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Rob Ford's Toronto

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Budget chair’s piggy bank pignapped

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Mayor Ford announced today that, because he will be at his cottage, he will not march in this year's Pride parade. Every mayor since Barbara Hall has marched in the parade.

Ford also skipped the Proud of Toronto event that was held in the City Hall rotunda, the PFLAG flag raising hosted by Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke and will not attend the Pride flag raising this coming Monday.

I'm not a fan of people calling the mayor as a homophobe, but he's making a real case for it being a deserving label.

Ignoring the cultural/political ramifications, Pride is one of the city's largest tourist events, adding millions of dollars to the city economy.
 
GraphicMatt said:
I'm not a fan of people calling the mayor as a homophobe, but he's making a real case for it being a deserving label.
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Why not a fan? Even before this, it was well beyond debate that Rob Ford is an anti-gay bigot; this was quite clear by his disgusting statements about AIDS and same-sex marriage.

And now we have proof for those who wouldn't believe it. Skipping his vacation is a quasi-plausible excuse ... but if he wasn't a bigot, he'd be jumping at the opportunity to make sure he was at other events instead. By skipping these - even the one in HIS OWN OFFICE - he deserves the label as a homophobic bigot. It can go along with his other labels ... and of course his arrest record from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Hopefully he has enough sense to not try and drive while he's boozing up at the cottage.
 
As I've stated before I think that PRIDE type of stuff made sense in the 80s and 90s. While there is no question about the rights that all people (homosexuals or not) should enjoy, I find that the gay parade is rather decadent, tacky, and out of touch. If I was the mayor of New Orleans I wouldn't show up for Mardi Gras, and if I was the mayor of Toronto I wouldn't show up for Pride.

That said, I would keep in touch with the homosexual community in one way or another, and I would make sure they don't feel alienated by City Hall. There's no reason why gay people living in Toronto should feel judged by their own city, and I'd imagine a lot of them are feeling exactly that right now. It's plain rude and inappropriate if anything.
 
RC8 said:
If I was the mayor of New Orleans I wouldn't show up for Mardi Gras...
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Seriously? You wouldn't celebrate Fat Tuesday in a town founded by Catholics, despite its being the biggest tourist draw your town will ever see? That's more than faintly ridiculous, and taints your comment on Pride badly.

But Ford's playing to his Team. They're homophobic and downtowner-phobic. Dissing Pride gains him votes.
 
I think Ford attending the parade would invite an impressive chorus of boos that would surely make front page news despite the generosity of his participation. Probably a safer move to avoid it.
 
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I think the real issue is the traditional squirt gun ritual. Ford is wisely avoiding turning his appearance into a wet t-shirt contest and getting the lesbians all horned up.
 
doug said:
Surely you mean carribana.
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Caribana is probably worse indeed. At least they've got the excuse that they're culturally that way though. Having lived in the Caribbean I understand people from there actually enjoy that atmosphere much like 905ers enjoy clubbing.

I'd skip it if I were mayor just like I skip it as a citizen.
 
grey said:
I think Ford attending the parade would invite an impressive chorus of boos that would surely make front page news despite the generosity of his participation. Probably a safer move to avoid it.
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That's no excuse. There are many events for 2 weeks during Pride. He could have gone to one of the quieter events, like the flag raising or something else, just as a good will gesture. Let's face it, Ford is just being a prick! He knows what message he is sending out to Toronto by doing this. He clearly is NOT the mayor for all Torontonians.
 
doug said:
Surely you mean carribana.
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Caribana has way more sexual touching, grinding and decadent behaviour, than pride has ever had. Sure, Pride has some theatrics but the Caribana guys there are shameless, rubbing their erections all over women they don't even know. Gay guys are way too afraid of rejection, to ever attempt that. Most gay guys won't even say hello to a stranger. Those Caribbean guys have no fear of rejection, which I think is a good thing. I wish gay men had that kind of hutzpah. lol
 
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grey said:
I think Ford attending the parade would invite an impressive chorus of boos that would surely make front page news despite the generosity of his participation. Probably a safer move to avoid it.
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During the Santa Claus parade, Ford marched right through pinko-town, and was received warmly, at least where I was standing. Also, I recall that Mel Lastman was received very warmly at his first Pride parade, despite his earlier hesitation about participating.

Good lord, Rob Ford is making me miss Mel.
 
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That's perhaps the most baffling decision I have ever seen any politician make. Two free nurses and he assumes there's a catch that one day we might be on the hook for them so he rejects the offer. It's as if it never crossed his mind that 1) nurses are public goods and 2) if the provincial government pulls the funding then the city could easily just say "we're not picking up their contracts" (even if $170,000 is pocket change for a government of this size).

I do wonder if he would have been so quick to turn down a similar offer if it involved two free police officers?
 
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