"Sometimes I think I live in a parallel universe to Margaret Wente"
Mar 03, 2011
&, campbell, globe, mail, wente
Earlier this week, Globe and Mail newspaper, "journalist" Margaret Wente launched a vicious attack on public sector workers and their unions. I submitted the following response to the column, which the Globe and Mail has not published yet:
Editor: Re: Margaret Wente, "In Madison, the reactionaries are on the street," Globe and Mail March 1, 2011
Sometimes I think I live in a parallel universe to Margaret Wente. Today I know so. She watches the remarkable events unfolding around the world and then compares unionized workers in Wisconsin to reactionaries. I see the same pictures of brave people fighting for democracy in Libya and Egypt and wonder why the American Republicans are trying to destroy trade unions, one of the pillars of their democracy.
One of the things the Americans did in Germany after the Second World War was to invest in restoring civil society, and chief among that group was trade unions. The Americans knew that without civil society, including strong representatives of working people in unions, that democracy would be in peril. So it is very surprising to see the Republican Governor in Wisconsin and other “red” states trying to destroy them in the public sector.
It is even more surprising to see Ms. Wente cheering them on from her safe perch in the Globe’s ivory tower. Her hopes that Canadian politicians will take note of the situation in Wisconsin are unnecessary. We already have a cadre of political leaders who would like nothing better than to emulate their Republican brothers in arms. Tim Hudak, the Mike Harris wannabe, comes to mind.
Ms. Wente should also advise our very own reactionaries in Canada that the response from the American people, not just the trade unions, has been strong and unabated. A recent Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans oppose a law in their state similar to the one proposed in Wisconsin.
I hope that democracy and freedom will win all over the world, especially with our neighbours to the South.
For a completely different perspective from Ms. Wente’s on this issue, please read Paul Krugman’s column in the New York Times.
Comments
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It's amazing that a country that so readily brags of "freedom" for its citizens can so quickly take away their basic rights.
Jeremy - -0001-11-30 00:00
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out. Martin Niemoller
Robert - 2011-03-07 10:52
Here's a link to another great perspective on this : http://www.workplacebullying.org/2011/02/17/wisc/
Sharon - 2011-03-07 20:51