It began with a simple enough post on his popular blog "Garth Turner Unedited", and it's led to a firestorm of controversy that has people in both the East and West of Canada very angry. Maybe Garth should consider "editing" a little more. The crux of the controversy comes from a comment that appears to be a little "unrestrained":
As for Dion, he will move from Calgary to Edmonton, where he’s to have an open, Town Hall meeting on his climate change plan. You might not agree with everything the man says, but you have to admire this about him. He stood up once to the self-aggrandizing, hostile, me-first, greedy, macho, selfish and balkanizing separatist losers in Quebec. I guess he can do it again in Alberta.
Not that there are any similarities.
I don't know which of the pejoratives are most over the top. The irony of a hostile article calling out other hostiles? The redundancy of "me-first" and "selfish"? Or the short but simple eighth grade epithet "losers"? Heck, even the Balkan states have a grievance to file in this single sentence that has all of the charm of the colloquial language of a drunkard.
Not that Garth cares. His attempt at explaining himself fell flat on its face:
Everyone I have heard from tells me this was a mistake. Quebecers tell me they consider such words racist. People like me, they say, encourage separation. Albertans say it’s exactly the sentiment of easterners who want to hobble the West. Others say it takes debate down to the level of Stephen Harper. Dion says it needs to be respectful.
What has always struck me most about Garth Turner is his ability to make everything about him, no matter what the situation, or what the evident obligations would require. It has to be all about Garth, all the time. So where any other blogger might have offered a mild apology and a clarification, Garth remains defiant. Instead of trying to be more clear, he generalizes once again, tarring entire provinces by saying "Albertans say" or "Quebecers tell me". He tries to evade his own embarrassment by pointing at Stephen Harper, like some emotionally stunted child trying to explain to the teacher that everybody else is at fault but him.
When he repeats the sentence in his new post, he artfully avoids the clinching word he used to sum up two provinces: "losers". He asks rhetorically why he should try to justify his words, and then proceeds to dig himself a deeper hole to the Earth's core. He caps it off with a disingenuous and evidently emotionless plea: "Nor do I have anything but respect for my fellow citizens in Quebec and Alberta." I think people will generally read that without the "Nor do" part.
So Garth Turner, warrior that he is, won't let Canada get "ripped" apart by these Albertan and Quebec self-aggrandizing, hostile, me-first, greedy, macho, selfish and balkanizing losers. Garth, and Garth alone, will ensure that doesn't happen. So remember, now that Garth is on the case, our country has never been more unified, peaceful, harmonious, selfless, and fraternal.
Make sure you thank Garth in person over at his blog.
Related:
Stephen Taylor reminds us that despite Garth's objections to floor-crossing, that hasn't stopped Garth being the exception to his own rule. [Link]
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