Gravydämmerung: Bumbaclot Edition + Bonus Harper Musical Interlude

[sabotabby]

It's been a fun few days in Canadian (and in particular, Torontonian) politics.

By now, you may have heard that the Honourable Wife-Beating Mayor was filmed in a restaurant, three sheets to the wind, ranting in faux Jamaican patois. Included among the Laughable Bumblefuck's utterances were the words “bumbaclot” and “rassclot,” which has the local media in a frenzy as white people try to translate. It's pretty funny, actually.

I imagine this will do good things for his polling numbers, because let's face it, “bumbaclot” is a hilarious word.

It speaks to one of the fundamental contradictions about the HWB, though. I mean, the guy is racist. He says racist things, but more to the point, his policies are racist and cause disproportionate harm to racialized Torontonians. It's pretty racist for a white guy to mock patois. And yet. One of his strongest bases of support is in the inner suburbs populated by these same racialized Torontonians (including, by the way, the owner of the restaurant, who was on CBC this morning defending his regular customer and claiming that the outburst was in no way racist). The easy answer is that for all his flaws, and they are many, the Laughable Bumblefuck makes an effort to physically visit communities in the inner suburbs, whereas I see very few downtown left-wing politicians in Scarborough. But I don't think it's the whole answer.

If you were waiting for Ministry's legendary Al Jourgensen to comment on the political situation in Toronto (I know I was), you'll be pleased to know that he's finally weighed in. His official statement:

You do realize Torontonians he is making yer city a punch line to every fucking joke in existence .....I wanna meet this guy....uncle Al will set him straight...I'm like 6 years older than him...always respect yer elders !

Thanks for that, Uncle Al.

MEANWHILE IN ISRAEL, OMG STEPHEN HARPER!

Much has been made of our Chief Devourer of Kittens' recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, wherein he has been attempting to prove himself, and by extension, the whole country (yeah, thanks for that, asshole) more Zionist than the Israelis. And wow. He brought 208 people, which is about twice the size of the Knesset, including a member of the terrorist-sorry-"controversial" Jewish Defense League. Who are not at all the same as the group that even the US government considers a terrorist organization despite the fact that they have the same name and the same goals. And they in no way pall around with the EDL. Right.

So! Highlights include Mr. Harper serenading Netanyahu. You know how sometimes satire goes around on FB and people report it as news because internet? This is not one of those cases. By the way, it's okay to read the comments on that link.

Even Jonathan Kay, militant proponent of Palestinian self-determination and human rights that he is (that was sarcasm in case you've never read his column) has written that Harper's gone too far and even Zionists ought to find it creepy. Dude, when Jonathan Kay is pointing out that you support Netanyahu more than most Israelis do, you've clearly got a problem.

Alas, this will probably do for Harper's numbers what shouting "bumbaclot" will do for Ford's, as if there's one thing that can be guaranteed in Canadian politics, it's people voting against their own interests because they think they'll save 50 cents in tax breaks.

Comments

[fengi.livejournal.com]

You may have covered this earlier, but I was stunned to read about Harper's treatment of science archives and libraries. Some climate research material was actually burned (note: link to melodramatic Boing Boing language). I can't even.

[sabotabby]

I haven't covered it, I don't think. I don't even know when to start. He's been on an active crusade against science and knowledge since he got into office, which has only worsened since he won a majority.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

I'm not done reading this entry yet, but my ESOLness has made me find this page already:

Sailors at that time had a sliding scale of drunkenness; three sheets was the falling over stage; tipsy was just 'one sheet in the wind', or 'a sheet in the wind's eye'. An example appears in the novel The Fisher's Daughter, by Catherine Ward, 1824:

"Wolf replenished his glass at the request of Mr. Blust, who, instead of being one sheet in the wind, was likely to get to three before he took his departure."

The earliest manifestation of the phrase in print that I know of is the 'two sheets' version. That is found in The Journal of Rev. Francis Asbury, 1815, which recounts Asbury's travels through Kentucky. His entry for September 26th 1813 includes this:

The tavernkeepers were kind and polite, as Southern folks should be and as Southern folks ought not to be; they were sometimes two sheets in the wind. O, that liquid fire!

[sabotabby]

I did have to look up whether it was three or four sheets to the wind, as I couldn't remember. Four is unconscious.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Whoa, vocabulary words from the naughty fringes of my childhood! (I was born into and raised in a Jamaican immigrant community. These are words I occasionally heard adults say in great hilarity or anger when they didn't know I was listening.)

[sabotabby]

Haha, my kids use it a moderate amount. There's a significant Jamaican population, but it's also spread to other ethnic groups as a general purpose insult that they think the primarily white teacher population won't pick up on. (Naturally we do, or at least I do.)

It doesn't carry the "I want to fight you" connotation mentioned in the article, though. It very well might in some circles, but not with teenagers.

[threeliesforone.livejournal.com]

Having grown up in Scarborough, the usage of Patois swears by white dudes has a far different connotation for me. Ford was totally performing Blackface in that video. The white dudes I grew up with would pull the same garbage when they wanted to pretend how hard, how gangsta, how SCARBOROUGH (because, yeah, reputation) they were. The mayor's performance was like nails on a chalkboard for me. He was yelling out the curse words that he knew, mumbling incoherently because he can't actually speak Patois, lapsing back into Canadian English, People in this city are criminalized for being black, Jamaican, for having Patois accents. Rob For just performs his racist interpretation & gets to walk away.... or rather, drive away. Drunk. Unless Lisi was, in fact, driving.

But you're right about it not being the whole answer: The inner suburbs also voted for Miller. The only wards where Pitfield got a high polling were in the Don Valley region, I believe.

Also: My Jamaican auntie & my cousins would probably smack you so hard for using the word so cavalierly. It's lost a lot of its bite since the 80s & 90s, I guess, but I still can't say it... or type it!

[sabotabby]

I'm trying to envision a scenario where a black person of prominence (not that there are many; there's one black city councillor, holy fuck) does something like that, and no. If you are white and rich and wear a tie, you can get away with anything.

The word has definitely lost its bite! Hardly the worst thing out of my kids' mouths. Though for some reason, their preferred insult of the day is "fish."

[threeliesforone.livejournal.com]

If they are saying "battyfish," send them to the office.

[sabotabby]

They're not. If they were, we'd be having a long discussion about homophobia—the office is ill-equipped to do that. I suspect, but can't prove, that it's derived from that.

[threeliesforone.livejournal.com]

You'll probably have to wait for one kid to unintentionally rat on the others, unfortunately.

[fengi.livejournal.com]

Also, I love the idea of Jourgensen stepping up to fix things, because:
a) I can totally imagine the HWB beginning his substance abuse spiral while listening to Everyday Is Holloween at a college mixer, and

b) Rob Ford already sounds like a sample from a late era Ministry song.

[sabotabby]

b) Rob Ford already sounds like a sample from a late era Ministry song.

Hahahahaha.

[apperception.livejournal.com]

You should have your own cable news program.

[sabotabby]

I really should, but I'm a but crap on TV.

[apperception.livejournal.com]

You'd probably be fine with enough practice and cocaine.

[sabotabby]

You're not wrong.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha.

You were fine on your cameras segment...

[sabotabby]

I was on coke. It was okay, but kind of painful for me to watch. I'm not one of those people that the camera loves.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

We always hate watching ourselves. The only way to avoid that is to film oneself alot and either learn to love ourselves, or change our onscreen presence until we like it. :)

Stimulants are fun...

[sabotabby]

Well, the kids and the media seem to be taking care of the first part of that. Which is pretty weird.