Morphing Tragedy into Terror: the Harper Agenda

Canada won’t be cowed by terrorism, or by a draconian response to its threat

The Ottawa shooting requires a measured reaction. We won’t let this society be divided into ‘us and them’

• • Emer O’Toole
  • theguardian.com, Thursday 23 October 2014 04.33 ED

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly.

-from “Masters of War”   by Bob Dylan

 

I found Harper’s speech after the Ottawa incident revolting, not to mention the fact that it was plagiarizing Bush’s 911 speech to a great extent..
No matter all the international chatter, this was not jihad come to Ottawa, this was the lunatic action of a troubled man who had obviously sent out lots of signals that he was prepared to do something suicidal..since so many Canadian politicians, after the fact, are stating that they were ‘briefed’ that something would happen…that something, in my mind, was a reaction to Canada granting Malala honourary citizenship status, as they had for Mandela and the Dalai Lama..
Harper expropriated the rhetoric of other war mongers and seemed to almost preen with satisfaction at the events, since he thinks they bolster his fear-mongering, which in turn plays to his fewer and fewer supporters…
This was not Canada’s 911, but it was an example of what can happen in any country that agrees to aid and abet the Western mythologizing of war as a valid response to their corporate supporters’ fears.  And sadly, a young man had to die….and three more in Quebec…never mind the so-called terrorists, don’t let Harper win.