I don't plan to leave this one alone.
Because Jason still doesn't get it. (Warren Kinsella also doesn't get it, but he is and will always remain a shit-eating little hack from Canada's most un-read newspaper).
You see, when you visit Jason Cherniak's blog you find a zillion Conservative trolls, and they'll use any kind of nasty language to drive their point home. I know, because I've often defended Jason against them, and for my trouble been called anything from a communist to a pedophile to a lover of expensive coffee. But Jason doesn't seem to have a problem with these people.
Now, a couple of days ago, young Thomas Hubert, a fellow Liberal, shows up on the blog and makes an entirely relevant point re. Canadian Jews and Israel, albeit employing some rather heated language. However, it should be noted that the language he used was no more offensive than anything else that appears on Cherniak on any given day of the week. This time, however, faced with another Liberal, Cherniak decides to give him the knife, a story told here and, no doubt, elsewhere on the Web.
To jump to the end, Thomas Hubert has left his position with the B.C. Young Liberals, and Jason is strutting about like the Church Lady doing her Superiority Dance.
You know, Cherniak's Liberal affiliations are plastered all over his blog. One would think, therefore, that it was in some sense a Liberal Blog--a place where other Liberal Bloggers can go and speak their minds in an open forum. But apparently, that freedom is allowed only to Jason's Conservative trolls. If you are a Liberal and you step out of line, Jason feeds you to the thought-police. Jason has had legal training, so I will leave to him to determine just how his behavior towards Thomas Hubert meets the definition of "entrapment".
Which begs the question, can Liberal Bloggers trust Jason Cherniak? You know, I have very little good to say about Blogging Tories , but I can't see them fucking one another over in this manner. Shame on you, Jason!
You appear to be suggesting that Liberals should not be criticized by Liberals, even if they say stupid/inflammatory/wrong/intolerant/etc things.
ReplyDeleteThis strikes me as a dishonest stance to take.
I'm a member of the CPC and I will often criticize CPC bloggers/politicians more harshly for their blunders than I will the Libs or NDP. When MY party does something dumbass it reflects on me, and so I take them to task because of it.
I appear to be suggesting no such thing. Liberals can always criticize Liberals. I, for example, have criticized at least four of the Lib Leadership candidates on my Blog, and often in the harshest possible terms.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a Blogging Tory do what Jason did to this guy, and I find his behavior shameful. As I say,Jason treats the Tories who visit his blog and slime the Liberal party better than he does 19 year old Liberal volounteers from B.C.
As much as Cherniak annoys me in this instance, I have always felt that one of his better qualities was that he always seemed quite sincere and was in fact difficult to get upset. The War, I am afraid, has made him loopy.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I agree with your comparison BCL.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Jason routinely lets very "heated" (as you put it) language go by. In fact, Hubert's comments went by without comment from him.
Second of all, as Jason points out, the only reason this particular comment is different is because the lad holds an official position in the Liberal Party. As such he is speaking for the Liberal Party or at least representing it. Think Klander.
Third of all, these were not just "heated" comments from an official of the Liberal Party, and he has not been dumped on (by Jason at least) for his Israel views as you suggest. He called Canadian Jews "violent Zionists", said "this community is so absurdly selfish" (which reminded me of Ross Perot talking to a group of blacks in the 1993 election and saying "you people need to realize"), and he called Israel "the most vile 'nation' in human history" (more "vile" I guess than Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Mao's China, Pinochet's Argentina, etc.) which obviously challenges Israel's right to exist at all (by putting nation in quotation marks). And not only does he think Hezbollah aren't terrorists, he thinks they are great "freedom fighters". (He also thinks Castro is one of history's greatest leaders, BTW.)
On Cerberus, I tolerate a lot of Israel-bashing, as stupid and shortsighted as I think that is. I even don't think Wrzesnewskyj should be kicked out of the party (although keeping his critics position doesn't make sense if actually did advocate Hezbollah be dropped from the terrorist list). But Hubert wasn't just commenting about the Middle East. He was making direct and negative comments about Canadian Jews and way-too-over-the-top comments about Israel.
And if he had been just any blogger, we wouldn't be talking about him now. But he held an official position in the Liberal Party and that makes a world of difference.
Ted
Cerberus
Indeed, Ted, your argument would be more convincing if Mr. Hubert hadn't been only the first in a chain of denunciations on Jason's part. The purge is apparently on.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I must say its big of you to allow Wrzesnewskyj to remain in the party.
As for being denounced, don't get greedy, I've already denounced you once. But feel free to denounce me. I mean that's the whole point of it, isn't it? Getting the old lynch mob together. It feels good.
The way in which you criticize is important. Hubert was an officer of the Liberal party and as VP communications his voice carries weight. There are many legitimate criticisms of Israel that can and should be made clearly and rationally. However merely spewing hatred such as calling it a "vile nation" and essentially praising the legacy of Hezbollah is over the top and outrageous. Had he argued that Israel should have shown restraint, should have worked with Lebanon, should not have engaged in a campaign to destroy civilian infrastructure, should not have used cluster bombs, or any other such legitimate criticism that would have been generally well received I think. However his statements show merely hate Israel; that is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteMichael, VP of whatever in the Liberal Youth Wing is not a position of power. I would like to think that the Libs have a better way of handling their young hot-heads.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I have never seen Jason go after a conservative, no matter what their "position of power", in the same fashion as he went after this schnook. Not that he couldn't; his blog gets all sorts of Net personalities within both parties. But he doesn't.
And as I say, he's got the taste of blood on his tongue now, and has started denouncing left right and center. I frankly hope Mr. Dion gives him a call, and Iggy calls the dude from TDS, and tells them to put it back in their pants.
Uh oh. It seems Cherniak has a little problem with making anti-semitic comments himself.
ReplyDelete