This story is in my tab 'Be The Change'... and rightly so! Most of my stories are about people and events that happen in my community... things people are doing to make this world a better place. Recently, however, I've taken an initiative to a larger audience... a national audience... and possibly even an international one! I've decided to 'Be The Change' in the political arena with the hopes that I will be able to help people understand how voting Conservative (CPC - Conservative Party of Canada) with Pierre Poilievre at the helm is sooooooo a bad idea!
Pierre has been involved in politics for a long time... but I had never heard of him until just before the 'Freedum Trucker Convoy' took place across Canada, ending in an event of massive ignorance that overtook Ottawa in the early part of 2022! Pierre became a very vocal spokesman for the anti-vaxx melee and those who were frightened about not understanding the global pandemic so they found comfort in clinging to misinformation to ease their troubled souls.
I, like so many other millions of Canadians, was dumbstruck when, on September 10, 2020, Pierre became the new leader of the CPC! Wow! It blew my mind that so many CPC members had fallen for his tripe!! It also gave me pause for concern!
There's no doubt in my mind that Trump brought to life the rise of the ignorant and undereducated 'far-right' mindset, south of our border... but to see this same kind of mass appeal happening in Canada was something not to be taken lightly. Humanity is on the brink of a climate catastrophe and have leaders spouting off that there is no problem... while also taking initiatives to oppress the freedoms of individuals... well... something needs to be done... and quickly!
Since his rise to leader of the CPC, we have witnessed Pierre's glamour make-over, as he tries to make his looks more appealing to the public, and the largest fundraising effort by any Canadian political party. He's using the money now to be in the public eye, daily! Most recently, there was a story in the National Post newspaper that wasn't a story at all... it was written by Poilievre and (of course) it was only filled with blame for Justin Trudeau and how he created the housing problems we are seeing in Canada!
This is my Facebook post about it
So... I've taken to leaving comments on Pierre's Facebook posts to share a more accurate understanding on issues such as affordable housing, women's rights and climate change with people visiting his page... and I've had several interesting experience while doing this, that I'd like to share with you! The objective of this story is to 1) share what I've been up to lately 2) share how it's going 3) inspire you to get involved in similar actions wherever you may be in the world!
When I first started doing this... just a couple of weeks ago... I quickly learned that this would not be an easy task. I was actually amazed at how frequently PP is posting... almost one post an hour for most of the day! I was thinking that this amount of biased and inaccurate propaganda would be hard to keep up with... so it took me a few days of getting my feet wet, to create a method of attack against his ignorance.
The first thing I did, was to create a series of posts of my own... focusing on his 'Ax the Tax' ideologies. I began by only commenting on his posts about this subject. Here are a few examples of what I had prepared in a word document that allowed me to easily cut'n'paste my words. It would take such a long time to type out replies to all of his posts... so having several pages of comments/replies ready and at my fingertips was a great strategy.
First example:
"Did you know that 90%
of the carbon tax is used to fund the rebate program to ensure that the tax
doesn't raise the cost of living for the majority of Canadians?
Last year the LTC
(London ON transit) received $16 million (a small cut from the 10%
not used in rebates) to upgrade their fleet - add more buses and make them
cleaner buses). This is how the tax works!
IMO I'd rather NOT get a
refund and see the other 90% of the tax being used in ways like this! Just
think how much we'd be able to get done if we used the 90% in green energy,
reforestation, education, food security, etc."
My goal here is to actually explain how the carbon tax works... since so many people (CPC supporters especially) just don't understand it! I can't figure out why, because it's so easy to learn all about it in under 10 minutes. But it seems that people would rather spend hours and hours hating it... and Justin Trudeau... instead of seeing that this tax is actually doing a bit of good! Not a lot... but it's a first step in understanding our need to take stewardship of our planet to ensure that humanity has a future!
At first, this is all I had... so I posted it a lot. I got some negative feedback and was called a 'troll' several times, so I decided I needed to have more comments/replies in the ready. Ohhh... I got called all sorts of names and I was insulted a lot... but I knew that this would happen, so it didn't bother me in the least. I did know that I would not drop myself down to their level with name calling and insults... rather, I engaged with others in ways that would make them question their own understandings.
Here's one example of this...
After I had made the above comment...
HE: shows astonishing level of no comprehension in what the carbon tax is used for!!!!
ME: Can you explain how the carbon tax is used then??? Did you know that the first carbon tax was introduced waaaay back in 1990! Incredible that other countries were so forward in their thinking! To date 27 countries are using the carbon tax to curb emissions. Uruguay has the highest carbon taxes in the world and is forecast to be carbon neutral by 2030! Awesome news! Inspiring! The carbon tax gave them the capital to invest in renewable electric systems and today 98% of all their electricity is from these renewable sources. Uruguay is great example of how carbon tax is used to invest in renewable energy!!! After I had made this reply, I copied and pasted it into my word document! I now had 2 comments/replies ready at my fingertips. I have found that by asking them questions, I'd make them either think about the subject a bit more deeply... or I'd give them an opportunity to expose their undereducated understandings more clearly, so that I might be able to correct their thinking!
We continued...
HE: like I said your perception of the situation…..
It seemed that he had nothing! Simply repeating the same comment again shows that a person really doesn't understand an issue. This time, I combined my two comments to make the same point... but in a slightly different way... I've found that many people need to be told the same thing several times before they 'get' it!ME: And (for the second time asking)... how is my perception flawed? Uruguay has the highest carbon taxes in the world and is forecast to be carbon neutral by 2030! Awesome news! Inspiring! The carbon tax gave them the capital to invest in renewable electric systems and today 98% of all their electricity is from these renewable sources. This is what the carbon tax is used for... make people think and use less... this is what is needed. Here in Canada our gov't gives back 90% of collected taxes to ensure the average person doesn't have a lifestyle increase... and the 10% the gov't retains is invested in renewable energy.
So... repeating myself worked! HE was engaged...HE: it is flawed because it has been proven that renewable energy sources have limitations.
ME:
Please explain... cuz that doesn't make any sense. Let's take a look... oil, coal, gas, etc. is finite is it not? There is only so much in the ground... right? Now... wind, sun and heat from the Earth won't run out til the end of the Earth's existence... right?
HE:
Generation During Sunlight Hours Only. Availability of Seasonal Sunlight. Cloudy Days and Snow Coverage. Space and Installation Considerations. Hight Cost to Invest. Difficult for Small Scale Deployment.ME: Sadly you are wrong on all points! It is cheaper to invest in green now... getting cheaper every day! Solar panels store energy for winter/clouds/night. Small scale deployment is easier with most green energy systems. There's a world of info at your fingertips.... get them walking... or scrolling... haha!
When someone is wrong... I just come out and say it! I don't insult them... but I don't sugar coat my replies either. But, I also try to toss in some levity... thus my 'haha!' at the end, after my reference to a very old Yellow Pages ad where the jingle is 'Let your fingers do the walking' but since we all use phones now, I added, '... or scrolling' which I thought was funny... thus the 'haha!' at the end.
HE: that is where you are wrong on so many levels… What happens if it is a snowstorm for more than a day…. Power depleted…..
ME: Even though maximum efficiency is reached when the sun is shining, electricity is still produced on cloudy days and during winter. On the other hand, no electricity can be produced at night, but a storage system can solve this problem. re: cost - In less than 50 years, the prices of solar cells took an incredible dive, showing a 99% reduction. Not just that, the past decade alone witnessed a whopping 80% reduction in the pricing of panels. Thanks to this, solar power has triumphed as the cheapest renewable energy source in most places in the world.
This chat went back'n'forth for a bit longer... I was called a few more names - LOL - and then I decided that I needed a closing statement... and I shared a link to an amazing video that details the history of the world's carbon history. I now had 3 comments/replies ready and at my fingertips!!
The reality is that no gov'ts are handling climate
change well! That's cuz they all believe that Capitalisms will exist in the
future... which it won't! While the Libs and NDP take short sighted steps to
give us illusions of creating a better future, it's frightening to witness the
complete denial by the CPC! The reason for this is simple... the CPC mindset is
terrified of the future and simply can't cope with the fact that humanity is on
the verge of eco-collapse! This fear leads to inaction and this will only slow
down our progress! I really hope that our species will do a much better job
educating itself while striving to make political and social changes that will
benefit all! We need peace! We need it now! Here's a very cool 14 minute video
that shows the wonders of our Earth... the miracle of carbon... and how carbon
levels are directly linked to ice ages! You got 14 minutes to expand your
understanding??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziqeZTruWMY&t=6s
In this comment/reply, I decided to share how ALL governments are failing us... and not just the CPC... because it's true! By doing this, people won't feel that I'm only warring against the CPC... because it's true! But... the CPC has the worst track record and I make this pointedly clear! And, of course, I speak about peace and unity... because this is what the world needs!Now... will I change HE's mind? Definitely not!!! In the chat that continued he shared how the Liberals wants to enslave us all and many other nonsensical conspiracy theories that are out there. I don't think it's possible to change these kinds of minds.
So... why did I bother?
I know that many other people would be reading this back'n'forth.... others who aren't quite as entrenched in conspiracy theories, but who also may have the same misunderstandings about 'green' energy as HE shared. So... I was actually speaking to them! Since I kept my cool, didn't insult HE, and answered with some rather easy to understand comments, my hope is that others who may be 'on the fence' about climate change and other environmental issues and green energy will find value in my words and then question themselves when they see future posts by Poilievre!
For the first while, I found little company on Pierre's page. And then, I started to notice that other people were doing the same thing as me. Some got into the name calling and insults... but then one day, I had a like minded person join in on one of my threads...
I actually thought that it was really cool that this peace symbol is his profile photo! Another peace activist is on the prowl to educate the ignorant! Whoot! Whoot!
We were able to speak about Conservative leadership on other levels, as well... and share examples about how Conservatives usually don't help society! Again... I feel that we both knew that many other CPC supporters would be reading our comments, so I feel that we both understood that we were actually speaking to them.
Here's our exchange after I had talked about how the Liberals need to do more to get clean drinking water on First Nations' reserves...
PEACEGUY:
not sure if you're aware, most aren't, but Trudeau gov't has lifted over 144 (84%) of FN water advisories, with plans in place for the balance. Funding models have also changed to help prevent further issues. Not perfect and work continues, but zero were lifted under Harper/PP so it is an accomplishment, some were decades old.
ME: Oh yes... I wasn't aware of the details tho... I knew a lot of work has been and continues to get done. Thanks for the update on the progress. My point about this issue is that I think we would have all liked to have seen this work done by now... really... it could have been!
PEACEGUY: they were making good progress until the pandemic but it slowed right down for obvious reasons. Hopefully completely done before the next election or there will be no hope for progress.
So... this back'n'forth showed how the CPC had basically done nothing about getting clean water in reserves... how the pandemic slowed progress... and how he fears this initiative will die if the CPC are elected to run our country. Hopefully, readers will realize that this is just one more major issue that will be ignored if Poilievre gets into power.
Then... we took this opportunity to talk about other issues...
ME: I wonder about the billion tree challenge that just got started. I recently read that they are nicely ahead of schedule having planting 110 million trees last year. I'm sure PP is just like all other Conservatives though... if they get into power they simply stop great initiatives cuz it wasn't them who created them! That's sad!
PEACEGUY: it is a bit difficult to see how much progress. Like a lot of things with multiple jurisdictions, the federal gov't does planning and funding but relies on provinces or groups to carry out the work. I found this site and it includes a link to the progress 'our work', but I don't have time to dig through it today.
Very true about a Conservative gov't cancelling any progress if elected, we see it even provincially. Conservative Doug Ford cancelled cap and trade so we now have federal carbon pricing, he cancelled green projects including EV charging stations, and now trying to play catch-up. Similar for other things like healthcare or long term care. Ford's focus seems to be on alcohol over anything else, his latest fight 'free paper bags in LCBO', I wish I was making that up
ME: And don't forget the Ontario Sex Ed curriculum!!! He scrapped the Lib one... costing us tens of millions. The Conservative plan was horrible... costing us tens of millions. Then Doug Ford basically made a few small edits to the Lib one and reintroduced it as his... and this cost us tens of millions of dollars! Ahhh... the Conservative way... that all Conservatives never acknowledge... they're too busy blaming the Libs for everything!
One small victory in my war...
Pierre recently made a video post where he spoke about freedom for Canadians! Now... as we all know, his understandings about freedom are very skewed - look at what he did during the Ottawa Freedum protests!!! So... I went digging first, before making a comment and I was able to put together a rather pointed set of words, that showed that his idea of freedom would hurt those in the LGBTQ+ community, how he voted against funding women's shelters and let's not forget that for years, Poilievre's Youtube channel used the male-supremacist "Men Going Their Own Way" tag to attract far-right, misogynistic viewers!
I found it interesting... and a bit scary that a female attacked my comment! She didn't have much to say, at first, as she just filled her comments with words of hate against me... but I persisted in questioning her to try to get her true feelings on the subject. At one point she said that what I had said was simply my opinion. I corrected her and shared how my points were all easily verified and I asked her to check out just one link that proved just one of my points. Then she changed her tune!!!
Next... we exchanged a few more words and at one point she apologized for attacking me! Then... she shared how she had been 'sucked in' to Pierre's world. I shared how we all need to make decisions in life and that an educated decision is what our future needs from each one of us. She then reacted to my comment with a heart!
I was excited to share this in my story... but when I went to find this back'n'forth, I found that these last few comments had been deleted... and she only left her hateful words on the thread! Well... I won for a few minutes! Haha! I wouldn't say that her deleting her expressions of caring were a waste of time... I feel that I planted a seed... and she had accepted it... then rejected it... but it is still a planted seed... so this is a success story! Our exchange made me think of this...
So... since this post has a lot of words in it... I'll wrap this up as quick as I can...
Be inspired to realize that you can share good information in positive ways as you wage your own war against whatever ignorance you feel inspired to battle! And realize that there are others just like you and me, out there, and that we need to find each other and support each other!
Be polite and honest!
Be ready! Have your arsenal of words at the ready!!! My word document is now 5 pages long and has words and expressions to deal with/combat four different issues! I'm sure it'll be even longer before this day is over!
Be peaceful!
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