Barbara Yaffe channels Niall Ferguson in wildly dishonest war on youth article. Will our journalistic class challenge her, too?

There’s a lot of misinformation in this article from Vancouver Sun’s Barbara Yaffe, but this extended nugget caught my attention (emphasis mine):

Just 38.8 per cent of youth voted in last year’s election.

Young environmentalists clearly need to get out and vote. 

And they’d benefit from moderating their message so it doesn’tconsistently demonize the corporate sector. 

Those evil oil companies, after all, are providing good jobs and producing a much-sought-after commodity. 

The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, which counts among its members the Council of Canadians and Canadian Labour Congress, also could broaden its appeal by aligning with groups other than those exclusively on the political left. 

Oh cruel deception, let me count the ways. Only 39% of youth voted. Therefore, young environmentalists didn’t vote. Kaffe. Kaffe.

And youth, stop “demonizing the corporate sector”! Leave the “Tories”, big business and the 1 percenters alloooone! I mean, just look at how they’re hiring youth by the bucket loads. Yeah.

Oil companies are providing “good jobs”? Where? Oh, you mean in Alberta. Barbara, did you also tell your readers that those permanent, full-time jobs mostly stay in Alberta, even if pipelines are built across the rest of the provinces? Of course you didn’t; that would just get in the way of your evangelizing for the Conservatives and big oil. And just who is seeking out this commodity? Communists? Mmmm. You didn’t mention that either, Ms. Yaffe.

Young dirty fucking hippie environmental types turn their backs on the ‘Tories’. Bwahhhaa!

Finally, we get to this gem. Those grimy youth environmental groups should do more to court the political right. Because we all know how receptive people on the right are to environmental issues. Just look at the right’s top dog – Stephen Harper’s version of science is to gut the science so there is hardly any science to hold back his right-wing agenda.

Yes kids, concern troll Barbara Yaffe has a ton o’ fun awaiting you. All you have to do is listen to her sage advice – surrender, give in, sell out and abandon your principles. Because, let’s face it, your actions have accomplished so little so far. (Insert winking smiley face here.)

What’s especially sad about Yaffe’s lecture to our youth is that the writer can sometimes be lucid and fair. But this time, the Postmedia scribe sounds more like a scold in the Wente, Levant, Niall Ferguson mold. If you’re going to concern troll, please pick better, factual and honest journalists to emulate.

Babs, loosen your trademark choker and listen what the youth are actually saying and doing. If you don’t, you will just keep sounding out-of-touch in a sad get-off-my-lawn kind of way.

X-posted at Let Freedom Rain under different title