Polio & The Queen, a match made in a back room.
07/09/07 11:23 AM
Polio and The Queen
A Mr. David Onley became the latest representative of The Queen in Ontario this day. Mr. Onley is by all appearances a decent man and I am certain that he will not embarrass the citizens of Ontario nor the Queen whom he purportedly represents during his tenure.
Mr. Onley is the latest example of a good idea gone horribly wrong and would perhaps be the last if there were any politicians active today who had any sense of decorum or responsibility. Mr. Onley, a victim of childhood polio who rides a nifty little scooter to navigate any distance and can stand and walk a very few feet with the aid of a cane, is a former Television talking head who is very familiar to Toronto viewers of the local chapter of City TV.
He has pledged to dedicate his term in office to expanding computer literacy amongst Ontario’s proud native people’s legion of youth. A noble cause chosen, we are certain, with noble intent.
Mr. Onley’s predecessor, a Mr. James Bartleman, was distinguished as the first native (read aboriginal) person to attain this lofty office in Ontario. An issue grabbing appointment choice just recently duplicated in BC I am told.
This all follows the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada not long ago, a former Television news talking head of recent Chinese immigrant lineage. Ms. Clarkson was hailed as a sterling example of tolerance and inclusiveness and touted as a credit to her “race”.
Her successor in the job of representing the Queen in Canada was one Michaelle Jean, a former Television talking head from Quebec who was herself a recent immigrant from Haiti and boasted ties to slave ancestors.
Does anyone else detect a pattern here?
Roland Michener, Jeanne Sauve’, Ed Schreyer, Hilary Weston, Vincent Massey, Georges Vanier, et al should be rolling in their graves or sending back their purple sashes in outrage at the blatant dilution of the requirements for one of the most prestigious political offices in the land.
It is hard not to envision the earnest selection committee searching in vain for the perfectly “correct candidate” with the perfect optics. One can be forgiven for speculating on their disappointment when they discovered that Michaelle Jean was not confined to a wheelchair.
Mr. Onley seems to be a decent man, the fact that he had to dip into the bag of tricks more commonly used by beauty contest entrants for his “mission” is just sad and a reflection on the carny sideshow the office has become rather then on his intentions. One must suppose that combatting computer illiteracy amongst our proud native youth is the Canadian equivalent of “ I want to work with disadvantaged children when I grow up Monty” which is uttered breathlessly by 90% of those airhead wannabe Beauty contest queens.
I am of an age that remembers well the scourge of Polio in this country. Pools were closed, going to school was a crapshoot and organized sporting events were sparsely attended. The Ex was avoided as a hotbed of disease carrying fellow citizens.
I have tried in vain to explain to my daughters how difficult it was to go and visit a friend who was spending all of their time in an Iron Lung and had to look at you through a little mirror. It was tough going for those kids who came down with this disease. I applaud all of them who made it through.
I don’t think for a minute however that surviving a bout of Polio is a decent criteria for being appointed to be the Lt. Governor of Ontario. Not one minute. Nor is the ability to read a teleprompter while looking straight into the camera while giving the weather forecast. Nor is it an acceptable criteria to just be a victim of something, anything.
Appointing someone to these offices because of their race, their colour, their sympathy factor or the degree of their claim to victimhood, whether or not they personally use that in their lives, is the absolute height of political pandering and should be loudly condemned and stopped. Or the Institution’s themselves should be abolished.
Sorry David, I wish you luck but to the folks who gave you this job you are nothing but a cliche. I only hope that you can rise above it and do some real good on some real issues. The pathetic Ontarians’ with Disabilities Act would be a great place to start.
This is very, very sad.
30
A Mr. David Onley became the latest representative of The Queen in Ontario this day. Mr. Onley is by all appearances a decent man and I am certain that he will not embarrass the citizens of Ontario nor the Queen whom he purportedly represents during his tenure.
Mr. Onley is the latest example of a good idea gone horribly wrong and would perhaps be the last if there were any politicians active today who had any sense of decorum or responsibility. Mr. Onley, a victim of childhood polio who rides a nifty little scooter to navigate any distance and can stand and walk a very few feet with the aid of a cane, is a former Television talking head who is very familiar to Toronto viewers of the local chapter of City TV.
He has pledged to dedicate his term in office to expanding computer literacy amongst Ontario’s proud native people’s legion of youth. A noble cause chosen, we are certain, with noble intent.
Mr. Onley’s predecessor, a Mr. James Bartleman, was distinguished as the first native (read aboriginal) person to attain this lofty office in Ontario. An issue grabbing appointment choice just recently duplicated in BC I am told.
This all follows the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada not long ago, a former Television news talking head of recent Chinese immigrant lineage. Ms. Clarkson was hailed as a sterling example of tolerance and inclusiveness and touted as a credit to her “race”.
Her successor in the job of representing the Queen in Canada was one Michaelle Jean, a former Television talking head from Quebec who was herself a recent immigrant from Haiti and boasted ties to slave ancestors.
Does anyone else detect a pattern here?
Roland Michener, Jeanne Sauve’, Ed Schreyer, Hilary Weston, Vincent Massey, Georges Vanier, et al should be rolling in their graves or sending back their purple sashes in outrage at the blatant dilution of the requirements for one of the most prestigious political offices in the land.
It is hard not to envision the earnest selection committee searching in vain for the perfectly “correct candidate” with the perfect optics. One can be forgiven for speculating on their disappointment when they discovered that Michaelle Jean was not confined to a wheelchair.
Mr. Onley seems to be a decent man, the fact that he had to dip into the bag of tricks more commonly used by beauty contest entrants for his “mission” is just sad and a reflection on the carny sideshow the office has become rather then on his intentions. One must suppose that combatting computer illiteracy amongst our proud native youth is the Canadian equivalent of “ I want to work with disadvantaged children when I grow up Monty” which is uttered breathlessly by 90% of those airhead wannabe Beauty contest queens.
I am of an age that remembers well the scourge of Polio in this country. Pools were closed, going to school was a crapshoot and organized sporting events were sparsely attended. The Ex was avoided as a hotbed of disease carrying fellow citizens.
I have tried in vain to explain to my daughters how difficult it was to go and visit a friend who was spending all of their time in an Iron Lung and had to look at you through a little mirror. It was tough going for those kids who came down with this disease. I applaud all of them who made it through.
I don’t think for a minute however that surviving a bout of Polio is a decent criteria for being appointed to be the Lt. Governor of Ontario. Not one minute. Nor is the ability to read a teleprompter while looking straight into the camera while giving the weather forecast. Nor is it an acceptable criteria to just be a victim of something, anything.
Appointing someone to these offices because of their race, their colour, their sympathy factor or the degree of their claim to victimhood, whether or not they personally use that in their lives, is the absolute height of political pandering and should be loudly condemned and stopped. Or the Institution’s themselves should be abolished.
Sorry David, I wish you luck but to the folks who gave you this job you are nothing but a cliche. I only hope that you can rise above it and do some real good on some real issues. The pathetic Ontarians’ with Disabilities Act would be a great place to start.
This is very, very sad.
30
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