I have spent a lot of time investigating the native wingnuts of the US, particularly in regards to their opinions regarding immigration and immigration reform. Up until now I have been laboring under the misconception that the phenomenon – although not limited to US – had reached a zenith of ignorance and bigotry in the likes of Tom Tancredo, Pat Buchanan, JD Hayworth, Jim Sensenbrenner and Lou Dobbs that could not be matched in other civilized nations. Especially in Canada, that friendly place up north.
But now from our neighbors to the north comes an example of wingnuttery that comes close to surpassing anything our native variety have been able to come up with.
From the Coalition for a Humanistic Euro- British Canada
The coalition believes it is crucial that the founding cultures and peoples of Canada be given their rightful recognition in the affairs of the nation in all respects. We believe that British culture needs to be promoted and enhanced.
In view of this, we must ask that immigration cease to be discriminatory against those who originate from the continental European area as that is where we think the protections we are seeking for founding cultures of Canada can be best demonstrated. If we continue as we are to have more immigrants who are not from these areas we are in fact demonstrating that we are being unfair to those who have founded this country and given it what has made it a “paradise on earth” for all to see and desire for themselves as an example of how to live. We must be fair to all concerned. We ask no more! We’d like the Euro as our currency.
Many of the US variety of wingnuts call for “English only” legislation to try to ensure that English remains the “official language” of the country. Our friends from the Coalition for a Humanistic Euro- British Canada do them one better …they call of English to become the “official language” of ….THE ENTIRE WORLD.
We suggest that the English language has been universally adopted as the official language of the world because the culture from which it comes continues to exhibit a fairness and judiciousness, rationality and kindliness that all peoples all over the world think right to accept. We would like to have a kindly approach taken to teaching this culture completely to those who will be altogether accepting of such great ideals. To those whose capacities are maximized and done justice to universally if we only preach the kindly message of true generosity, true fairness and kindness so that it comes from the heart to begin with, and is improved and actualized by showing the beauty of Jane Austen and Upstairs Downstairs
While Tancredo and his ilk would be quite content to build a wall to keep out the kind of people they do not want in the US …. The Euro-Brit Coalition is willing to put their money where their mouths are and provide free housing and cash bonuses to the “right people” to come in.
To this end, we advocate a pro-active approach to immigration… We would like incentives such as a free home, furniture and cash rewards to those who we should therefore be much more completely welcoming of in this country and elsewhere.
And just who would get these cash bonuses… who are the “right people”…white Europeans and South Africans, of course.
A massive influx of (especially) European,Russian, Ukranian & Mediterrenean immigration with classes to ensure cultural assimilation….We would like to see recognition for the credentials of those professionals such as Doctors from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, etc.
NO discrimination against White South Africans wishing to flee to Canada. We’d accept very high quotas indeed to alleviate suffering under new circumstances.
Some people whom the Coalition finds highly desirable actually receive personal invitations to emigrate to Canada. Most of them are of course celebrities that the founder of the group finds very appealing :
We’d dearly love to see people of the calibre of Ms. Emma Thomspon, a sensitive intelligent beautiful soul with the greatest sense of Christianly goodness. She’d be a wonderful role model for the many people we hope to attract from the continent.
Likewise the great Mr. Anthony Hopkins for whom we have the greatest regard.
Senator Hillary Clinton. A beautiful soul.
(and some others in this eclectic mix;) Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Diane Keaton, Ann Archer, Rep. Mary Bono (Sonny’s wife)
The website also makes recommendations on cars, electronics, movies TV shows and even furniture that “right thinking “ Canadians should show interest in. ( mostly very British or European)
OK .. at this point your probably thinking… this has to be some sort of small, way-out, fringe group who managed to throw up a website… no big deal, wakos throw up websites all the time. Well you’re partially right, it looks like the group does not have widespread support and seems to be mostly the pet project of it’s founder, Michael E. Chessman, a South Asian gentleman born in Tanzania. (yes …that’s right … an immigrant of South Asian descent… so it appears that this guy not only drinks the kool-aid , he must own an entire kool-aid factory)
But….
I found out about the “coalition” because it just ran a full-page ad in the current issue of Newsweek. They’ve also taken out full-page ads in over fifty newspapers worldwide in the last five years, including the New York Times and the Daily News.
So they might be small, (like one guy probably) but they have a pretty large war chest, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past five years to get out their “message.”
The Coalition has some other “interesting” policies besides those about immigration:
Middle Eastern Policy: We have long advocated that Palestine might be settled entirely by Jewish peoples given the limited amount of available land to them. We think Israel should allow the Palestenians to continue their lives over in Jordan
Education: Boarding schools in the British style
Trade: Cultural imperatives make European (car) models a much better choice for Canadians. Perhaps Mr. Lee Iacocca could be drafted to help build Euro cars right here for us.
Child Poverty: An end to child poverty in Canada with direct supplements and school meals. Quality toys such as “Anne of Green Gables” dolls and quality metal train sets and the like.
Federalsim: An end to checkerboard style of Federalism in Canada. A strong central government as envisaged by the right honourable Mr. Pierre Elliot Trudeau during his time as Canadian Prime Minister
Code of Chivalry: A return to the recognition of the importance of the family unit. A recognition that feminism is unnatural and hurtful to children, as is the entire concept of disposables (from diapers to children). A return, basically, to the time when men were men and women knew their place in the order of things
Affirmative Action: An end to discriminatory practices which deny the best candidate for the position in favour a lesser qualified candidate… Private Clubs should feel free to be discriminating as to who they wish for their own members (freedom of association)… We would encourage, for example, men and women from universities forming their own private clubs where they may sip a brandy, attired in formal uniform and discuss the future of our nation.
In the end it appears as if the Canadian wingnut wingnuti canidus, although not as widespread or numerous as it’s US cousins wingnuti americanus, is far more colorful and flamboyant than anything we have down here in the continuous forty eight.
This diary is in no way intended to besmirch the people or nation of Canada, or infer that Mr Chessmen in anyway represents a veiw accepted by anyone but himself.
… besides, we all might be moving up there soon and I would hate to wear out my welcome before I even arrive. So please take this dairy in the manner in which it was intended… with tongue firmly implanted in check – looking at what can only be seen as the insane contratictions in Mr Chessmen’s philosophy .
Cross posted from: Migra Matters
LOL… This can’t be real… please tell me this is some sort of parody group. The truthiness in advertising squad or something?
Anne of Green Gables dolls?
If it’s a joke they’ve spend a ton of money to pull it off. From the press section of the website it looks like they’ve spent close to 1 mil on ads.
I picture very rich and eccentric … At least that what I hope … if not it moves from funny to scary.
the website is pretty hysterical … really cheesy “britishy” military music playing. And lots of pictures of very “proper” British aristocrat types.
LOL, well maybe they are real. Heaven knows I’ve often wondered if some of our own wingnutters could possibly be serious. (Sadly, yes!)
Or Italy, or Spain, where so many of the people have failed to maintain the Christianly goodness standard of colored eyes and hair.
And certainly not Eastern Europe, where even people with deceptively correct colorations may not meet the standard in other, more subtle ways. The coalition will know what I mean.
This is a very progressive sounding group, magnanimous in their call to allow the Palestinians to live out their lives, once cleansed from Palestine, and bravely said, too, as it is in direct conflict with US policy, which is to empower the Palestinians to lose their lives in a variety of unpleasant ways, as the survivors are walled up in the World’s Largest Concentration Camp.
Anne of Green Gables dolls have long been considered by many brandy sippers to be the quintessential solution to the problem of child poverty, not only in Canada, but to the entire soon-to-be-English speaking world.
Surely only hurtful and unnatural feminists will have any quibble with these remarkable recommendations.
is that I live in Canada and had no fucking clue these guys even existed vs. hearing them touted as the ‘average American’ on Fox.
Did the CBC give them air time? Or CTV? Or Global? Or CityTV? Not at all. Did ANY of our papers print this nonsense or even pay attention? No again.
Wingnuts exist everywhere. It’s only how much relevance or prominence you give them that gives them power.
plus alot of press interveiws and ad buys in Canadian newspapers.
Well I’ll have to check that out. But watching the CBC day in and day out I can only picture them being ridiculed by our anchors as being wingnuts… but without seeing who interviewed them or the context I can’t declare any more. Sorry I didn’t click on the link, just going by what I see and hear everyday.
Ad buys are nothing up here since most Canadians couldn’t care less what British nutjobs have to say about how we run our country… hence the fact that French is our second official language.
My main point still remains. Wingnuts are wingnuts and if you ignore them they lose their power.
But at least this one has panache.
Our native US wingnuts just want to crawl up their tress and play “dueling banjos” … but yours … they want proper white South African young ladies and gentleman, sipping brandy, while the discuss the “sensitive intelligent beautiful soul” that is Emma Thompson, while attired in formal uniforms.
“If only the whole world could be like an Merchant Ivory movie” : )
Oh yeah? then what are they doing in the WH?
Spiderleaf,
you’re quite right about the press reaction to Michael E. Chessman the self proclaimed leader of the “coalition”.
In 1999 an ad similar to this one was run in about 20 Canadian papers on the same day. Needless to say there was quite a backlash. But after some investigation into the “group”( which is comprised basicly of Mr Chessman) and it’s utterly bizarre proposals like “calling for an end to routine anal examinations, especially after small infractions like speeding tickets”(WTF), the press coverage of the story turned from outrage to mocking and ridicule.
since then the “coalition” is the subject of much amusement to the Canadian press:
“Listen to this pap from Michael Chessman who, as founder of the Toronto-based Coalition for a Humanistic British Canada, has provided us with many hours of amusement over the years.” (Winnipeg Sun)
Obiviously that’s why this time around the ads were run in Newsweek, Scotland Herald, Belfast Telegraph, The Age (AU),and New Zealand Hreald. The Canadian Press doesn’t take this guy seriously at all. (with good reason after reading many of his propasals)
PS: by the way The CBC interveiw was in reaction to that 1999 incident and the free speach debate it caused..
.. and the fact that all the cheques used to pay for the ads bounced : ) … Like I said in the diary “far more colorful and flamboyant” than the average homegrown US wingnut.
for the final piece of evidence of total wingnutty disconnect:
The guy who heads up this anti-immigration group that wants to foster a “European”(see white) Canada is …. An immigrant of South Asian descent who was born in Tanzania.
This is one very confused individual
I never heard of them, but then I wouldn’t seek them out because they are a waste of time.
. . .is that there is a lot of money flowing into this group.
It’s not astroturf–it’s an entire synthetic garden!
The war for Canada has only begun.
There will be more.