Phendrana Drifts

It is interesting looking at Malcolm Azania's predicament while mired in my own similar situation. If you want to know where mine came from, read this and project how some might misinterpret that as coming from my employer.

Regardless, I'm not sure how I feel about Malcolm. The vast majority of my thoughts are political (I'm not an NDP supporter anyway, and I live in Edmonton-Spruce Grove, not Edmonton-Strathcona) - can Malcolm still possibly win, if not, should he step down to save some embarassment for the NDP, etc. But naturally I am comparing his little situation to my own. Of course what he said was far more inflamatory than what I said but also happened a lot longer ago (10 years vs. three weeks). Of course, the big difference is that I hold elected officials to a higher standard than I do ordinary citizens. I expect elected MP's to work more than 37.5 hours a week. And I expect them to hold a certain level of decorum. Of course, Azania said these things quite long ago. Hmm. Well, if I were Jack Layton (scary thought, I know) I would not ask Malcolm to resign. I think he can still stand in front of the voters of Edmonton-Strathcona and ask for their judgement. And they may forgive him. Not likely though.

Would I vote for someone who said those sorts of things? Interesting question. I mean I believe in sexual orientation diversity as much as racial diversity, and politicians say some pretty hurtful things about GLTB lifestyles, even today. But it is my vote. No, I wouldn't. Unless I believed they have changed their views. Has Malcolm? It would certainly seem so. Occassionally he and his supporters and commentators have analyzed his past comments and tried to defend them (trust me, I don't see how they are defensible - check them out yourself here) which is a bit annoying. Malcolm apologized. He qualified the remarks slightly (explaining that he was not using white supremacy in its classical context) and then said he was wrong. I admire that. It is hard to say your political beliefs were dead wrong. But he did. It certainly would have been better if he told everyone he was wrong before it was dragged up in the middle of a campaign, but such is life. Still, we are left with looking at the NDP... I think Edmonton-Strathcona would be best served with their sitting MP, Rahim Jaffer. But maybe that is just me. Currently they are listed as "Too close to call" on the Election Prediction Project. But I think Rahim will get by. And possibly look for a new title: Minister Jaffer. But of course that means Prime Minister Harper. And that makes me wake up in a cold sweat.

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