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Les Armstrong's racist FB post
#1
So, what did everybody think of his apology last night during the Regional Council meeting? Has anybody seen and BIPOC reaction to it and if it was seen as acceptable?

Also, this link https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/donati...go-to-dnc/ debunks the video that Armstrong posted.
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#2
(06-25-2020, 12:17 PM)Bytor Wrote: So, what did everybody think of his apology last night during the Regional Council meeting? Has anybody seen and BIPOC reaction to it and if it was seen as acceptable?

Also, this link https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/donati...go-to-dnc/ debunks the video that Armstrong posted.

I had to look it up because I didn’t know what happened. My first impression is that he’s in a very rural community, and has a very ‘white’ population in that township, so he likely doesn’t understand why BLM. It doesn’t make him racist though, it simply makes him tone deaf and ignorant.

Wilmot Township has 115 blacks out of 20,000+ people, or about 0.6%, while Waterloo Region itself has over 15,000+ black residents out of 527,000, or about 3%.
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#3
(06-25-2020, 12:41 PM)jeffster Wrote:
(06-25-2020, 12:17 PM)Bytor Wrote: So, what did everybody think of his apology last night during the Regional Council meeting? Has anybody seen and BIPOC reaction to it and if it was seen as acceptable?

Also, this link https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/donati...go-to-dnc/ debunks the video that Armstrong posted.

I had to look it up because I didn’t know what happened. My first impression is that he’s in a very rural community, and has a very ‘white’ population in that township, so he likely doesn’t understand why BLM. It doesn’t make him racist though, it simply makes him tone deaf and ignorant.

Wilmot Township has 115 blacks out of 20,000+ people, or about 0.6%, while Waterloo Region itself has over 15,000+ black residents out of 527,000, or about 3%.

This might be true, but first, he is an elected official, he should be better.  Second, he has access to a wealth of information, he could educate himself, and he chose not too, and has doubled down after being called out.

Perhaps Wilmot is so white BECAUSE of people like Les...he's already affecting people's choice to move: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...ilmot.html, what less obvious decisions has he made as mayor which has limited the ability of more diverse groups from moving to Wilmot. This is why systemic racism is so incidious.
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#4
(06-25-2020, 01:18 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(06-25-2020, 12:41 PM)jeffster Wrote: I had to look it up because I didn’t know what happened. My first impression is that he’s in a very rural community, and has a very ‘white’ population in that township, so he likely doesn’t understand why BLM. It doesn’t make him racist though, it simply makes him tone deaf and ignorant.

Wilmot Township has 115 blacks out of 20,000+ people, or about 0.6%, while Waterloo Region itself has over 15,000+ black residents out of 527,000, or about 3%.

This might be true, but first, he is an elected official, he should be better.  Second, he has access to a wealth of information, he could educate himself, and he chose not too, and has doubled down after being called out.

Perhaps Wilmot is so white BECAUSE of people like Les...he's already affecting people's choice to move: https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...ilmot.html, what less obvious decisions has he made as mayor which has limited the ability of more diverse groups from moving to Wilmot. This is why systemic racism is so incidious.

You would think and actually hope he would be ‘educated’. He’s a politician too, they operate a certain way, say something stupid, ignore when complaints come in, double down when more complaints come in, then when those with a lot more clout than you say something, admit some fault, express a half-hearted apology, and blame it on being ignorant to facts.

My second impression is sort of what you say. There is systemic racism there in Wilmot, and you have the political leaders there to blame for a lot of it. And it likely bleeds into the general population as well. When those people move to Baden or New Hamburg, it’s just not to get away from the city. Not saying all of them move there for a certain reason, but I think a lot do.
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#5
The ACB Network of Waterloo Region has posted about it.

https://twitter.com/OfAcb/status/1276126283659907072
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#6
(06-25-2020, 12:41 PM)jeffster Wrote: It doesn’t make him racist though, it simply makes him tone deaf and ignorant.

There's this thing going on where being called racist is perceived as a massive insult. We need to stop that.

I'm racist, and willing to bet everyone born and raised in this part of the world at the same time I was is, and before, and almost certainly today. My kids are almost certainly racist.

I don't say that to insult us all, I say it because that's what systemic racism does. We are all living it and acclimatized to a racist society. We don't see all the ways in which we're racist, and that ignorance of our selves makes it really hard to make change.

I view it sort of like acknowledging that you're an addict. Acknowledging that you hold racist beliefs and perform racist actions is the first step towards change. It's the exact same situation with Jagmeet Singh and that Bloc MP. The act of being called racist is perceived as a far greater offence than whatever racist actions we did.

We are all racist. We are all sexist, too, and ableist. Our society programs prejudice into us.
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#7
(06-25-2020, 12:17 PM)Bytor Wrote: Has anybody seen and BIPOC reaction to it and if it was seen as acceptable?

As an Indigenous person, I think he should resign. A public official - a mayor, no less - should not say such ignorant and blatantly racist things and still hold office. A racist comment in the workplace is enough to get you fired, so why should someone elected to lead 20'000 people of all backgrounds get to keep his job? Not to mention, he straight up said he has no regrets about his actions and that claim people simply misinterpreted him. His "apology" was just to save face.
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#8
(06-25-2020, 03:55 PM)robdrimmie Wrote:
(06-25-2020, 12:41 PM)jeffster Wrote: It doesn’t make him racist though, it simply makes him tone deaf and ignorant.

There's this thing going on where being called racist is perceived as a massive insult. We need to stop that.

I'm racist, and willing to bet everyone born and raised in this part of the world at the same time I was is, and before, and almost certainly today. My kids are almost certainly racist.

I don't say that to insult us all, I say it because that's what systemic racism does. We are all living it and acclimatized to a racist society. We don't see all the ways in which we're racist, and that ignorance of our selves makes it really hard to make change.

I view it sort of like acknowledging that you're an addict. Acknowledging that you hold racist beliefs and perform racist actions is the first step towards change. It's the exact same situation with Jagmeet Singh and that Bloc MP. The act of being called racist is perceived as a far greater offence than whatever racist actions we did.

We are all racist. We are all sexist, too, and ableist. Our society programs prejudice into us.

Indeed!
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#9
For the unwashed, what did this guy post/apologize for?
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#10
(06-25-2020, 05:22 PM)panamaniac Wrote: For the unwashed, what did this guy post/apologize for?

He shared a "White Lives Matter" propaganda video on Facebook, then when he was called out for it, basically said he doesn't have any regrets and it was to spark conversation, whatever that is supposed to mean.
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#11
He also admitted to not looking into the video's allegations about BLM funding; they are false. Any public official who spreads misinformation needs to have their status reviewed.
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#12
Alas, I don't think any recall mechanism exists for elected municipal officials. If he feels no shame, he won't resign and he'll hang in until the next municipal election.
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#13
Most municipal oversight is done provincially, so maybe there's a mechanism in the municipal act for the Minister to dismiss an elected municipal official. Pretty unlikely with this government though.
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#14
(06-25-2020, 07:44 PM)KevinL Wrote: He also admitted to not looking into the video's allegations about BLM funding; they are false. Any public official who spreads misinformation needs to have their status reviewed.

(06-25-2020, 10:03 PM)jamincan Wrote: Most municipal oversight is done provincially, so maybe there's a mechanism in the municipal act for the Minister to dismiss an elected municipal official. Pretty unlikely with this government though.
Only on conviction for a criminal offence or for extended absence without leave, so , no, not in this case.
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#15
(06-25-2020, 08:56 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Alas, I don't think any recall mechanism exists for elected municipal officials. If he feels no shame, he won't resign and he'll hang in until the next municipal election.

And possibly be re-elected with a plurality. Thank you, First Past the Post!
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