Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
The Canadian elections and the phony gun-crime epidemic
The terrible shooting death of an innocent bystander over the Christmas holiday has been fashioned by the media and the mainstream political parties as a key issue in the current federal election. Cynically exploiting this senseless killing, the parties and the corporate media have whipped up public alarm and advanced a common call for the strengthening of the repressive powers of the state to deal with a purported epidemic of gun crimes.
The shooting, which reportedly involved two gangs comprised of immigrant youth, took place at midday in a busy shopping district in downtown Toronto on December 26. Six people were wounded and a 15-year-old girl killed. Two men, aged 20 and 17, have been charged in connection with the Boxing Day incident, although no one has yet been charged with the shootings themselves.
Coming only days after the fatal shooting of a female Quebec police officer, which was also given national media attention, the Toronto shooting has been used to create the perception of a veritable crime wave in Canada’s cities, with the Conservatives, to the applause of much of the press, charging that the Liberals are the first government in Canadian history to have failed to ensure the safety of the country’s streets and the Liberals and the New Democratic Party seeking to prove their own bona fides as champions of law and order.
That the politicians should adopt such tactics is far from surprising, but it is a development which should nevertheless be exposed for its sinister implications.
The law-and-order campaign must be understood as part of an international assault on democratic rights and drive for increased police powers that is being justified on the grounds of the need to fight international terrorism and to move away from “failed” liberal approaches to crime that stress rehabilitation. As an election maneuver, the championing of the “law and order” issue must also be seen as an effort to distract attention from deepening social decline and implicitly to direct public frustration, anger and anxiety over the increasing stresses of contemporary life against poor immigrants. That such a reactionary, demagogic appeal—one that in the last election had little resonance with voters—is now being touted by the press as a potential “wedge” issue for the Conservatives reflects the degeneration and rightward turn of official politics.
More
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/cana-j17.shtml
Coming only days after the fatal shooting of a female Quebec police officer, which was also given national media attention, the Toronto shooting has been used to create the perception of a veritable crime wave in Canada’s cities, with the Conservatives, to the applause of much of the press, charging that the Liberals are the first government in Canadian history to have failed to ensure the safety of the country’s streets and the Liberals and the New Democratic Party seeking to prove their own bona fides as champions of law and order.
That the politicians should adopt such tactics is far from surprising, but it is a development which should nevertheless be exposed for its sinister implications.
The law-and-order campaign must be understood as part of an international assault on democratic rights and drive for increased police powers that is being justified on the grounds of the need to fight international terrorism and to move away from “failed” liberal approaches to crime that stress rehabilitation. As an election maneuver, the championing of the “law and order” issue must also be seen as an effort to distract attention from deepening social decline and implicitly to direct public frustration, anger and anxiety over the increasing stresses of contemporary life against poor immigrants. That such a reactionary, demagogic appeal—one that in the last election had little resonance with voters—is now being touted by the press as a potential “wedge” issue for the Conservatives reflects the degeneration and rightward turn of official politics.
More
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/cana-j17.shtml
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$230.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network