BEHIND ENEMY LINES: TWO FRIENDS CATCHING UP
Our intrepid spy in the field, AGENT ORANGE, has finally returned from another long extended stay in the field with more recorded conversations of average Torontonians in their day to day life.This conversation is between Emily (35) a married mother of two who lives in Etobicoke and Ashley (34), a single urban woman who works at a downtown media company. The conversation was recorded at a restaurant in the Annex, February 20, 2006. It appeared that the two women were old friends catching up over a lunch.
EMILY: So, what do you think about those Danish cartoons?
ASHLEY: They’re an insult to Islam. I support all of the protests.
EMILY: Even the violent ones?
ASHLEY: Violence is a last resort taken up by people who have no other recourse due to a white, western, Judeo Christian, patriarchal power structure.
EMILY: So then you have no problem with the people who have been killed in these protests?
ASHLEY: I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth.
EMILY: So then you don’t agree with the violence?
ASHLEY: Sometimes we only get positive change through proactive measurements.
EMILY: You don’t think they are an overstatement?
ASHLEY: These people have been oppressed and persecuted for too long. Their faith means something to them. I respect that.
EMILY: So then you must have sympathy for Catholics who are offended by the conspiracies of The DaVinci Code, some of which are steeped in Ku Klux Klan literature from the 1930’s?
ASHLEY: Catholics who are offended by The DaVinci Code just don’t want to face up to the fact that they have enslaved women for 2000 years.
EMILY: That’s a bit harsh.
ASHLEY: So were the witch burnings at the hands of the papists.
EMILY: Well, what about Evangelicals who were offended by The Book of Daniel?
ASHLEY: Good show.
EMILY: Yeah, but don’t you think the depiction of a weak Episcopalian Minister who talks to a hippy Jesus because he doesn’t have the strength of faith to deal with his alcoholic wife, his own drug addiction, racist parishioners, lesbian sister or gay Republican son is at least a bit insulting?
ASHLEY: What’s wrong with having a gay son? Well, I guess if he’s a Republican. Say, have you seen Brokeback Mountain yet?
EMILY: No.
ASHLEY: Why?
EMILY: I just haven’t.
ASHLEY: Why?
EMILY: I don’t get out to the movies that often.
ASHLEY: Why?
EMILY: Two kids, a family, work. I don’t know if that would be my first pick anyway.
ASHLEY: Why?
EMILY: I thought maybe I’d see the Johnny Cash movie instead. It’s a love story.
ASHLEY: So’s Brokeback Mountain.
EMILY: I suppose.
ASHLEY: You suppose? This is one of the most poignant films ever made with a social conscience that will be talked about for generations to come. Oh, but you suppose.
EMILY: Hey, don’t be so uptight.
ASHLEY: Don’t be so homophobic.
EMILY: Homowhat? It’s just a movie. Really.
ASHLEY: And perhaps 6 million Jews is just a Holocaust.
EMILY: The Holocaust? What are you taking about? We went from discussing Brokeback Mountain to you accusing me of trivializing the Holocaust.
ASHLEY: I’m illustrating a point. If you can’t see the importance of Brokeback Mountain compared to other historical events, how can I trust your judgment?
EMILY: I think you’re taking this a tad too seriously.
ASHLEY: That’s the problem with people like you.
EMILY: Like me?
ASHLEY: Well, at least Toronto is still a tolerant city. We showed them on election night.
EMILY: How did we show them? We are a major metropolitan centre with no representation in the current government.
ASHLEY: That’s how we showed them.
EMILY: Don’t you think that will hurt us in the long-run. I mean if Harper gets a majority next time.
ASHLEY: Never happen. Canada is Liberal and the Liberals are Canada. Every Torontonian knows that.
EMILY: So then you aren’t even going to give Stephen Harper a chance?
ASHLEY: I watched his profile on the CBC. Besides, Emerson proves he’s no better than anyone else.
EMILY: It’s a tad more complex than that. At least he’s opening up the Supreme Court process.
ASHLEY: He’s politicizing a pure and Canadian institution.
EMILY: But the court already is politicized.
ASHLEY: That’s offensive! You take that back right now!
EMILY: Everything from back room lobbying to wealthy law firms to personal relationships influence who gets on our courts. That’s the system. He’s just allowing us to see it.
ASHLEY: No! Now he’ll get the final say. That’s tyranny! That’s fascism! Just like in America.
EMILY: But Prime Ministers and Presidents always have the final say.
ASHLEY: They shouldn’t. I say throw it back to the people!
EMILY: But both Stephen Harper and George Bush were elected by the people.
ASHLEY: Then the people are wrong. Peasants.
EMILY: Look, I really should go. Shall we hook up later in the week?
ASHLEY: Maybe you can come to my Oscar Party. They say it will be a good year for socially conscious films. There’s an industry that understands the concerns of the average person.
EMILY: Y'know I actually hope they get their message out loud and clear. With the current problems in Washington, the Republicans need all the help they can get.
posted by Nicol DuMoulin @ 10:44 AM
3 Comments:
All right, let's sum up. This year in history, we talked about the failure of democracy. How the social scientists of the 21st Century brought our world to the brink of chaos. We talked about the veterans how they took control and imposed the stability that has generations since. We talked about the rights and privileges between those who served in the armed forces and those who haven't, therefore called citizens and civilians.
Something given has no basis in value. When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.
That's from Starship Troopers. I felt it applied...
It made me laugh. The left clings to mysticism and intrinsisism defying logic and reality.
AT LAST! The latest Behind Enemy Lines I've requested!!! Perfectly sums up Cdn political commentary and opinion from the few weeks. Excellent as always Nicol.
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