Time permitting Amir Khadir has promised to take part in the demonstration planned to protest the Royal visit next month by Prince William and Kate and of course, we'd expect no less.
For Khadir there's nothing like a good demonstration, to get his blood circulating. Ever since he was a little boy his father, a Communist organizer dragged him to one demonstration after another, fighting for the downtrodden proletariat, and like a Jehovah's Witness canvasser, after a while, it becomes second nature, an accustomed way of life.
And so while Christians are slaughtered in Egypt, while Syrian children are cut down by their own soldiers and while Colonel Qaddafi masterminds a slaughter of his own people, it's the Royals and a poor shoe seller on St. Denis Street in Montreal who are the targets of this very brave, self-righteous and honourable politician.
Mr. Khadir is renowned for his clever sloganeering and his repeated use of libelous untruths to further his message of peace, love and
communism socialism, where in his idyllic Shangri-la, the world is free from big business, bosses, rich people, pollution, Jews, Americans and of course-- the Queen of England.
"
PARASITES!" was the headline that made it's way across the ocean to the pages of the Daily Mail, where Mr. Khadir's reference to the Royals, didn't go over big. The paper quoted a Calgary reader of the National Post as saying "
As for Quebec, the less said the better with those constant leeches on the rest of Canada.' LINK
I'm not a great fan of the Royals but respect those who get a great deal of enjoyment out of the Monarchy. That being said, it behooves me to defend the Royals when Mr. Khadirs slanders them gratuitously.
The Royals may be a lot of things but parasites they are not.
In fact they work very hard at their job and pursue their duties with dedication and good grace. What exactly is their job? To bring joy to those who are interested and trust me, there are plenty of Canadians who are interested.
Visiting the ill, opening a new road or hospital, trouping the colours, touring disaster zones, giving out awards, hosting garden parties for thousands, shaking hands and waving are all part of the Royal duties that the Queen and her family do, day in and day out.
Does Mr. Khadir really believe William and Kate are coming to visit Yellowknife for a vacation that we are paying for?
Lady Diana, during her shortened life worked tirelessly on various charities and almost single-handed brought the issue of land-mines to world attention. It is a legacy that Kate has committed to continue.
As for costs, forget it, the Royals are a bargain beyond belief.
Half of Britain's tourism industry is based on the Royal Family. The Changing of the Guard, the Tower of London and even Buckingham Palace, which you can actually visit in the summer, are driving forces that keep visitors coming to London.
The Royal wedding of William and Kate, which did cost the state tens of millions of pounds in security (the Royal family paid for the actual wedding) was worth BILLIONS in new tourist dollars.
As for Canada, each of us contributes about a buck-fifty as our part of the Royal upkeep bill, not a heckuva lot of money and well worth it when one considers the pleasure some Canadians derive from the Royal Family.
Even if it is only 10% or 20% who do enjoy these Royal visits, the money is piddling. Consider all the other subsidies we provide for, the arts programs that few people partake, Telefilm Canada, CBC, Radio Canada, theatres and art gallery subsidies, billions and billions spent on culture that most of us don't want.
So Mr Khadir objects to the $1.50 each of us spends on the Royals, so much so that is is worth demonstrating over.
There are things most of us also object to, perhaps Canadians can organize a demonstration to voice our disapproval over the $200.00 each and every Canadian is forced to cough up to pay for Quebec's equalization payment. Yup, 200 bucks, not a $1.50!
Mr. Khadir may hate the Royals for many reasons, but when he calls them parasites he is out of bounds, because it is simply not true.
At any rate, I don't believe the opinion polls that say that few Canadians support the Monarchy because it's probably a little embarrassing to admit such a sugary attachment, akin to admitting that you enjoy fan magazines and that you secretly follow the lives of Brangelina, George Clooney and the ever-talented Kardashian clan.
If nobody was interested in the Royal family, why did a gazillion people watch the Royal wedding world-wide?
In Canada over 5 million people, over 38% of us, watched some or all of the Royal wedding!
Even separatists and militants watched the wedding because for many it was wonderful entertainment, pure and simple.
For many of us the Royal Family is a delicious real-life fantasy. Like a romance movie full of princes and princesses, costumes and palaces. Adult fantasy, just like Avatar the movie!
So Mr. Khadir, huff and puff all you want. Demonstrate your outrage and scorn with the other merry idiots who believe that the Royal Family is something worth demonstrating over. The Royals as enemies of Quebec is so passé, that most sovereignist organizations have given up protesting long ago.
In English we call people like you a- 'spoil-sport,' someone who takes joy ruining other people's pleasure.
In you are a separatist, the British royal family is as relevant to you as is the Swedish or Dutch Royal family. All the demonstration achieves is to ruin the fun of others, which I imagine, is precisely the goal.
For Amir Khadir, the RRQ and the SSJB knuckleheads, pissing in someone else's soup is an achievement they can be rightfully ashamed of.
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