Don’t be too quick to jump and gloat
››Think a little deeper, trust me it will help in the long run Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
ometimes as I watch other people's reactions to our ongoing political climate I wonder if people are really thinking ahead as these actions happen. I don’t mean the doomsayers who see everything as being the harbinger of the next Hitler or the final sign that Canada is turning into communist China; rather, I wonder if people have thought to consider what will happen if these ideas and reactions get codified into our state’s mindset or our general social outlook. Maybe the best example of this is the acts of police brutality that are currently befalling the few remaining protestors in Ottawa. Most specifically, a video has been circulating of some protestors being trampled by a police horse. There is a section of my mind that smiles grimly at the thought that many of the people protesting now would have previously decried BLM protests or black people being shot by saying: “Why don’t you just cooperate with police and obey orders? You wouldn’t have been beaten up if you had just behaved yourself.” I’m not too proud to say that I sadistically see these acts of police brutality as just desserts long left undelivered, but I’m also smart enough to realize that I can not sit easily and accept these things either. Sadly, I don’t think that enough people who would have previously been appalled at these actions are properly concerned today. This forces me to wonder how deeply people think about these actions. Shouldn’t the lesson of the moment for those who support the “Freedom Convoy” be that enabling and apologizing for police violence in the past leads to the same tactics being used on you in the future? Wouldn’t it be wise for those of us who previously decried these police actions to once again be appalled at the abuse of humanity that is occurring? Maybe it is too hopeful a thought to assume that people
Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne
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would even slightly consider how using the law to beat up on their opponents could backfire on them one day. I’m certainly not hoping that everyone sits down and emphasizes with the other for a moment as calls to do that always seems naïve to me. Rather, people should ask themselves why the government wouldn’t use the same level of force and tactics against their cause. Why wouldn’t Trudeau and his government kettle environmental protestors to break up a blockade? Why wouldn’t the RCMP charge into a crowd on horseback if that crowd were protesting for indigenous rights? What stops the government from breaking your causes as they have broken this one? One need not agree with the convoy to see the damage that wanton police actions will assuredly have over time. As a matter of fact, one need only look at this decade's
history to see how that goes. Realistically, one need only think a little longer and a little deeper about these actions to make it clear that this will hurt everyone in the long run. But if one thing has stood out to me above all else regarding the “Freedom Convoy” it has been that there is never a good time or a good argument to have a Swastika flag in your possession. It is way too easy for one of those to look bad at the moment and later context. As a matter of fact, the imagery, in general, is so loaded that it should always just be avoided. Better yet, comparing things to Nazi Germany is just a no. Though it wasn’t hard for things to go poorly for the convoy media-wise, if anything in particular hurt them, it was the Nazi imagery.
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matthew fraser
Matthew Fraser Editor-in-Chief editor@theotherpress.ca
Martha Alejandra Espinoza Illustrator
Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist
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Athena Little Illustrator
Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist
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Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
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sports // no. 3 • Bruce Boudreau introduces “wrestling belt” as a new custom after victories • Canucks have used numerous ‘goal songs’ since 1990 ...and more
Vancouver Canucks fans: ‘Don’t You’ (dislike our new goal song) ››Canucks have used numerous ‘goal songs’ since 1990
Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
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he Vancouver Canucks, despite the pandemic, continue entertaining fans at Rogers Arena—at only 50 percent capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. But those restrictions ended February 15 after BC health officials announced indoor events would return to full capacity (fans must still wear a mask and show proof of vaccination). The Canucks continue finding unique and diverse ways to keep fans entertained. As the old adage says, “Out with the old and in with the new.” But that would not be entirely accurate in describing the Canucks’ decision in choosing their newest goal song: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. The song was introduced to fans at Rogers Arena on December 10, 2021, when the Canucks played Winnipeg—coinciding with a special 1980s theme night. The 1985 song was a smash hit for Simple Minds (number one hit in Canada and the US). The song was prominently featured in the 1985 classic John Hughes teenage coming-ofage film, The Breakfast Club. The Canucks meant to play the song for one game as a fun “test run.” But soon enough, the song would catch on. So far, the song has been a hit with most Canucks fans. Canucks playby-play broadcaster on Sportsnet 650, Brendan Batchelor, endorsed the use of the song on Twitter—posting on December 10: “Don’t You Forget About Me needs to be the full-time #Canucks goal song. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.” Even Canucks forward, JT Miller, who wore a microphone for a home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 14, 2021— was heard singing along to it after the Canucks had scored. If Miller likes it, then the song, for now, seems to be the right choice. Canucks DJ Tom Fleming concurred in a text to Daily Hive in December 2021: “New era, new goal song. It’s locked in for now as the new goal song.” Daily Hive reported in December 2021, the Canucks’ previous goal song was “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” by Van Halen (song used at the start of the 2019-2020 season). The song had mixed reviews from fans with some fans requesting the team go back to using “Holiday” by Green Day (the track was the goal song when Vancouver went to the cup final in 2011). A poll was conducted on crowdsignal.com asking fans their thoughts about the newest Canucks goal song. The results revealed a mixed reaction to the Simple Minds smash hit. About 35.32 percent hated the song, with 33.65 percent loving it and 31.02 percent stating the song was not bad. Lastly, it does not matter what goal song the Canucks use. If the team is improving and winning hockey games, that will supersede all concerns about goal song selections. And significantly, Canucks fans who have followed the team since it entered the NHL in 1970—have endured enough frustration and heartache. But one song Canucks Nation will not contest being played if the franchise does one day win the Stanley Cup: “We Are the Champions” by Queen.
Other Vancouver Canucks goal songs In April 2020, nucksmisconduct.com listed the Vancouver Canucks’ goal songs used going back to 1990. The songs are ranked according to worst, average (close), best, energy-injectors and solid.
Close, but no cigar • “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” — Pat Benatar (1990-1991) • “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole” — (2002-2006) • “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” — U2 (2014-2015)
Solid pump up songs • “Rock and Roll Part II” — Gary Glitter (1992-2002) • “Crowd Chant” — Joe Satriani (2008-2009) • “Gold on the Ceiling” — Black Keys (2012-2014) Inject these songs into your veins • “Elevation” — U2 (2006-2008) • “Ain’t Talkin Bout’ Love” — Van Halen (2019-2020) Best of the best • “Holiday” — Green Day (2009-2011 & 2018-2019)
Graphic by Martha Alejandra Espinoza
Worst of the worst • “Electric Worry” — Clutch (2011-2012) • Various goal songs used (2015-2017) • “The Whip” — Locksley (2017-2018)
sports // no. 4
theotherpress.ca
Canucks hold on for key win against Maple Leafs
››Bruce Boudreau introduces “wrestling belt” as a new custom after victories Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
he Vancouver Canucks are now into the last half of the season. At the time of writing, the Canucks’ record is 22-21-6. They are sixth in the Pacific Division with 50 points and five points out of a Wild Card playoff spot. The Canucks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 12, winning by a score of three to two. The game started at 4 pm at Rogers Arena. The early start is once again accommodating the Eastern audience in Toronto, who cannot stay awake past 10 pm Eastern time—when the Canucks play a regular evening home game. Nonetheless, the earlier start occurred on a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver. And another bonus was that it was a very entertaining hockey game. The Canucks were ahead 2-0 early in the first period on goals by JT Miller at 1:29 and Brock Boeser on the powerplay at 6:00. However, the lead would not be safe for Vancouver as the Maple Leafs and their special teams started their comeback in the second period. Auston Matthews scored a powerplay goal, taking a pass from John Tavares at 12:46 to make it 2-1. Then the Leafs tied the game on another powerplay goal by Ondřej Kaše at 15:41—deflecting a slap pass from Jason Spezza. But late in the period, a Toronto turnover in the neutral zone led to Vancouver forward, Alex Chiasson, shooting the puck at the lower pads of Toronto goalie, Petr Mrazek. The shot left a rebound for Juho Lammikko to score at 18:30, putting the Canucks ahead 3-2. No goals in the third period, as Vancouver held on for the victory. Thatcher Demko made 51 saves as the Maple Leafs outshot the Canucks 53 to 24 (41 to 13 in the final two periods). Sportsnet reported that Demko became just the second Vancouver goalie in 37 years to make at least 50 saves in an NHL game. Canucks coach, Bruce Boudreau, said after the game he knows his team was outshot badly. But they got the win and two points. “I’ve been on teams that heavily outshot teams and we lost, and nobody felt sorry for us,” he said. “I don’t care if we got outshot, I don’t care if we got outplayed, we ended up winning the game and that’s the bottom line. It would take a fool to think that we don’t know that the goalie was amazing. But he’s our goalie and we get to have him every night. We get an amazing goalie every single night, so that’s great for us.” Boudreau was not going to criticize his team for allowing 53 shots against the high-powered offence of the Leafs with stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. The very personable and likeable coach sensed some skepticism from Vancouver reporters during his post-game press conference and felt the need to respond accordingly: “I’m not going to go home and cry. You guys want me to say: ‘Hey, we got outplayed. Woe is us.’ We won the hockey game. C’mon, guys, give the team some credit for hanging in there.” As well, Boudreau introduced a championship wrestling belt as a new team-bonding custom for the players.
Photo by Billy Bui
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The belt, with the Canucks logo engraved, will be awarded to the player of the game after each victory. Boudreau, who is a wrestling fan, clarified the belt would go to the player who makes an impact (not just relegated to scoring the most points). “One of the things I’ve thought for a long time is that we...didn’t have anything to bring us together after a big win,” he said as reported by Daily Hive. “[So], I went out online got something that I’d like to start. Whoever gets it, has [got to] say a little something, and then he’ll hang it in his stall until we win the next game.” Boudreau awarded the first recipient of the belt to Juho Lammikko, who scored the game-winning goal. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, once famously said, “Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.” And it appeared Bruce Boudreau, despite getting a win against Toronto, was going through a session of “psychoanalysis” with the assembled media—who focused more
on why his team gave up 53 shots against Toronto. In Boudreau’s case, sometimes, a win is just a win. Jim Rutherford’s assessment of Canucks On February 17, Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford, appeared on the Halford and Brough in the Morning program on Sportsnet 650. Rutherford offered his assessment of the Canucks. He believes they have a franchise goalie in Thatcher Demko yet Rutherford feels the team is lacking speed. “Well, [there are] different ways to win,” he said. “Teams have won the Stanley Cup with skill and speed. Some teams [who] have won [were] heavier teams [….] We would certainly like to see a team here...[that is] quicker and faster. Those are the teams that I [have had] over the years. You [cannot] do that overnight, it takes time. It may take longer than [we would] like. But ideally, the identity of the team here is a team that plays quick with a
lot of puck pressure—a lot of pucks going to the net. Skill and speed [are] what I like. And when [I am] not watching the team that I am with (Canucks), it is what I like to watch when [I am] watching other NHL games.” In addition, Rutherford stated that he wants more balanced scoring on all four lines. “Well, [we have won] a number of games because we have a franchise goalie,” he said. “Our goalie makes up for a lot of our shortcomings in a lot of games. Right now, I would say that we have an average skating team that relies heavily on a handful of players to create the offence for us.” Canucks’ schedule this week • Thursday, February 24 vs. Calgary Flames (7 pm) • Sunday, February 27 @ New York Rangers (4:30 pm) • Monday, February 28 @ New Jersey Devils (4:30 pm)
issue 21// vol 48
sports // no. 5
The Arizona Coyotes are a sideshow
››Find yourself someone who loves you as much as Gary Bettman loves the Arizona Coyotes Joseph Agosti Contributor
ary Bettman, the longtime NHL Commissioner, has spent more money and resources trying to keep the troubled Arizona Coyotes franchise afloat than he ever should have. Bettman has routinely stuck his neck out for the Coyotes, when time after time it has been proven that hockey just does not work in Glendale, Arizona. The original Winnipeg Jets were moved to Arizona in 1996, despite a strong existing fanbase in Manitoba, and without a long-term arena solution in Arizona. Bettman will tell you he moved the original Jets because of the weak Canadian dollar, but that did not stop him from moving the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg in 2011. Bettman has ignored countless signs that hockey and Arizona weren’t compatible; from their first arena, now known as The Footprint Center (formerly Talking Stick Resort Arena), which they shared with the Phoenix Suns for the first seven years of their existence was unfit for hockey with obstructed viewpoints and limited seating capacity. Eventually, the Coyotes moved into a hockey-specific Stadium in Glendale, Gila River Arena. All good, right? Quite the opposite in fact. First of all, the arena is located in Glendale, a ten-mile trip from Phoenix, which is made worse by awful traffic which makes commuting to games a nightmare. Next, is the City of Glendale’s relationship with the Coyotes, which has deteriorated
Illustration by Athena Little
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over the past decade. For the past ten years, the City of Glendale has operated on a yearby-year arena lease to the Coyotes. This year, however, the city has told the team to hit the road after this season, leaving them essentially homeless after this year. This puts Bettman and the Coyotes in a major predicament, with only a few options for survival. The first option is relocation to a different market. Unfortunately, this is unlikely with Bettman around as he has spent way too much time and effort on this team to throw
it away, especially due to the next option. Option Two is a new arena deal in Tempe, Arizona. This is the ideal scenario, with Tempe being much closer to the team's core fanbase in Phoenix and Scottsdale. The only problem with this is that it would take at least three years to build a new arena, leaving the Coyotes scrambling for a temporary home. Lastly, a final ditch effort was approved by Bettman and Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, a temporary stay at the University of Arizona’s hockey rink. That rink has a maximum seating capacity
of 5,000 people. For context, the next smallest seating capacity in the NHL is the Winnipeg Jets (oh the irony) at 15,000. Remember, the original Coyotes stadium they shared with the Suns was deemed unsuitable for hockey at a capacity of 16,000 seats. So, for three years at the least, the Coyotes, who lose money every year while pulling 10,000 fans into their 18,000 seat arena will be having a maximum of 5,000 people paying for tickets. You just can’t make this stuff up. So, what’s the endgame for Gary Bettman and the Arizona Coyotes? Do they bleed red ink for three years hoping the team doesn’t go under? I can’t imagine the wealthier NHL teams are going to be thrilled cutting revenue-sharing cheques for a team that averages less than a Quebec Junior team. Do they even make it the three years, or do they have to pull the plug and relocate to Houston or Quebec City? I wouldn’t bet on the former, as Bettman has consistently resisted efforts to bring a team back to Quebec City despite their being an NHL ready stadium sitting there unused. The main goal, in my opinion, is to wait two years and sign Arizona native Auston Matthews as a free agent. Matthews, a true superstar in the league, would be a godsend to the Coyotes, allowing them for the first time to market a hometown hero. You never know when predicting the future, but for the Coyotes it's a wagon they should hitch their star to. That is, of course, If the Arizona Coyotes still exist in two years.
2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games: week 2 ››Canada starting to get more medals Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist week into the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing this year and the entire world is mainly still talking about it. Compared to the recent Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, there were not a lot of cases of the Coronavirus being reported. After a week of mainly getting bronze medals, Canada is starting to get more gold and silver medals while some athletes experience disappointment and some surprisingly did better than they thought. There was also the controversy involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva who tested positive for a heart medicine that is considered banned and still was able to compete without the Russian Olympic Committee informing the International Olympic Committee about the positive doping test. However, she did not make it to the podium placing fourth in women’s figure skating. The investigation on whether she should have been disqualified from competing in the Winter Olympic Games could lead to Russian athletes not competing in the Olympics under the Russian Olympic Committee flag; additionally, her situation shows that doping is not going to help you get a medal and creates problems for all athletes. At the time of
Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne
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writing, Canada could still get a medal in pairs figure skating. In hockey, the Canadian Men’s Hockey Team was not able to make it to the semifinals making it the first time since
Turin 2006 that they did not get a medal. Even without the United States in the semifinals, it is pretty much boring and rushed especially the last few games all in one day. Although, the Canadian Women’s
Hockey Team had the opposite outcome of what happened in the gold medal match in Pyeongchang four years ago by beating the United States 3-2 and winning every game during the Winter Olympics. There is also disappointment for Canada’s curling teams after the women’s team led by Jennifer Jones did not qualify for the knockoff rounds; however, the men’s team led by Brad Gushue (gold medalist in 2006) could get a bronze medal. Isabelle Weidemann kept on getting medals for Canada including a gold medal in women’s team pursuit where it was made possible after one of the Japanese speed skaters slipped. Meanwhile, in short-track speed skating, Charles Hamelin got one more gold medal in the men’s 5,000m relay topping up his career. Canada also got more snowboarding medals including a bronze medal in mixed team snowboard cross for Meryeta O’Dine and Eliot Grondin, a silver medal in men’s snowboard cross for Grondin, and another medal for Maxence Parrot with a bronze medal in men’s big air. There were also freestyle skiing medals for Canada including Marielle Thompson getting a silver medal in women’s ski cross. So far, Canada has earned more than 20 medals at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing this year, marking a successful endeavour.
sports // no. 6
theotherpress.ca
Super Bowl LVI recap ››An exciting end to the season
Joseph Agosti Contributor ne thing you can’t say about Sunday’s Super Bowl was that it was boring. This was a game that had quite literally everything: dynamic quarterback play, stellar defence, amazing catches, a brilliant halftime show, and even some trademark controversy for good measure. In a tale between plucky underdogs the Cincinnati Bengals and the powerhouse Los Angeles Rams, the Super Bowl was as exciting as it was polarizing, with a captivating performance by both teams with very different backgrounds. The team from the AFC, the Cincinnati Bengals were not expected by anyone to make it this far. Coming off a 4-11-1 2020 season, where rookie sensation quarterback Joe Burrow was injured halfway through the year, the 2021-22 season was meant to be a developmental season for the Bengals. Armed with the 5th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bengals were faced with a dilemma; do they take high flying wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase who was a college teammate of Burrow’s and had built-in chemistry with him at an important position, or do they take Penei Sewell, the best offensive lineman in the draft? This was a tough choice because the Bengals had arguably the worst offensive line in football in 2020, as Burrow's season ended when he tore his ACL on a play where his offensive lineman failed to protect him. In the end, the Bengals took the Wide Receiver Chase. And what a decision it turned out to be, with Chase having the greatest season for a rookie wide receiver in NFL history catching 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns on his way to Offensive Rookie of the Year. Buoyed by the play of Burrow and Chase, the Bengals went 10-7 winning their division and beating the powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs to make it to the Super Bowl. The Rams, on the other hand, were expected to be title contenders from the very beginning. Having traded two first-round picks, along with incumbent quarterback Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions, in exchange for veteran QB Matthew Stafford, it's needless to say that expectations were high in Tinsel Town. Stafford, however, came with risks of his own. Stafford, the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, while showing immense potential on some severely undermanned Lions teams, had never won a playoff game. So, the pressure was on the 33-year-old veteran. The Rams cruised through the season relatively smoothly finishing with a 12-5 record winning their division. After beating the Arizona Cardinals and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams had made it to the Super Bowl, but would their high-risk move pay off? The Super Bowl itself was an exciting affair, featuring two quarterbacks in their primes. Stafford, despite being relatively untested in the spotlight, had a solid first
Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne
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half leading the Rams to a three-point lead going into halftime. The Bengals won the coin toss, which meant they could receive the ball after halftime. It only took one play for Joe Burrow to find wide receiver Tee Higgins for a touchdown. It was not without controversy, as Higgins appeared to spin Rams defensive back, Jalen Ramsey, around by the facemask while making the catch. The refs missed the call, and it burnt the defence. The very next drive, Stafford threw a pass in which his receiver fumbled directly into the arms of a Bengals defender for an interception, which would lead to a Bengals field goal. Now the Bengals lead by seven. One of the major stories entering the game was the play of Rams defender Aaron Donald. Donald is considered to be one of the greatest defensive linemen in NFL history, wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks for the past decade. During the first three quarters, Donald had little impact with a mediocre
Bengals o-line holding the fort against him. But, in the fourth quarter, Donald beat his man and took Burrow down awkwardly. After the game Burrow would disclose that he had suffered a sprained MCL on the play, which clearly impacted his mobility. After that hit, the Bengals could not regain offensive momentum. After kicking a field goal to make it a one-score game, the Rams had the ball late in the 4th quarter. With time ticking down, they slowly but surely drove down into Bengals territory. But at the Bengals 8 yard line, Stafford's pass was broken up by a Bengal defender, putting the Rams in a do-or-die 4th and goal. But wait, there was a flag on the play. The refs had called the Bengals linebacker for defensive holding on the pass breakup. Let me be clear, it was a poor call. I wouldn't even expect it to be called in the regular season let alone late in the 4th quarter of a Super Bowl. But they called it anyway and rewarded with a first down the Rams
scored a touchdown to put them ahead by three with just over a minute to go. Joe Burrow, a stellar young quarterback almost did it, but with a damaged knee, and an exhausted offensive line, his final pass fell incomplete while being hit and spun to the ground by Aaron Donald. Replays showed that on the last play, JaMarr Chase had beaten Jalen Ramsey and would have been wide open for a gamewinning touchdown. But the Bengals, just like in 2020, were let down by a poor offensive line when it mattered most. What a game overall, Stafford finally proved his doubters wrong, Donald winning his first ring, and Joe Burrow with an incredible postseason cementing himself as the next face of the NFL. It will be interesting to see if both teams can continue with their momentum and possibly meet for a rematch next Super Bowl.
This was a game that had quite literally everything: dynamic quarterback play, stellar defence, amazing catches, a brilliant halftime show, and even some trademark controversy for good measure.
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Arts
arts // no. 7 • ‘From a Bird’s Eye View’ album review: It wasn’t bad, but you don’t need to hear it twice • ‘Malcolm X’: 30th anniversary review ...and that's everything!
‘From a Bird’s Eye View’ album review
Cover of 'From a Bird's Eye View' by Cordae
››It wasn’t bad, but you don’t need to hear it twice
Tariq Ghanzi Contributor
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ordae is a talented rapper in the sense that he can actually string ideas into lines and maintain a song, but his other talent is his ability to make oddly forgettable albums out of good pieces. At times, his bars are not bad at all, one-liners including “Like Obama’s kids, I came outta my shell (Michelle)” shows that he has the ability to generate clever wordplay. Then he turns around and says something like “Consider this a venomous haiku/this ain’t a verse, n***a” and you just have to shake your head at his wackness.
As a whole, the album seems to be an attempt at standing out over beats that want to fit in. But then again, when he tries to brag to listeners about how much money he made last year he sounds like any old uninspiring new rapper. At times he sounds like he could have it in him to be one of the better rappers of this generation, which would be a great thing to see. But then he ends up rapping about his money, cars and sexual exploits in a completely generic fashion. Though the album does include a remix of the hit track “The Parables,” the album as a whole isn’t as driven by hunger as that song was. Instead, Cordae seems sort of content to
just celebrate as if he had proved himself over a series of albums. It’s like Cordae wanted this to be his Black Album without actually having a Jay-Z level discography. Luckily, the beats are all good and the flows are pretty nice so this is an easy album to put on as you go to work or something and vibe to. But the problem is that this becomes sort of background music too quickly. As one Twitter poster named Venzo put it “Cordae album crazy [because] every song [was] good but [I don’t] ever [want to hear them] again.” The whole album is strong in the sense that the beats and the words are listenable and in a weird way enjoyable, but it's weak in
that you will never feel the need to hear this album more than twice. It just kind of happened while you were listening and then it ended a little bit later. I think Cordae isn’t a bad rapper, and I think there are many worse rappers out there, but I don’t think this was a good effort. This was sort of a slightly better than mediocre but not at all great album. Rappers should have confidence, but they should also try to back that confidence up in the lyrics and verses they write. Otherwise, you might end up with listeners looking down at your forgettable album From a Bird’s Eye View.
Horror in Port Coquitlam leaves long scars
››This year marks 20 years since Robert Pickton’s pig farm was seized by police Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
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hen tragedy strikes, the turbulence, aftermath and damage often take time to surface. And that is what eventually occurred at a pig farm at 953 Dominion Avenue in Port Coquitlam. It was owned by Robert Pickton, one of Canada’s worst serial killers. His pig farm would mask a “house of horrors” and what transpired there would horrify the community. The farm would be the centre of one of the largest serial killer investigations in Canadian history. February 2022 marks 20 years since Pickton’s pig farm was seized by the RCMP, working together with the Vancouver Police Department. They executed a search warrant on the property related to the use of illegal firearms as reported by Global News. Robert Pickton and his brother, David, were arrested and police obtained another warrant after what had been observed on the property. Police and forensic investigators would later discover human remains and DNA related to dozens of missing women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—many of whom were Indigenous. The Robert Pickton case generated headlines around the world. Media outlets worldwide arrived at the Pickton property to cover the story—as a plethora of news media vans congregated outside the property at the north end. The extensive investigation into the Pickton pig farm and subsequent gruesome discoveries on the property brought unwanted negative attention and publicity to the City of Port Coquitlam. Port Coquitlam is known as a quiet suburban city and a safe place to raise a family. Notably, the city is also the hometown of Canadian hero and cancer advocate, Terry Fox. Unfortunately, Port Coquitlam now had a darker and more sinister reputation due to the Pickton investigation. There was an ominous tone in the community. Sadly, what the Robert Pickton case also revealed was how missing person cases were not a high priority with police. It appears this apathy and lack of initiative to follow up with women reported missing in the Downtown Eastside helped a predator like Robert Pickton roam freely and prey on women working in the sex trade with anonymity. Sandra Gagnon, whose sister, Janet Henry, was one of Pickton’s victims—told Global News in February 2022, she recalled the disrespect she received from an investigator from the Missing Women’s Task Force regarding her missing sister. “He said, ‘The woman [could not] get dates anyway.’ How dare he talk that way about our missing loved ones?” Former Global News reporter, John Daly, was at the Pickton property when police announced his arrest. “We were called to the pig farm in [Port] Coquitlam, late one night,” he said to Global News in February 2022. “They had a massive news conference under a tent. They said they had
arrested somebody who hadn’t been charged with any murders at that time.” Daly also recalled the frustrations from the families of the missing women. “It was a horror story and the families were right, they were ignored,” he said. “There were families who went to [the Vancouver Police Department] to report sisters and relatives missing and were told basically buzz off. They were on some kind of prostitution track and they were getting ignored.” Robert Pickton was born on October 24, 1949. He was raised on a farm owned by his parents, Leonard and Louise. Along with brother David, he also had a sister named Linda. According to a Canadian Encyclopedia biography on Pickton, he and his siblings reduced the farm size to 6.5 hectares when they sold the majority of it for urban development. Pickton kept a small-scale livestock operation at the farm. In addition, he received a share of money made from real estate transactions. Pickton was known to be anti-social and oftentimes exhibited odd behaviour. He lived in a trailer home by himself on the farm. Additionally, in the late 1990s, Pickton held large
parties on his property—known as Piggy’s Palace. It entailed live music and dancing. The gatherings were attended by approximately 1,700 people, including bikers and sex trade workers from the Downtown Eastside. In 2000, the City of Port Coquitlam shut down Piggy’s Palace. Pickton also kept a tape-recorded journal, excerpts of which were played in the 2011 CTV documentary, The Pig Farm. He discussed what life was like growing up on his family’s farm. “We bought this here farm where we’re on here right now,” he said. “[It is] a 40-acre farm. We bought it back in about 1963 and-a-half. I had my experiences here. I got thrown [off] horses, I got tossed upside down. I got mauled by bulls. I got [torn] apart by wild boars. I’m telling you; I had my mishaps.” As police continued searching Pickton’s farm, they eventually discovered pieces of women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry and an asthma inhaler prescribed to Sereena Abotsway—one of the missing women. DNA testing of blood found in Pickton’s trailer was from Mona Wilson. Pickton would be charged with
REMEMBERING THE SUSPECTED VICTIMS OF ROBERT PICKTON Suspected victims of Pickton: Janet Henry, Mary Ann Clark, Diana Melnick, Cara Louise Ellis, Tanya Holyk, Andrea Borhaven, Sherry Irving, Helen Hallmark, Cynthia Feliks, Kerry Koski, Inga Hall, Sarah Jean de Vries, Angela Jardine, Jacqueline (Jackie) McDonell, Wendy Crawford, Jennifer Furminger, Tiffany Drew, Dawn Crey, Debra Jones, Patricia Johnson, Yvonne Boen, Heather Chinnock, Heather Bottomley and Diane Rock.
to thoroughly investigate women who had gone missing from the Downtown Eastside. “The police investigations into the missing and murdered women were blatant failures," Oppal said. “The critical police failings were manifest in recurring patterns of error that went unchecked and uncorrected over several years. The underlying causes of these failures…were themselves complex and multi-faceted.” Oppal not only condemned the actions of police, but he also believed society as well should bear some responsibility for the women's troubled lives. “I have found that the missing and murdered women were forsaken twice: once by society at large and again by the police,” Oppal wrote. “What we’re here to discuss is a tragedy of epic proportions. The women didn’t go missing. They aren’t just absent, they didn’t just go away. They were taken, taken from their families, taken from their friends, taken from their communities.… We know they were murdered.” Sadly, the Robert Pickton case revealed that missing women from the Downtown Eastside were not considered of high importance to police and society. The women had experienced hardship and struggled with substance abuse while working in the sex trade— not by choice but by circumstance. The women were not respected and instead were being judged by what they did to survive. But the police and society
also overlooked another important aspect about the missing women: that they were human beings. These women were someone’s mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend. Wally Oppal believes that more needs to be done to rid the stigma towards marginalized groups in our society. “Even though Pickton is in jail, the violence against women in the Downtown Eastside and other areas of this province continues. It’s time to end this violence,” he stated in the MWCI report. “It’s the inequality and the poverty that breeds the type of violence we’re talking about here. We need to treat those women as equals. That’s part of our duty as civilized people in a social democracy to ensure they’re accorded the same rights as everybody else.” Global News reported that Robert Pickton will be eligible for parole in February 2024. Sandra Gagnon is outraged that Pickton is allowed to seek parole after the crimes he committed. “We have a rotten system,” she said to Global News. “[The] court system makes me sick.” In the meantime, Gagnon plans to fight any application for parole by Pickton. She is also authoring a book about her beloved sister and the other women who never came home: “I [do not] forget about our women because they were human beings. They were loving [and caring people]. Janet had a heart of gold.”
Sadly, the Pickton case revealed that missing women from the Downtown Eastside were not considered of high importance to police and society. The women had experienced hardship and struggled with substance abuse while working in the sex trade—not by choice but by circumstance.
Graphics by Martha Alejandra Espinoza
two counts of murder (a total of 26 murder charges eventually laid against him). CBC News reported in a February 2018 article that the remains or DNA of 33 women were found on his pig farm. But the number of women Pickton allegedly murdered may be higher as evidenced in a prison surveillance video recorded in February 2002, with Pickton in custody—as reported by the Toronto Star in January 2012. He confessed to an undercover police officer (posing as his cellmate) that he killed 49 women. He had wanted to kill another woman to make it 50, but he said he got “sloppy.” Remarkably, the Canadian Encyclopedia stated investigators obtained 200,000 DNA samples and seized 600,000 exhibits. Forensic experts and archaeologists required heavy equipment to inspect 383,000 cubic yards of soil, searching for human remains. The total cost of the investigation was approximately $70 million. CBC News reported in August 2010 that Pickton was well known to police in the 1990s. In March 1997, Pickton picked up a sex trade worker in the Downtown Eastside. The woman alleged that Pickton drove her to his property in Port Coquitlam; while at Pickton’s place, she claimed Pickton tried to handcuff her. She panicked and grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed Pickton—fighting for her life. He, in turn, stabbed her repeatedly. The unidentified woman ran away from the property and flagged down a passing car. She later recovered in hospital (Pickton also required hospital treatment). CBC News stated that Pickton was "...charged with attempted murder and forcible confinement in that case, but the Crown later stayed the charges, saying the woman was not a sufficiently credible witness.” In December 2007, Global News reported Robert Pickton was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Marnie Frey, Mona Wilson, Angela Joesbury, Sereena Abotsway, Brenda Wolfe and Georgina Papin. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The additional 20 murder charges laid against Pickton would be stayed. Justice James Williams upon sentencing Pickton addressed the court as reported by CBC News. “Mr. Pickton’s conduct was murderous and repeatedly so. I cannot know the details but I know this: what happened to them was senseless and despicable," he said as he read out the names of the six victims. “Mr. Pickton, there is really nothing I can say to express the revulsion the community feels about these killings.” Williams then spoke about the six victims, stating they were women and human beings who were not given any dignity and respect: “The women who were murdered, each of them, were members of our community. They were women who had troubled lives. Each of them found themselves in positions of extreme vulnerability. They were persons who were in the ugly grasp of substance abuse and addictions, persons who were selling their bodies to strangers in order to survive." In December 2012, an inquiry into the handling of the missing women's case was released to the public. The report was called the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (MWCI) and was conducted by inquiry commissioner and former attorney general of BC, Wally Oppal. The report was critical of the RCMP and Vancouver police, stating they both failed
arts // no. 10
theotherpress.ca
‘Malcolm X’ ››30th anniversary review
Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
A
s we move forwards through time, some figures are lost in the past despite their greatest contributions and accomplishments. Some figures recede into memory or are consigned to smaller and ever quieter corners of our museums to be largely forgotten or left behind. However, some historic figures blaze their way into the foreground of a movement and hold undeniable influence over future generations. There are some special cases where even the best efforts to demonize and diminish these figures are ultimately fruitless and the ruling class cannot quash the influence and respect that has been earned. Such is the case of Malcolm X. Malcolm X is a 1992 three-hour epic biography film adapted from the screenplay written by Arnold Perl and James Baldwin (though the Baldwin estate would ask to be excluded from writing credits given the extent of the changes made during the adaptation process). The original screenplay was in turn based loosely on The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. Amongst fans of both the movie and Denzel Washington, there has been longstanding controversy over the fact that Washington did not win The Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the late Black Nationalist. But amongst fans of Malcolm X, there has been much controversy of X’s portrayal in his use of drugs and his fondness for white women. However, X himself spoke extensively about this in his own speeches and interviews so the
Promotional Image for 'Malcolm X' via IMDb.com
The energy and talent with which Denzel Washington emulates Malcolm X’s speech patterns and mannerisms are at times uncanny.
anger is misplaced. Other criticisms include how wide the interpretation of the original screenplay bends from the actual autobiography. Nonetheless, these criticisms have done nothing to assuage some of the one-dimensional caricatures of Malcolm X that exist for many. The movie itself largely focuses on three main sections of Malcolm X’s life: his childhood leading into his incarceration, his time in the Nation of Islam, and finally, the time after he left the Nation and completed the Haj before his assassination. The first hour depicts in stylized detail the escapades and trials of young Malcolm Little before he is eventually captured by the police. Large swaths of this portion and the subsequent retelling of then Little’s imprisonment is not true to the source material but Spike Lee’s usage of these embellishments does well to paint a picture of X and his life. Though there was no such Brother Baines character in Malcolm X’s real-life (his conversion to Islam was facilitated largely by his siblings) how this religious transformation forces X’s personal growth and ultimately brings him to Elijah Muhammed is very accurate. Even the scene in which Denzel Washington as X first meets Muhammed accurately showcases the reverence and humility that overcame the real man and stayed with him throughout his time with the nation. The energy and talent with which Washington emulates Malcolm X’s speech patterns and mannerisms are at times uncanny. He also borrows phrases that X actually used in his speech emulation to bring them that much closer to real life. As a result, even after extensive reading of Malcolm X’s speeches, there are times when I confuse Washington's lines with the words of the real man.
Relative to what actually occurred, the section of the film that focuses on Malcolm X’s completion of the Hajj—the annual pilgrimage which is required of all Muslims at least once in their lives—is rather scant in covering other things that happened to X in that year. Though the film makes mention of the people X met including white Muslims while on his journey, the movie makes no mention of his trips to France and the United Kingdom where he would participate in a debate on revolutionary action. And though the film stylizes his time in Cairo, it does not spend much if any energy explaining the important organizational and solidarity efforts X contributed to while he was on the continent. Though Brother Baines becomes an all-purpose stand-in for the other ministers who were jealous of X, the character is useful in depicting the rival ambitions and jealousies that corrupted the ranks of the Nation of Islam and ultimately led to the assassination of Malcolm X. The Nation has long denied involvement in the killing despite X in his time speaking clearly about his beliefs that the Nation was threatening his life and one of the men arrested at the scene being a member of an out of town mosque. Ultimately, Malcolm X delivers a moderately accurate though highly entertaining introduction to a great man. It is not as thorough or complex as the autobiography and other documentaries like WGBH Boston’s Malcolm X: Make it Plain are more politically minded and offer a deeper look through all of the interviews proffered; nonetheless, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X is easier to watch in the sense that it is a true Hollywood affair. As such, it is an easy recommendation for those who don’t know anything about X and wish to learn.
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Life & Style
life & style // no. 11 • Denny’s originally opened as a donut shop in Lakewood, California in 1954 • How to make tidying a little less painful ...and more
Original Grand Slam still a hit 45 years later
Brandon Yip Senior Columnist
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hether eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Denny’s restaurant has become synonymous with family and friends get-togethers. Locally, the restaurant is also a great pitstop after a night out in downtown Vancouver (pre-pandemic that is). This year marks 45 years since the debut of the Original Grand Slam combo dish. In a January 2022 article on mashed.com, the Original Grand Slam first appeared at Denny’s restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977—in honour of baseball legend, Hank Aaron. Three years earlier, Aaron broke the legendary Babe Ruth’s home run record (714 home runs). Aaron, who stood six-feet-tall and weighed 180 pounds played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. He finished with 755 career home runs, second all-time behind Barry Bonds (762 home runs). The Original Grand Slam comprises two eggs, two buttermilk pancakes, two bacon strips and two sausage links. Notably, two months after the pandemic began, Denny’s Canada posted on Twitter—offering for one day on May 4, 2020, a free Original Grand Slam for all first responders and healthcare workers: “Today is Slam Day at Denny’s! We want to thank First Responders and Healthcare Workers today with a FREE Original Grand Slam Breakfast at participating Denny’s locations.” Denny’s has a long and rich history of serving customers since the 1950s. According to the official Denny’s US website, the restaurant was founded in Lakewood, California in 1953 by owners Richard Jezak and Harold Butler—with Jezak leaving the business in 1956. But it was not called Denny’s, but a donut and coffee shop called Danny’s Donuts. According to
a January 2014 article published on kcet.org, it was a modest, 900-square foot restaurant. In a May 2012 interview with LA Magazine (uploaded on YouTube), Nancy Jezak-Grgas, daughter of Richard Jezak, displayed a newspaper ad promoting the grand opening of Danny’s Donuts at the corner of Del Amo and Bellflower Boulevard in Lakewood, California on July 30, 1954. The ad also stated free donuts and coffee for the first weekend; and a ten-cent discount off a dozen donuts. JezakGrgas also remembered when she was four years old, her father had attended donut school before opening the first location: “He came back with his friend, and they had big white hats on and aprons. And they were just so excited because they were going to [open] a donut shop.” In 1956, it was renamed Danny’s Coffee Shops and operated 24 hours a day—sandwiches, burgers and other items were later added to the menu. In 1959, the name was changed to avoid confusion with another popular competing restaurant in Los Angeles called Coffee Dan’s. According to Laurie Pasiuk, editor of the 2005 book, Vault Guide to the Top Hospitality & Tourism Industry Employers, another reason the name was changed was to settle a lawsuit by Coffee Dan’s over naming rights. Danny’s Coffee Shops was now called Denny’s Coffee Shops. Two years later, the name was changed again to Denny’s—and the rest is history. However, there appears to be inconsistency about how many years Jezak worked with Harold Butler. The official Denny’s US website stated Jezak left the company early in 1956. Yet, Nancy Jezak-Grgas said her father worked with Harold Butler for a decade. “[My] Dad left Denny’s after about 10 years to pursue other interests,” she said. “And [also] so he could be closer to home; because Denny’s was expanding quickly and his job was to [open] new franchises. And he was travelling all over the place. So, he had four
children at home and he wanted to be closer to home. So, [that is why] he left the company.” Also, OJ Freed, an original investor in Danny’s Donuts, confirmed Jezak was involved with the first five stores (a total of six stores to begin with) and then, “Harold bought him out.” Interestingly, according to the franchise website for Denny’s Canada, the first Canadian Denny’s restaurant opened in Vancouver in 1970. And on the official Denny’s Canada website, it states it is proud of its accomplishments: “Denny’s Restaurants have been providing guests with great food at a great value and is constantly working towards becoming the world’s largest, most admired local restaurant brands. With over 70 locations across Canada, there are plenty of opportunities to experience the best in family dining.” And the popularity of the Original Grand Slam has not diminished. Notably, in February 2009, ABC News reported two million free Grand Slams were served on the Tuesday after Super Bowl XLIII between 6 am to 2 pm (a 30-second ad promoting free Grand Slam was shown during Super Bowl). Lastly, if you are in the mood to celebrate the Original Grand Slam with friends and family, you can order the Grand Slam pack for four people for $46.99 (before tax). Takeout orders placed on dennys.ca via Denny's xDine will receive a 15 percent discount. And even reading what the Grand Slam pack entails will make your salivary glands overflow like waves striking Waikiki Beach: “Served Family-Style. Four orders of Denny’s Original Grand Slam®. Each person enjoys two buttermilk pancakes, two eggs, a choice of two bacon strips or two sausage links and a choice of hash browns or red-skin potatoes.” Or you can build your own Grand Slam, and choose four items and make it your own—just like Hank Aaron did—when he built his legacy as one of the greatest home run hitters of all time.
Photo by Billy Bui
››Denny’s originally opened as a donut shop in Lakewood, California in 1954
life & style // no. 12
theotherpress.ca
Tips for a cleaner home
Photo By Billy Bui
››How to make tidying a little less painful
Ash Sabinin Contributor
S
pring is slowly emerging with the budding of flowers and longer hours in the sun, and with that comes the idea of Spring Cleaning. I find cleaning super tedious and can never get more than an hour of work done before I get distracted by something I found and then lose all motivation. So, if you’re at all like me, here are some ideas for how to make cleaning a little more manageable. My first tip is trying to never let things get too bad by consistently doing small little tasks, like taking off your shoes at the front door to reduce the overall amount of dirt that gets tracked into your home. Another good idea would be to set a schedule where you rotate different types of cleaning to keep it from getting repetitive and boring (or at least more boring than it has to be). Small habits like these can really add up to a lot and reduce how often you need to do a deep clean.
However, regardless of how much you tidy, there will always come a time when you’ll want to do a deep clean of your space and get rid of anything that doesn’t serve you anymore. This is good, it's a sign of growth, embrace it! Be ruthless, if you love an item of clothing but it doesn’t fit, consider giving it to a friend or donating it to someone in need so it can see some use. If this alone seems like too large of a task, break it into smaller chunks. Pick one room, or even one corner of a room and try to really power through until that one area is cleaned and organized in a way that makes sense to you. If that doesn’t work, try setting a timer for a manageable amount of time, put your phone away, play some good music and clean as much as you can until the timer goes. Also, just because the timer goes doesn’t mean you need to stop cleaning if you’ve found that you’ve got a good flow going. Getting rid of clutter will help keep things neater and more organized as well as increase the space you have for things that really matter.
After you’ve cleaned, it will be easier to stay organized. Use whatever organizational tools you need, from premade desk organizers to a checklist for daily tidying. By doing small bits at a time, you can save yourself some stress and time later when it all piles up. Doing five minutes of dusting or washing the counters prevents you from having to spend more time and effort later cleaning a bigger mess. However, if that doesn't work for you, don't worry! Sometimes no matter how hard we try to change a habit, it just doesn’t work. So, we need to start working with our lifestyle, not against it. One of my tips, possibly the most important one, is to create a space that actually works for your lifestyle. It will really help to have your space make sense for you and your routine. Take advantage of your strengths, maybe it’s making and following to-do lists while findings things that help with your weaknesses, like writing out how long each task will take to help you manage your time effectively.
If hanging clothes in a closet is too much, try putting them away in a dresser. If something doesn’t work, modify it so it works better with your routine instead of feeling bad or frustrated about not being able to do it. Who cares how things are “supposed” to look, if you struggle with vacuuming because it’s too much work to go get the thing out of the closet, maybe buy a mini vacuum, and leave it in a central part of your home so anytime there’s a little mess you can deal with it immediately instead of letting it pile up and become a bigger chore later. Having a clean home isn’t the most important thing in the world but it can help improve one’s mood and make your space more comfortable. I hope these ideas help you and we can all celebrate the coming of the warming seasons from the comfort of our nice, tidy homes.
By doing small bits at a time, you can save yourself some stress and time later when it all piles up.
issue 21// vol 48
life & style // no. 13
Super Bowl commercial analysis 2022 ››As old as the halftime show Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist he Super Bowl this year was truly a historic day for everyone who watched the event while enjoying snacks. It was happening at the same time as the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing so it might be fair to describe it as Super Gold Sunday. The Los Angeles Rams, which recently moved from St. Louis, won the Super Bowl at home beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. This is the second Super Bowl win in franchise history with the first occurring in 2000. While in the Super Bowl Halftime Show, it showed my age when some of the greatest rappers of all time performed including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Eminem. I was hoping that Eminem was going to do his early music but ended up still doing the theme song of 8 Mile “Lose Yourself”. There were also the Super Bowl commercials where some of them also made me feel old as well as commercials promoting the future. According to the USA Today Ad Meter, the best Super Bowl commercial this year was the Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl commercial. In it, we see Anna Kendrick in a 1990s styled Barbie commercial promoting Rocket Mortgage that would allow Barbie to get her dream home. The addition of more dolls related to buying a home, role-playing, and even He-Man creates nostalgia as a comedic effect. The next Super Bowl commercial after that and my favourite Super Bowl commercial this year was the Amazon Super Bowl commercial. In it, Scarlett Johansson and her husband, Saturday Night Live’s and Weekend Update’s Colin Jost get an Amazon Echo and were so wowed by it that they think that it can read their minds. We then see them go about their daily lives and the Echo goes into action when one of them says something even though they did not specifically request the Echo. The Echo went beyond what it was going to do which makes it smarter than it looks. Other Super Bowl commercials that brought back nostalgia include Jim Carrey reprising his role in The Cable Guy in a Verizon commercial, animals beatboxing to Salt-N-Pepa's “Push It” in a Doritos/Cheetos commercial, and the Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen Lay’s commercial. There was also a Pringles Super Bowl commercial where a guy gets his hand stuck in a Pringles canister and we see him go through life with the canister still on his hand until he passes away. There were a lot of electric vehicle Super Bowl commercials including one from Chevrolet where we see the opening titles of The Sopranos with an appearance by Tony Soprano’s children hinting that the show might be coming back soon. Even Cryptocurrency Super Bowl commercials appeared and were trending like the FTX commercial in which Larry David makes predictions about things that won’t happen during significant events in history including Crypto, though David could be right on that. Finally, there is the Toyota Super Bowl commercial which spotlighted the inspirational story of local athletes the McKeever brothers. Both had dreams of competing in cross country skiing until Brian McKeever lost his eyesight but would later win 17 Paralympic medals. Overall, the Super Bowl this year made me feel old including the Super Bowl commercials. But at least they were still entertaining and funny.
Other Super Bowl commercials that brought back nostalgia include Jim Carrey reprising his role in The Cable Guy in a Verizon commercial, animals beatboxing to Salt-N-Pepa's “Push It” in a Doritos/Cheetos commercial.
Illustration by Athena Little
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Opinions
Have an idea for a story? opinions@theotherpress.ca
opinions // no. 14 • Should people be expelled from society for any and every use of the N-word? • The cost of apathy will be paid in time ...and that's everything!
More Rogan means more controversy
Photo of Joe Rogan by Do512 via Flickr
››Should people be expelled from society for any and every use of the N-word?
Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief
I
f any one man has consistently been at the centre of controversy over the past few years, it has been Joe Rogan. Whether as the man who helped make Jordan Peterson become a household name or his connection to right-wing firebrands and odious characters like Gavin McInnes, Rogan has been an easy name to throw in and start a problematic conversation. Most recently, Rogan has earned himself a title as a heavyweight misinformation champ due to his vaccine opinions and COVID treatments. However, he has once again been accused of holding racially prejudiced ideas. Recently, a compilation video resurfaced of the podcaster saying the N-word over the years on his podcast; alongside that video, another video resurfaced of him making crude comments about a black neighbourhood where he saw the movie The Planet of the Apes. In respect to his Planet of the Apes comments, Rogan apologized in the same video clip immediately after the comments while in the compilation video an apology was not included. However, shortly after these videos went viral, Rogan recorded and released an apology. In his apology, Rogan refers to the video as the “most regretful and shameful thing” for which he has had to publicly atone. However, even his apology has not been enough as many have continued to call for Rogan’s cancellation on Spotify while CNN recently compared Rogan’s past
use of the N-word to both the January 6 insurrection and the Rwandan genocide. But I have started to wonder if this is really what people want and if so, are they willing to stick by the guaranteed results? If Rogan’s comments and use of the N-word are to be taken as seriously as some seem to want to take them then what do we do with Mark Wahlberg? In 1986, while Wahlberg was 15, he and a group of white friends began throwing rocks at a group of black children and chasing them. According to reports from The Guardian, Wahlberg and his group were heard shouting “Kill the n---ers” throughout the attack. This attack—amongst others— came to light when Wahlberg appealed for a pardon in 2014. Roughly two years later in 1988, Wahlberg would assault two Vietnamese men in one night, beating the first with a stick until the man lost consciousness and the stick broke before hitting the second man so brutally that he thought he had blinded the man. The second man was injured so severely that Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder. Kristyn Atwood was one of the children Wahlberg assaulted that day in 1986 and when she spoke to the Associated Press she stated: “I don’t really care who he is. It doesn’t make him any [sic] exception. If you’re a racist, you’re always going to be a racist. And for him to want to erase it I just think it’s wrong.” This seems to be the opinion of those who wish to cancel Rogan for his use of the N-word, but the two situations are clearly not the same. Wahlberg committed racially motivated
violence against people while Rogan used a word in a context he initially thought was defensible. Even if you want to hold Rogan to account, Wahlberg was charged for attempted murder based on the racially motivated assault he committed. If Rogan is bad, Wahlberg must be worse. But it's not just Rogan who has used insensitive language in the past, Matt Damon recently made an admission that invited an extraordinary amount of condemnation upon him. In an interview released in early August of 2021, Damon revealed that he had only recently stopped using the “f-slur for a homosexual” after he told his daughter a joke that featured it and she wrote him a “very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous.” As reported by NBC News Damon allegedly only retired the slur after this conversation with his daughter. Though Damon attempted to backtrack and claim he had not been personally using the slur in his life, the damage had been done. I would certainly accept an argument that Wahlberg’s crimes were much worse than Rogan’s but in the case of Damon, things are much more comparable, and in a sense more hurtful. Damon’s use of the F-slur seems to be more recent than Rogan’s use of the N-word and it appears that he had been using it in front of his kids. That’s pretty bad. So if people like Neil Young and India Arie felt the need to pull their music from Spotify over Rogan, actors like Will Smith and Elliot Page should pull their work from Netflix or refuse to work with Universal Studios in response to Wahlberg and Damon.
However, this might just showcase an underlying flaw to the strategy used to target Rogan. I suspect that if white people were honest with themselves, they would be fully aware that if the standard became using one slur in any circumstance should get you fired, next to no white people would have jobs. The white unemployment rate might literally hit 80 percent overnight. President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden have both been exposed for using the N-word and if the context was not important for Rogan, it should be equally unimportant for the Biden’s. If you want to be moral, Joe Biden’s political career has been infinitely worse for black people than anything Rogan could ever dream of doing. Additionally, PM Trudeau wore blackface repeatedly and that is certainly as offensive as the N-word so he should be jobless too. I would wager that there is an extraordinarily slim group of white people who can claim to have never used a slur or dressed in a racially insensitive manner. However, the most interesting question may have been the one posed by Charlamagne Tha God; what do people want to happen to Joe Rogan and any other white person who gets exposed for currently or previously saying the N-word? This won’t be the last time someone gets exposed for this, so how do we want to address it in the future. If the answer is cancellation, there won’t be very much for anyone to watch or listen to in the near future, I can promise you that much.
issue 21// vol 48
opinions // no. 15
Our government shouldn’t abuse protestors you don’t like either ››The cost of apathy will be paid in time Matthew Fraser Editor in Chief ver the past several weeks the most important conversation in Canadian politics has been surrounding the “Freedom Convoy.” A portion of Canada’s population has wondered who these people are and how they came to be. People have wondered how ideas they disagree with so vehemently could become part of the mainstream Canadian conversation and what that says about Canada as a whole. But as these questions were being asked by swaths of the public, another more ominous question began to take root: why hasn’t the government used more force in ending these protests and blockades? A protest is only effective if it becomes deeply uncomfortable for the ruling class or directly impacts the working class who were previously unaware or unconcerned about the protestors' goals. A protest that can be pushed into a corner, sanitized and forgotten by the masses is a protest that will have no effect and will invariably die in silence. Regardless of how you feel about the “Freedom Convoy” itself, it must be recognized that it has been very effective in making the ruling class uncomfortable and enflaming a section of the working class. Ruling class discomfort can be no better measured than by PM Trudeau going into hiding as the truckers rolled into Ottawa; conversely, public awareness is equally clear in the form of the nearnightly recounting of the anguish faced by downtown Ottawa residents as told by CBC or Global News. So, the ultimate and only response to make this end must come from government action that reduces the discomfort felt and in turn neuters the ability of this protest to continue. But government mandate and response by its very nature acts as a heavy blanket and will fall equally on every future protest that causes effective discomfort for the powers that be. On February 14, PM Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act of 1988 to grant himself more powers to reign in the convoy participants; a short time later, the government moved to bring crowdfunding websites to heel by making them subject to the same Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) regulations that govern banks and other financial institutions. The hope seemed to be that these measures would prevent funds from being used for “terrorist activities." If you support these actions against the truckers and their supporters, you must consider that these are dangerous and unprecedented steps that will invariably be applied to a later protest you will agree with. It is only a matter of time before these tools are used somewhere you won’t like. What would have happened if these laws had been in place during the march that culminated in the pulling down of the Gassy Jack statue in Downtown Vancouver? If the Vancouver Police Department had deemed that march a riot or violent occupation, these new powers as granted by the federal government would have allowed them to suspend or
Illustration by Athena Little
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confiscate all the money raised by any participating organizations regardless of their real involvement in the act that occurred. Homeless shelters or Indigenous organizations that were present though unconnected could have had their coffers raided and their funding cut off. People who were peacefully present in solidarity could have had their assets frozen and confiscated as well. This should be alarming to most people. Consider for a second the blockades of 2020 that followed the Wet’suwet’en water protector’s protest. Amongst their most effective moments was the blockade of multiple train tracks and logging roads. These blockades were so effective that they forced the Alberta government to criminalize blocking public infrastructure and in turn arrest those who continued to do so. Elite discomfort was assuaged by governmental repression. I am willing to wager that those who supported the passing of those laws then are the same people who support the “Freedom Convoy” now. It is not an unfair point to say that they can use that very same law to warehouse truckers, convoy supporters and
any children who may be partaking in this crime. Is that really how we want to deal with peaceful protesters? More importantly, how are we treating those who support these protestors even if we don’t agree with the protest itself? At the behest of the Ottawa police department, GoFundMe first suspended then closed the fundraising page for the convoy. Shortly thereafter, GoFundMe vowed to donate all of the money raised to charities of their choice as opposed to refunding the money that rightfully belonged to those who choose t0 donate. Those who applauded the crowdfunding website's initial decision never stopped to ask themselves if they would feel the same way if the Minneapolis police had demanded the same when the George Floyd protests had begun and if GoFundMe had donated the money raised to an antiabortion cause. Worst still was the hacking and subsequent doxxing of those who donated to the convoy. Reporting from CTV News has all but exposed numerous donors in the Ottawa area and across Canada including the wife of the co-founder of
DavidsTea. Most shockingly, journalists have pursued people who donated as little as $40 according to former White House correspondent Saagar Enjeti. In a similar case, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar questioned the logic and motives of a journalist who published the name and workplace of someone who donated $250 to the protests. People should ask themselves whether they feel comfortable with conservative outlets like True North or Fox News naming and outing people who privately donated to lawyer funds for BLM protestors. Is that really what we want to normalize in our body politic? The most alarming part of all this is that it doesn’t seem like most people have taken the time to think through the inevitable consequences of these actions. More likely than not, a section of our population has decided that since the current victims are those they do not like, it’s not a problem. I guess it’s fitting that today's victims will one day have the chance to see the same abuses vested on those who are currently apathetic.
Photo by Nhi 'Jenny' Vo
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