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Asking, “what is Chief Spence hiding” is begging the question. It is a logical fallacy. As any forum warrior knows, identifying logical fallacies gets you ‘points’ in discussions, and so a lot of people have become somewhat familiar with them despite misusing them constantly. Nonetheless, for those of you not familiar with this particular logical fallacy, I’ll explain.
Begging the question is when the thing you want to prove is assumed to be true in the question itself. “What is Chief Spence hiding” assumes that in fact, Chief Spence is hiding something, and the real question is merely what that something is. No proof is offered to support the assertion that she is hiding anything at all, it is merely seen as obvious.
The question people should be asking if they are honestly interested in this is, “why is Chief Spence rejecting third-party management?”
If the answer turned out to be, “because the third-party manager would find out that Chief Spence if the Imelda Marcos of the North”, fine. Snap the photos of her $3million collection of designer shoes and then say, “well she was hiding this! Ha, in your FACE unpronounceably named Métis blogger!”.
However, phrasing the inquiry in a way that essentially assumes her guilt is utterly dishonest. It isn’t very effective either, if you are genuinely wondering what the heck is going on.
Go read the whole thing. Then read the debate in the comments section. Then go read the rest of her blog. Please share it with your misinformed friends.
Hate Thy Neighbour
This phenomenon is not restricted to the national debate on Native Issues however, it is also raising it’s ugly head in labour issues, as the press constantly frames every job action by unions in the context of, how will this (job action) negatively affect you? Instead of asking, “What do the workers want? Why?” Or social issues, like poverty. Or environmental issues. Every article I read in the mainstream media characterizes people who oppose pipelines and tankers and tarsands as “a few dissident Native groups and environmentalists.” Note to Canada, opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline and the shipment of raw bitumen by tankers from the coast of BC is opposed by 80% of British Columbians in every poll I have seen, scientific or otherwise. Please be advised that we are not just a few dissident Indian lover’s and eco-terrorists. We are the people of BC. The taxpayers. The voters. We just haven’t been afforded the right to vote in our Premier and her business buddies are not about to risk their supremacy with something so trivial as a democratic voting process.
So now I notice the framing of the rhetoric has changed again, with the Not/Premier of BC,
“British Columbia’s coast does not just belong to British Columbia, it belongs to Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces,” Clark said
the federal Environment Minister, with the full compliance of Media (Inc) and the University of Calgary (no surprise there) that BC doesn’t actually belong to British Columbians, but to national interests. The University of Calgary went so far as to suggest that legally, Enbridge doesn’t need to reach agreement with First Nations (on unceded territory), that their only legal duty is to consult with First Nations.
Please be aware that the Government of Canada and the BC Liberals are using the same techniques of divide and conquer on every issue, whether it’s FN Governance, or Foreign Policy, framing the question, “Do you support the troops or are you “Taliban Jack”? Instead of asking the proper question, “Do you support Canada as a peaceful, non agressive, progressive Nation, or do you support the Corporate Military Industrial complex as a economic driver for our future?”
Don’t let them limit debate within their ideology. Reframe the questions. Remember, “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear”. We are better than that.
Finally, I have been picking on the CBC lately. It’s not because they are worse than the other outlets, it’s because we used to expect so much more out of them and if they want us to support them in the coming de-funding debate, then they had better start reporting more objectively.
i sent am email to the paper asking why I couldn’t comment on their story.
wondering why the not premier didn’t include the territories and first nations in the ownership of b.c?
If British Columbia’s coast does not just belong to British Columbia, it belongs to Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, as Clark says, it also means that all the oil and gas reserves in Alberta belong to the rest of Canada. You know those oil reserves Albertan’s do not want to share with fellow Canadians.
Exactly, to both comments!
So, do BC’s coasts belong to the people or the country? (or maybe to our precious essential service, the economy?) If to the people, can we also stop shipping our raw resources to other countries?
Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is the incivility of so many conservatives. Every time they pull one of their nasty hateful tricks, we are surprised. I think that reasonable, civil, intelligent people expect the same from others, and I think that we think that if we just behave with some class and decorum, we will appeal to their better natures and they will straighten up. But some time ago, I decided that they have no better natures.
And how do you deal with that while maintaining some integrity? I really think that Jack’s kindness, hope, and love, while being a fine idea, is going to just get a whole lot of good, kind, loving and hopeful folks incarcerated or dead.
Honestly, like Mr Mair, I will get in front of a bulldozer for the sake of that coastline, and its people, fish and bears. I frankly expect to be shot or jailed protesting that pipeline. But if those of us who want an earth and its creatures and something that resembles a productive, useful and peaceful life are just going to wind up as empty sacrifices before the corporate world destroys everything, what will have been accomplished?
Kim Reply:
December 17th, 2011 at 4:06 PM
karen,
You make a number of great points. Who does own this country? If it’s we, the people, then we need to assert our property rights now. Your comment on conservatives is bang on, as is the unfortunate cycle of abuse towards passive progressives. We’ve all seen the US be overtaken in the same way. Divide and conquer.
I’ll be there too, standing up for our rights. Judging from history, expect the RCMP to be merciless in their defence of the Big Money. Expect the corporate Media to try to pound us into the ground as they did Occupy Canada. As long as we have 80% of BC citizen’s speaking out in anger, demanding justice, the Media will fail. They will be exposed as the closed minded PR Dept for the 1%. The time for polite debate has expired. My pitchfork is honed and ready.
Kim, I agree with you completely about being disappointed with the CBC lately.
It is almost as if they fear for their future with QMI Sun Media’s constant attacks. Perhaps they have decided the siding with Harper’s media spokesperson Kory Teneycke will guarantee the future of the Mother Corp.
Frightening thought for an original unbiased commentary coming from CBC if it starts to sound like FOX news north!
Great post Kim – I too am shocked at the hatred expressed against First Nations but what can we expect when our Prime Minister is callous and there is little or no respect for human life championed in the Conservative agenda.
I started my blog when I heard from Bill Chu that First Nations were starving in BC without salmon. You can search my letters to Government about that – in fact I’ll try to put a page of links up because the search function is not great… Anyway – I was so upset to find out that genocide continued. I am still upset. But one thing is for sure we can stand tall and speak out – that is our right and our obligation. We are not alone.
I guess we will have to put the pressure on the Mothercorp, bombard them with emails. I’m sure it’s not an easy time for the executive there, knowing the PM views them as an enemy that must be crushed.
http://priscillajudd.ca/thexpress/ Here is a link to Priscilla’s excellent website. She is from Lumby, a small BC town with some very nasty politics. Nice to see you stop by, my friend.