of the female on pride parades , usually held on the Saturday afternoon. This unofficial parade went down university Avenue and was made up of all the ultra left wing, ultra radical elements , many of whom we see today i and about other events as well. There was a HUGE, anti Israel aspect to this event, as well, this was the year, as I recall ( and please feel free to correct me if I am off a year or two year ) that there was a concerted effort politicize pride with anti Israel rhetoric . For the most part, this failed as the people wanted an event were one can have FUN and further, wanted no politics involved. I should add that the same groups involved to create a politicized pride back then, are the very exact same people who are very much involved in radical student actions now, in the attempted furthering of communism and so forth.
first gay pride was stonewall, homosexuality was the “perversion”
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I’m familiar with the history, and respect it. People shouldn’t cloud the waters using this event for partisan politics…
Let’s just face facts that gay pride parades were hard to come by in communist times. While some may live in Toronto and San Fran and dream of being in a newly formed Islamic Palestine or rocket around Siberia in an armored tank with Trotsky, Tel Aviv is probably a better place to fantasize about.
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So true…
BTW, I checked out your blog- love it!
Where are the previous comments that have been posted? And why is Greg evading answering questions about his premises that underlay his broadsides against an ill-defined “Marxism”? I have asked for an explanation as to what Greg sees as fundamentally opposed between Marx’s critique of the self destructiveness of late-stage capitalism, and Pope JPII’s encyclical on the primacy of labour?
The original owner of the Queers Against Israeli Apartheid website was the Ward’s City Councillor, Kristin Wong-Tam
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Wow,that’s very interesting information- thanks for sharing!
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