A black man was jogging in a Georgia community two years ago, and that was suspicious enough for three white men to chase after him in a confrontation that led to him being shot to death. All three were recently convicted, including being found guilty of federal hate crimes. As this story played out in the media, I was reminded of the movie In the Heat of the Night, in which police were following up on a crime, saw a black man sitting in the railroad station (waiting for a train) and promptly arrested him for the crime.
0 Comments
For those tired of hearing about COVID cases, anti-vaxxers, and the Ottawa insurrection, let me share some quite different news stories. Hank the Tank (photo from New York Times, Feb 21, 2022) This is the name given to the 500 pound bear that has broken into more than two dozen homes in California, devouring available food and making quite a mess in the process. [Hank the Tank, a 500-pound bear, ransacks a California community | The Star] Hank’s food forays have obviously been quite successful since his weight is double that of an average black bear in the American west. Authorities have been unable to catch Hank and are now contemplating euthanasia. Interestingly, local residents are opposed to such a step, claiming that Hank is gentle and sweet (at 500 pounds, he better be) and far more interested in food than any people who may be in a house he invades. Just over half a century ago (October 1970) another Canadian Prime Minister named Trudeau invoked emergency legislation and declared a state of apprehended insurrection to give the police additional powers of arrest and detention. This action was in response to a request from the Quebec Premier and was to address the unlawful activities of a separatist group known as the FLQ – activities that included the kidnapping of a British diplomat from his home in Montreal and the kidnapping and murder of a Quebec Cabinet Minister.
According to media reports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has just invoked the current emergency legislation (Emergencies Act (justice.gc.ca) to deal with the continued trucker blockade in Ottawa and, presumably, other illegal protests across the country, particularly at border crossings. Unlike the earlier crisis, there has not been any kidnapping or loss of life, but in other ways the current crisis is equally troubling in revealing how ill-prepared Canada is to defend itself against an insurrection. In a blog in late 2020 (Richard Tindal Blog - Tindal on Government (weebly.com), I lamented the increased dumbing down of the public and the lies and wacky conspiracy theories that now proliferate, prompting dysfunctional behaviour and an increasing breakdown of law and order. It is a strange and disturbing paradox that an increasingly educated population seems also to be increasingly stupid and quick to embrace whatever conspiracy theory is currently fashionable. |
AuthorC. Richard Tindal, Ph.D is a retired Professor of Government. He taught for 30 years at St. Lawrence College, Kingston and was an occasional Visiting Professor at Queen's University. He has also written and consulted extensively about government. Archives
October 2023
Categories |