Monday, February 6, 2012

MPs and Their Potty Mouths

 




 Michael Den Tandt of the Ottawa Citizen hits hard on MPs and the use of their language comparing them to teenage boys badmouthing each other across  the Y parking lot on a Saturday night.
 These men - for the offenders are all men, coincidentally - should understand that their pay, privileges and positions confer on them a responsibility to behave like leaders, and not like a gaggle of teenage boys in baggy pants, badmouthing each other across a YMCA parking lot on a Saturday night.
Yes all parties are guilty.  Tony Clement last month who on Twitter called a 15 yr.old critic a "jackass."  At least he apologized later.

 For that matter, what would the Tory paragon John Diefenbaker, whose virtues are extolled almost daily by members of the government, have thought of Tony Clement's describing a 15-year-old critic, again via Twitter, as a "jackass," as the president of the Treasury Board did last month? Clement later apologized
Justin Trudeau a chip off the old block, whose dad is famous for the "fuddle duddle" remark in Parliament, December had his own "fuddle duddle" moment when he called Environment Minister Peter Kent a "a piece of sh**t"
 And what would Pierre Elliott Trudeau have made of the day in the House in mid-December, when his son bellowed to Environment Minister Peter Kent that he was a "piece of sh-"? Pierre Elliott Trudeau had his fuddleduddle moment in 1971, of course. But Trudeau the elder also believed that a political leader should try to criticize his opponent's ideas, while avoiding personally targeting the man. Whatever happened to that notion, which now seems quaint?
Then there is NDP MP Pat Martin who is famous for dropping his "f-bombs"  Last week he called still a grieving father who lost a daughter to a horrific murder then another daughter to an accident, "an  a-hole"  in which he does not regret and has no intention of  apologizing for. He actually has the worst potty mouth in parliament. 
 Plus, the Winnipeg MP has a foul mouth. We know this because he is an inveterate Twitterer, and he uses this platform to fluidly cuss anyone who makes him mad. Before Christmas, Martin dropped an f-bomb about the Conservative government's propensity for imposing limits on parliamentary debate. On Twitter, he told a critic, "f- you."Last week he blasted Conservative Senator Pierre-Hughes Boisvenu, calling him an "a-hole," after the latter suggested some murderers should be allowed to kill themselves in prison. Boisvenu, whose daughter was raped and murdered in 2002, later withdrew the remarks.
I agree with with Lorrie Goldstein who on Twitter  who says Pat Martin has an anger-management problem in which the media party conveniently enables.
  Lorrie Goldstein
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Yes, we do. Martin clearly has anger-management issues which the media is enabling.
Pat must have forgotten what his late former leader, Jack Layton said in his last letter   just before he passed away. Maybe he should go back and read again.
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
Yes, MPs are  human but they need also to remember they are in the public eye and should to act like professionals. Not particularly a good example for our youth. 
 
It may be hard  especially for Pat Martin but it is possible to control the mouth.
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1 comment:

  1. If the Loyal Opposition had ANY positive alternatives to government policies, they would have a lot less time to "potty-mouth". Unfortunately, they clearly don't. If your concern is with time limits on debates, perhaps you should start with the Liberal Senators who insist they need an hour for every talking point, relevant or not.

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