The “Let’s Guard Anti-Racist Canada and the Safety of its Citizens” Haibun
On the Occasion of the Upcoming White Supremacist March
on 21 March 2009, United Nations Anti-Racism Day
Would someone mind explaining this to a questioning mind: why are anti-racist activists targeted by government agencies when they protest the overt presence of racist fanatics? Namely, the presence of the Aryan Guard. Would someone mind also explaining this: why do police guard the Aryan Guard while they drum out a message of violence and poison the air around them? The air around all. The air which does not distinguish human lungs but nourishes us all.
Too few call out the haters for the damage that they do: no, ‘free speech’ is too sacred. But it’s everyone’s responsibility to call hate what it is, especially the police. We refuse to fade into the background as indiscriminate wallflowers, allowers of the slash where Calgary’s mouth should be. And so we speak now, with free speech and not hate speech, between which there is a chasm. We condemn the members of the Aryan Guard, not for their skin colour but the violence of their acts. Their march terrorizes witnesses, both near and far. All the way in Edmonton people feel shock and pain as they listen to the thumps of hate. These are not the sounds of intelligent dialogue. These are the sounds of assault, of fear. Guard members wear bandanas across their shamed faces, meaning a Sudanese-Canadian must sweat when a white face passes; could that be one of them? Meaning an Aboriginal Canadian cannot feel safe in the city she calls home; why do they hate me for the colour of my skin? We’re disgusted by the terrible things the Aryan Guard breeds. So would someone mind explaining once and for all: why are racists protected by ‘free speech,’ not arrested and charged with what is clearly hate speech?
“White pride” is a hoax
And racism hurts.
Protect us all on March 21st.
Send your copy to:
Mayor Dave Bronconnier
Office of the Mayor
The City of Calgary
PO Box 2100, Station M
Calgary, AB T2P 2M5
Chief Rick Hanson
Calgary Police Service
133 Sixth Avenue SE
Calgary, AB T2G 4Z1
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Letter #2: To President Barack Obama, in Petitioning him to Scold PM Stephen Harper for the Tar Sands Mess and the SPP
The No Trespassing, Yes Partnership Haibun
On the Occasion of your visit to Canada on 19 February 2009
On the Occasion of your visit to Canada on 19 February 2009
Mr. Obama,
we understand that you intend to end the American dependency on oil. No wait, it was on foreign oil. So one question we ask: does this mean that Canada can maintain its sovereign soil? If your intentions are true, then we beg of you: tell Mr. Harper his tar sandbox sucks. Suggest he quickly moratorium or even outlaw further digging, sludging, muck-trucking, and bird-killing out in the Albertan wilds. Tell him his sandbox gives cancer to children, infringes Native land rights, ruins our shared earth. President Obama, reconsider the terms of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP): ask yourself who should reap the benefits of ‘prosperity’? And who precisely is targeted by so-called ‘security’ - is it PEOPLE wanting access to clean water? And turn down Mr. Harper’s invitation to the US military to get comfy on Canadian ground. Ban and burn the Canada-US Civil Assistance Plan (CUCAP). This is dire. The last thing we need is more friendly fire. Don't let Mr. Harper sell you all that oil – recoil from Canada’s blood smeared hands.
We believe in peace, hope and change:
Please be Canada's partner in all three.
Send your copy to:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
U.S.A.
Letter #1: To Jim Flaherty, Regarding His Recent Budgetary Reallocations of SSHRC Funding
A Song for the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister
On the Occasion of the Conservative Budget of 27 January, 2009
“Other Girl$”
To be sung to the tune of The Beatles’ “Another Girl” [Lennon/McCartney, 1965]
To be sung to the tune of The Beatles’ “Another Girl” [Lennon/McCartney, 1965]
For we have got
Other girl$, other girl$.
Other girl$, other girl$.
You in Arts think there’s nobody but you,
History and English, as if that’s worth poo
History and English, as if that’s worth poo
But as from today, well, we’ve got money for few.
We ain't no fools and we don't help those we don't want,
For we have got other girl$, other girl$.
Research in Business and Econ is sweeter, it’s true
We oughta know these federal Councils, we fund quite a few.
We oughta know these federal Councils, we fund quite a few.
Nothing in all the world can do what profit can do.
And so we’re telling SSHRC, ‘This time you'd better stop,’
For we have got other girl$, other girl$.
Who will love us to the end
Through thick and thin
Greed will always be our friend.
We don't want to say that we’ve been unhappy with you,
But studies in lit and film produce profitless goo
But studies in lit and film produce profitless goo
And, as from today, well, we’ve got money for few.
We ain't no fools and we don't help those we don't want,
For we have got other girl$, other girl$.
Who will love us till the end.
Through thick and thin
Business and Econ will be our friends!
We don't want to say that we’ve been unhappy with you,
But, as from today, Humanities and Social Sciences, you’re old news
We ain't no fools and we don't help those we don't want,
For we have got other girl$, other girl$.
Other girl$.
SEND YOUR COPY TO:
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance
Parliament Hill Office - Ottawa
House of Commons Centre Block Building - Room 435-S Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Parliament Hill Office - Ottawa
House of Commons Centre Block Building - Room 435-S Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
FYI - If you'd like an ear worm, catch The Beatles in action:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
