Fringe Benefits

What started out a flippant tweet inspired by my Tweep @impolitical on Thursday, morphed into a column, then an avalanche of email, a Facebook group, a blogburst and maybe, just in time for the expected federal election, a movement!

So far, we have 700 members ... and counting.

Here's the column, published on Friday, with annotations and links.

I'm thinking of making T-shirts: "Proud to be a member of that `left-wing fringe group' called `Women.'"

They'd be pink, of course, for socialism – and also for the pink triangle, the badge the Nazis made gays and lesbians wear before shipping them off to the camps.

We already have a draft design, compliments of Francesca Dobbyn, who describes herself as ''Executive Director of the United Way of Bruce Grey, activist, feminist, artist, mother, child and most importantly: a work in progress.'' We also have plenty of offers from other graphically-gifted grrrls (and boys).

Oh, and we decided black would be more flattering -- but the graphics and writing would be pink.

Thanks to Prime Minster Stephen Harper, those T-shirts will make me rich!

Well, no actually -- although I have received something like 1,000 requests. Hence the Facebook group. It is just too much!

Also, I am stepping away from this, as it would not really be appropriate for me to get into the t-shirt business, or to be actively involved. So I have handed it off to others, and we're lining up a charity for fundraising. More on that below, and later -- when there is news.

So props to you, P.M., for letting down your hair, and your guard, last week at that not-so-closed-door speech in Sault Ste. Marie.

Thank you for finally admitting that your government shut down the Court Challenges program in 2006 not just because, as then-Heritage Minister Bev Oda claimed in Parliament, you "recognize the importance of women" but because you believe that that women's rights are "left-wing fringe" rights.

Truth is, you only "recognize the importance" of some of the women some of the time. Members of fringe groups such as R.E.A.L. Women, which opposes women's rights and same-sex rights, plus just about everything that doesn't hew to the "family values" one-man, one-stay-at-home-woman and lots-of-babies fantasy.

But they are not "fringe" to you, Prime Minister. At least not judging from how everything your government attempts to do comes right out of R.E.A.L. Women's playbook. So thank you for, once again, opening that not-so-hidden agenda, the one that you would impose if you ever won a majority government.

The agenda that thinks women's work is not as valuable as men's.

The agenda that would treat lesbians and gays as less than equal.

The agenda that would curb the rights of people with disabilities.

The agenda that would discriminate on the basis of race and religion.

The agenda that would leave women without reproductive freedom.

That's because that Court Challenges program your government deemed "wasteful," was, according to its website, "a national non-profit organization which was set up in 1994 to provide financial assistance for important court cases that advance language and equality rights guaranteed under Canada's Constitution."

Not just "important" cases, but landmark cases, many fought by LEAF, the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund – a group clearly overrun by rabid fringe feminists.

They intervened in "left-wing fringe" court cases such as Torres v. Minto Management (2002), which prevented a landlord from increasing a single mother's rent by 41 per cent just because her husband had left the building.

Then there was the "left-wing fringe" case The Queen v. Keegstra (1990), which kept a Holocaust denier from teaching his anti- Semitic ideas to Alberta schoolchildren.

Or how about that "left-wing fringe" case Brooks v. Safeway (1989), which forced employers not to discriminate against pregnant staffers.

And here you are, Mr. Harper, such a champion of "childcare choices" that, last week, you boasted of your government's failure to create a single daycare space.

"We need to win a majority," you told your enthusiastic audience. "If we do not win a majority, this government will have a Liberal government propped up by the socialists and the separatists."

And later, you added: "Imagine how many left-wing ideologues they would be putting in the courts."

Frankly, I think more Canadians would find the alternative a scarier proposition.

Finally, thank you for revealing your nasty, petty and vindictive side, the one that you batten down when you know the cameras are on you.

Maybe, while you're scrapping the gun registry, you could start one for cellphone cameras so, next time, nobody in your audience can tape you, and then leak the videos to CBC.

So, anyway, I'm thinking of adding shimmy-shimmy-shake fringe to the T-shirts.

Rich! Rich I tell ya!

(Marketing types can contact me at my email address below.)

As I mentioned, I have passed the torch to others. If you're on Facebook, join us. (Supportive men are welcome. Trolls will be banned.) If you can help, let us know.

And stay tuned for the name of the cause and where you can buy that t-shirt.

(A hat tip to Scott Tribe for sending me the Hollywoodized edited version of Harper's speech. (A full-length version is here.))

UPPITY WOMEN DATE: For some reason, I am suddenly reminded of this...

Back during the big referendum battle of 1980, an insulting comment about federalist women might have made the difference between the Oui and Non sides:

It was early March 1980. René Lévesque’s separatist government had just tabled in the Québec National Assembly its long, muddled up, deliberately ambiguous referendum question. Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals had been re-elected in February following Jos Clark’s defeat. Claude Ryan was the Leader of the Opposition in Québec. Unfortunetely, the federalist forces were nowhere to be seen or heard. All what one could see or hear was about voting “Yes” to the question and to separation. The “No” camp was a complete vacuum. It was just terrible to watch.

On March 9, the péquiste Minister of the Status of Women (Lise Payette), formerly a well-known TV personality, while attacking in the Assemblée nationale the sexism of schoolbooks – the nice and docile little “Yvette” who always helps at home – concluded that the Leader of the Opposition in charge of the “No” forces loved women who were “Yvettes”, submissive women, as was his wife, Madeleine. Those in favour of separation applauded, while women in the “No” camp, insulted, took note. Still nothing was happening in the fight against separation.

It is then that a small group of unknown grassroot Liberal women organizers from Québec City decided, without a word, “to take over”, using to the federalist advantage this unbelievable political gaffe against women. The “Yvettes” were born.

All by themselves, with no money and no paid publicity, they organized on March 30 a first brunch in Québec City; 1,700 women of all walks of life came. The initiative caught women’s imagination like a bush fire. On April 7, they were 14,000 at the Montreal Forum. Everywhere in the province, they started expressing in their own words their passion for Canada. Many had never participated in anything political.

Here's the report from CBC's archives.

More here. And here.

Just saying.

Comments

[sooey]

A little prayer: Please gawd let the Liberals realize that Stephen Harper led himself and his party to defeat and that Canadians will mutiny if the Liberals respond as if they won because we like them - we really like them.

[The Stygian and his Shemitish Dogs]

Esteemed and Beautiful Moderator,

But how much do the Liberals REALLY care about women?

Right on cue, from Hedy Fry:

http://stevejanke.com/archives/292234.php

Scroll down to

"Double standards on that gender thing: The question of Hedy Fry and gender issues is on my mind because I discovered this curious piece of artwork by Zac Mallett, Hedy Fry's media director:"

If the Conservatives really want to go for the jugular this one will get as much publicity as the T-Shirt above. And probably more women would (secretly and sadly) identify with the image included therein. Interesting .....

[fern hill]

My sweetie brought up a good point -- many, many men support and love members of that left-wing fringe group called women. He wants a t-shirt too, but obviously is not a member of the group.

How about a variant for the guys? For the first F-word Blog awards, we had a category called 'Support Bro'. Something like that?

[Yoga Girl]

Hi Antonia...please make sure the shirts are available in women's cuts/sizes, instead of just the usual man-shape-shirts!!!!

[Anne JW]

I remember an editorial cartoon that pictured someone (probably Rene L himself?)saying "Yvette?" and getting in response "Non." Can anyone give more info?

[Antonia]

I bet that was Terry Mosher (Aislin)!

http://www.aislin.com/index2.html

[Kaitlin Blanchard]

Antonia,

Thanks for this. Stephen Harper is a menace to "left wing fringe" groups everywhere. Since when did women, LGBT and the disabled become special interest groups? I would really like to know...

Kaitlin

[fern hill]

The virtual guys' version is ready to roll. http://scathinglywrongrightwingnutz.blogspot.com/2009/09/ok-guys-heres-your-chance.html

I still think an actual guys' version would be excellent.

[The Stygian and his Shemitish Dogs]

A Chaitlin,

"Since when did women ...... become special interest groups?

Because not all women are included, just "feministically correct" ones. Do actually check out the Hedy Fry link. And I note: "please make sure the shirts are available in women's cuts/sizes, instead of just the usual man-shape-shirts!!!!"

[fern hill]

Can someone tell me why Stigma-man continues to address AZ as 'moderator'? Does he not know that Star blogs are not moderated by their authors? Or is this just another example of his general dimmitude?