Stephen Harper takes a "pot" shot at BC.

[Atomoa]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/climate ... -1.2485534

Two climate change activists managed to sneak up behind Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday just as he was getting ready to start a question and answer session at the Vancouver Board of Trade.

"I'd like to take a minute and have some folks removed from the stage," Black said while the prime minister reached for a sip of water.

"It wouldn't be B.C. without it," Harper joked.

If Stephen Harper was in Alberta and a gun-toting, lumberjacket wearing, tobacco chewin' redneck showed up a press conference to disrupt things, would he joke that the security concern was typical and it "wouldn't be Alberta without it". Would he pick a negative stereotypical bias about another region of Canada and try it out on a crowd (of business leaders as in this case)

This is a great example of the little language attacks that people play out to devalue and invalidate you (or a province in this case). In a single quip he managed to write-off all political protest coming from BC as "jokeable and not serious", as well as continuing the whole BC-bias the rest of Canada plays up to our disadvantage

*makes a doobie smoking motion with my fingers - were from BC, man*.

No protests in BC should be taken seriously, right?

Having your press conference disrupted by someone willing to risk a criminal charge for their belief's is not laughable. Many, many people died for that protesters ability to do so. Dismissing a protest as unimportant is equally as offensive.

Furthering and strengthening invalidating biases. Stephen Harper is saying - anything that comes out of BC in the future is just hippie talk.

So BC'ers. Next time you're out driving in your VW van, smoking pot and adjusting your Birkenstocks on your way to yet-another "quote un-quote so called important" protest - remember that the leader of the country classes you at that description, and should you have anything to protest about in the future, it's going to be taken just as seriously because you're just a granola muncher.

Something to think about considering how much protesting will be going on in the near future against one of Mr Harper's pet projects. Just warming us up to be invalidated by the rest of the country (jobs and the economy vs BC hippies - no real issue at stake here) ;)

I've seen many press conferences interrupted over the years and it's the leaders and speakers who validate and address the concerns of the protesters or speak to them that get my respect (non-violent). Stephen Harper is truly afraid of these protesters and it shows. This also reminds me of the movie Godfather II when Hyman Roth dismisses and laughs at the Cuban Rebels as nothing but a passing phase. A few days later and a Revolution happened.

Also something to think about - the business leaders applauded when the protesters were removed. How many of their fathers fought in the great wars I wonder?

[alfred2]

WHAT N IDIOTIC POST,he was making a joke and making ano big deal. He ia right there does seem to be a lot of out of work protester.

[LoneWolf_53]

I second the second post. Much ado about nothing!

[Hassel99]

He's not wrong. (about bc)

[Captain Awesome]

Stereotypes exist for a reason.

Yawn.

[Steve-O]

In regards to the OP: it wouldn't be Castanet without it.

[grammafreddy]

Some people are just tooooooo sensitive.

I thought it was funny.

[GoStumpy]

Are you kidding me? TWO 30 second commercials?? Stupid CBC :p

[bob vernon]

Harper might have been joking about BC and also about the climate activists who managed to get near him. But once he left the stage, where he'd been fed cream puff questions from the head of the Chamber of Commerce, you can be sure that he was pretty ticked off at his security. With the level of hostility towards Harper growing, this security lapse was a fortunate wake-up call. Those kids could have been armed with something stronger than posters.

And Harper's performances where he only accepts scripted questions is getting tiresome. No media questions, only scripted questions that have been approved by him in advance. Just an attempt to manipulate the public more and more. And sadly, it works for a lot of Canadians who just don't pay enough attention to what's going on.

[KL3-Something]

If it wasn't true it wouldn't have been funny.

BC is, after all, at the far left end of the country.

[jimmy4321]

I think the only real story is the lack of security-that won't happen twice.

[logicalview]

I think the only real story is the lack of security-that won't happen twice.

The two idiots who jumped on the stage were released almost immediately and of course, had the CBC salivating all over them to get an interview. So what was the lesson learned? Jump on stage and make an *bleep* of yourself, and you become a celebrity. So yes, it will probably happen again. What needs to happen is that the RCMP should pluck the "gun-toting, lumberjacket wearing, tobacco chewin' redneck" from Atomoa's fevered radical leftist imagination and put him in charge of dealing with climate change myth promoting hippy losers who jump on stage during public appearances by the PM. THAT I would pay to watch, and finally, there would be some consequences to these scumbags and their stupid actions.

[logicalview]

Also something to think about - the business leaders applauded when the protesters were removed. How many of their fathers fought in the great wars I wonder?

I did think about it, and I decided that their fathers fought in the war to preserve democracy, not to have it circumvented by brain-washed idiots jumping on stage during a public interview.

[Atomoa]

Preserving democracy. Democracies main component is having the ability to protest and address grievances at inconvenient times. As long as it's non violent it's valid. Any attempt to say otherwise is a attempt at circumventing democracy.

How about criminalizing democracy?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senator ... -1.2489078

In any case, some interesting comments and thanks for that.

I agree the comment wasn't a obvious, direct insult. Too sensitive? Perhaps if I was taking it at face value, sure.

I was speaking more towards the disrespect for democracy and dissent by the current government and also touching on the "little word wars" people play out.

The pipeline debate is Stephen Harper's biggest fear right now. That little pot shot, the continued playing out in the public political forum of BC as a bunch of granola hippies is regional propaganda than invalidates your current or future concerns and dissent with a little joke.

You learn a lot of you really listen to the words people use.

Interesting that Stephen Harper didn't play up the "positive" stereotype of BC. That everyone awesome in Canada flocks here. We are active, healthy, informed, educated and socially conscience and enthusiastic. Considering he needs votes out here...he could have easily said that with such active, conscience and mobile population in BC it's no surprise that people are motivated and want really want to chat with him (har har). Instead he took a pot shot and the "business leaders" applauded as democracy was carried out of the room.

[Captain Awesome]

Democracy means no humor. Of any kind. Ever.