Brent Toderian calls for removing the name Trump from a Vancouver building — the Trump International Hotel and Tower.
Thanks to Charlie Smith at the Straight.
Kerry Jang, City Councilor, reacts HERE.
‘When I heard Donald Trump’s comments, I just about flipped,’ says Kerry Jang
If Wikipedia can be trusted, more detail HERE.
The 63-storey, 188-metre-high (617 ft), mixed-use tower will be located at 1133 West Georgia Street, and is scheduled to be completed in 2016. Trump Vancouver will be the second tallest building in the city, after the Shangri-La tower located across West Georgia Street.
Holborn Group’s web site on the tower (very slick & glossy) is HERE.
While Trump is certainly a very controversial figure, has he not the right to
a) offend,
b) state his opinion, and
c) license his name for a (hefty) fee ?
Freedom of speech implies the right to offend, and the right (by the offended) to ignore his world-view. Or is this mainly US aimed view too sensitive for Canadian socialists’ ears ?
Here’s what the man himself has to say about that:
“Somebody will say, ‘Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.’ These are foolish people.”
Straight from the horse’s mouth to you, Thomas.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/7/9869308/donald-trump-close-up-the-internet-bill-gates
Trump is scary, but the fact that he seems to have so many followers is even scarier. And all of them being right next door is the scariest of all.
Perhaps one needs to ask instead: “why do so many people love his view? And: what is wrong with current political correctness and inability to discuss controversial issues like false religious beliefs, excessive taxation, excessive debt levels, immigration or systemic political corruption ?”
While I do not agree with many of his rather pointed remarks I do enjoy him pointing out these issues !
Also see: Front Nationale recent election victory in the regional French elections and a rise of new nationalism in France and related European wide movement in many nations like UK, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Holland .. Sick and tired of weak politicians, multi-culti and the ” every belief goes ” attitude of elected officials.
Just remember the genius who said “nobody ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the American people”.
Freedom of speech implies practicing responsibility to avoid mob rule.
I wonder though if the Criminal Code of Canada doesn’t have something to say about inciting “hate.” Maybe he won’t come to the grand opening if enough people might call for his being cited.
Can we expropriate it and use it to house Syrian refugees? 😉
Ironic that the principals of Holborn, the tower’s developer, are of Malaysian origin. Malaysia is an Islamic country.
Canadians sure love our brand of soft authoritarianism.
Sigh… Americans are much bigger on this. They “get” that you can’t have authorities enshrining The Truth™ in law.
It’s sad to have to return to enlightenment figures to argue for freedom of speech in today’s world.
JS Mill, ladies and gents:
First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.
Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied.
Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds.
And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience.
Toronto city council is also mulling the issue of having the name removed from one of its towers.
If councillor Jang is successful in convincing the developer to break the naming contract here in Vancouver (would they take donations to pay the penalty?), then I’d say rename it the Erickson Tower. It was his last work and it would be an honour to his contribution and life’s work. That would also be like the city collectively saying “You’re fired!” to a man who has single-handely redefined the word bombast.
If not, then perhaps a bit of bandit alteration is in order to remove the ‘T’ from “Trump.”
Author
We could call it our own “T party”, in honour of Mr. Trump’s erstwhile political allies.
Meanwhile in France while raiding mosques: http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/france-raids-mosques-what-they-found-inside-proves-trump-is-right/
Remember that municipalities do not have jurisdiction to pass resolutions on political matters outside their jurisdiction.
i.e. See the Shell Canada vs City of Vancouver judgement from the Supreme Court of Canada, where the Supreme Court of Canada allowed an appeal striking down a City of Vancouver resolution purporting to cease all business with Shell Canada until Royal Dutch Shell “completely withdraws from South Africa”:
http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1108/index.do
There is a fierce presidential candidacy race in the US, and it is all about populism. Toderian might be excused of being ignorant of that, but as a politician, Jang must not.
Trump’s blatherings are not state policy. Trump is highly effective at baiting people and media with sound-bites. It makes for successful, widespread publicity. In what appears to be a sad effort to raise their own flagging relevance, Toderian & Jang – in some small way, proportionate to their minor statures – are contributing to Trump’s publicity.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-10/trump-polling-lead-surges-after-anti-muslim-comments
It’s a sad state of affairs if people knee-jerk to anything that comes out of someone’s mouth. Please desist. Train yourself to simply ignore.