I attended the Conservative pep rally; it was an experience. I attended partly out of curiosity (voyeurism), and partly out of excitement for the upcoming election. I was excited to see the Prime Minister, and the energy in the room was contagious. It was standing room only around a stage framed by checkered blue and white election signs. A large Canadian flag back dropped the Prime Minister, along with the youngest members of the crowd centred in front of the cameras.
Let's start with my entrance. I preregistered for the event online, shortly after it was announced in order to get a place. Immediately upon entering, I was greeted by two young men and a dozen OPP officers scattered around the lobby. "Hi, I'm here for the Stephen Harper Rally". I must have sounded like the biggest Conservative noob, not to mention the twinges of red in my shirt.
"Yup, just over there to the left. But you'll have to check your bag first", said the gangliest of the two young Conservative hosts. I checked my bag at the hotel's front desk, and proceeded to the long line of tables staffed by, what seemed to be, the oldest members of the Conservative community. They all smiled at me; maybe because I was one of the youngest people there and I might be ushering in a new wave of conservative values among youth. I wasn't there for that, but it's always nice to be thought of with potential.
As I approached the ballroom entrance, I was about to burst with excitement. So, I asked an authoritative man which way the washroom was. As I left the washroom, I felt out of place; as if everyone could tell I didn't absolutely care about the Conservative agenda. My suspicions were confirmed.
"Excuse me, can I speak to you for a moment", the same man who directed me to the washroom now blocked my path with an out stretched arm, "You have been recognized by one of the staff, and we just need to make sure you're safe to enter".
I replied, "Oh ok, that's fine. I have a small political blog, it's not partisan. It's just a hobby. I'm not a socialist or anything"
He said, "do you know Brent?"
"No, who is that?"
"Well he says he recognizes you from somewhere. Do you belong to the party?"
"No, I don't belong to any Party, I'm just here as part of the public. Is that ok?"
He smiled, and asked me to come with him. He took me outside the registration area into the lobby, to the information desk. Two other girls from my geography class had been corralled as well. Apparently, one of the girls had been flagged in the "system" by the RCMP. She protested that she had never been involved in any conflicts, and there was no reason to suggest she should not be allowed entry. She was denied. The young lady and gentleman staffing the table inquired if she had joined any Facebook groups that might have had suggested different intentions. Is this how the Conservatives screen participants? Through harvesting the names of people who "like" Facebook pages with anti-Conservative sentiment? I picture hundreds of young Conservative volunteers combing through their friend lists and blacklisting people who share, "Can this Onion Ring Get More Fans Than Stephen Harper?". Or maybe they have a computer program that does that.
Anyways, the elusive Brent came to the information desk and greeted me with a firm handshake. He asked what my name was, and then how it was spelled. He also asked me what my website's url was, and then how it was spelled. It all seemed very formal. Brent turned to the young staffer at the information desk and they both played on his laptop. I can only guess what they were looking up. Although, I'm pretty sure they just searched my name on Google. Perhaps, it was some Conservative database of blacklisted rally participants or the RCMP's terrorist database. Who knows? But I'm pretty sure I saw the Google logo in the top corner of the screen. Besides, if it was Google, the top link is "Ben Baena and Son Custom Drapery".
After the laptop scan, I was clear to enter. "He seems ok to enter", Brent whispered in the other man's ear. "Ok, you can go ahead," the man confirmed. There is something about blue blazers that confirms authority, especially when generic sizes are made to fit everyone. There is an ill-fitting consistency.
The ballroom quickly filled up with middle aged, ethnic majorities, while ACDC and Def Leopard played over the speakers. I was handed a pair of noise makers which I greedily accepted (collector's item?), and joined the hurrah. Everyone sang O'Canada and Marty Burke, the local Conservative candidate, offered a brief introduction to Stephen Harper.
Harper captivated his audience as he touched briefly on several key aspects of the Conservative platform and budget. At some points it was like a rock concert; Harper would call out to the audience and everyone would chant back. Behind Harper, framed under the Canadian flag, were a collection of the youngest members of the crowd. Homemade signs were held up by the youth in the camera's background and seemingly jeered at the end of every sentence. Harper emphasized taking care of the men and women serving overseas as top priority, along with protecting a fragile economy. The room was in love. It's an empowering spectacle to see fresh faced teenage boys in power suits, tiptoeing on chairs at the back of the room. Plaid socks peeking out from beneath pleated trousers.
Despite the large student rally outside the Delta, Harper failed to recognized the University of Guelph, or its students. Then again, there was practically no visible student presence in the crowd. Harper also failed to take questions. Not even pre-written, soft-ball questions from audience members. Did the "5 questions" policy, turn into the "no questions" policy?
One contention I have with the student rally was the choice of colour. I know it was unavoidable to pick anything other than red and white because those are the colours on the Canadian flag. It was promoted as a non-partisan event, which it was in spirit and action, but the colour red represents the Liberal opposition. And long after the majority of people left, several remained and chanted anti-Conservative slogans. This positive event was spectacular, but maybe everyone should have dressed in white and purple(?), or if everyone had a golden morphsuit (that would be rockin'). Whatever the case, the organizers did a tremendous job of spreading a positive message towards youth engagement in the democratic process. Perhaps Stephen Harper avoided student issues to spite the rally he viewed as entirely Liberal in nature, and critical of the Conservatives.
For more information:
The Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136219283116796&index=1
Media Coverage: CBC Politics
It's not very Canadian to say so but there's more than a hint of faschist tendencies in Harper's government ("if you're not with us, you're against us";" we are right, not the ones before us, nor the ones who are not us, i.e., Liberals")
ReplyDeleteTo quote Franklin Roosevelt:
"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. ”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Recommendations Relative to the Strengthening and Enforcement of Anti-trust Laws"[9][10]
thank you for your input. I think it still a strong stretch to equate Harper's Conservatives with fascism. Secrecy and fascism are two different things. My only experience of fascism is through anecdotes of Nazis' and North Korea, so I cant draw a full connection to Stephen Harper's Conservatives. Less transparent maybe, less tolerate maybe. but not fascist.
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