The temerity of some people is astounding.
I was amazed to watch the following story on the news last night, describing the heckling and jeering crowds that greeted Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson’s tour of Vancouver’s notorious Downtown east side.
Here is the complete text of the CBC website story:
Protesters heckle governor general on tour of Vancouver — Last Updated Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:43:36 EDT VANCOUVER - Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson was greeted by noisy protesters on Tuesday as she toured Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods.
Surrounded by police and politicians, Clarkson and husband John Ralston Saul made their way down Hastings Street. They visited the city’s safe injection site, a dental clinic and a bottle recycling depot.
But the protesters dismissed the tour as a photo opportunity for politicians, saying Clarkson was getting a sanitized version of what the neighbourhood is really like.
Spokesperson David Cunningham said the Governor General should see what poverty really looks like, and visit the area’s homeless shelters, food bank lineups and residential hotels.
“Here we are now giving her the opportunity for a tour of the Downtown Eastside, and she chooses to surround herself with politicians and police officers and refuses to accept our invitation,” he said.
“So I think her action speaks out louder than her words.”
Clarkson defended her visit, pointing out that she has visited other poor neighbourhoods across Canada.
The Governor General should be visiting people, she added, “no matter who they are, no matter what they do, and witnessing what their lives are.”
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell said if protesters don’t like him, they can vote for someone else in November.
These protesters should get something straight: Canada is a nation of infinite compassion, but we are NOT a nation of confrontation. Of all the things residents of the Downtown east side could possibly protest, why would they ever turn against an individual who has used her office to promote so many good works across Canada? Ms. Clarkson may have a reputation for being snobbish and having a taste for the good life, but we’re not talking about Conrad Black, for god’s sake!
She has done more as Governor-General than most of her predecessors combined. She has visited and promoted all parts of this country, taken it upon herself to support the arts, and speak on many occasions for those who have no voice — or are seldom heard — in the national discourse. How many other G-G’s have visited Canada’s slum areas? How many other Heads of State are capable of drawing attention to problem areas in such a manner? I don’t see George W. Bush visiting American’s ghettos and slums…after all, there’s no one to bomb in such places, and no votes to be gained.
So here’s some free advice to the overly-pompous, self-righteous residents of the Vancouver’s downtown east side: if you don’t like Ms. Clarkson’s visit, keep protesting. That will ensure that NO ONE ever takes an interest in your community, and you can spend the rest of eternity suffering in silence. You can be smug in the knowledge that, once you drive away ALL of your support, you can sit back and continue to degenerate and disintegrate in silence.
Rant over.
