I am a pretty nerdy guy. This much is evident for regular
readers of this blog. One of my favourite things to nerd-out on is history.
Recently I have been reading about republicanism and the French Revolution. The
French Revolution is definitely one of the more interesting chapters of human
political history, in my opinion. One of the things that makes it interesting
is the contrasts between it and the American Revolution which occurred short
years before. One factor that existed in the French context that never
materialized in the American was the importance of public opinion, commonly referred
to as the mob.
Mob justice or the calls from the public for blood is as
old as human society itself. I do not understand the anthropological/sociological
reason why, but maliciousness and cruelty emerges from people when you put them
in a group, disguise their individuality and confront them with controversy.
Watching the fallout from Mayor Rob Ford’s revelations about drugs and alcohol
to the world, literally, was paired against the discordant gleeful chirps,
snarky comments and catcalls from the public galleries of radio, Facebook,
Twitter and wherever else.
Anyone who reads what I have written about Rob Ford knows
that I am no fan of the mayor of Canada’s largest city. I would never have
voted for the man, nor have I supported him in office very often, but I take no
pleasure in the public disgrace he now finds himself. I am embarrassed by Rob
Ford as a person from the Greater Toronto Area. I think he makes my region,
province and country look bad and that we deserve a substantially better
caliber of mayor at city hall. I believe he should resign, but I cannot side
with those that seem to take such heart in the man’s downfall, nor cheer while
it happens.
When the news broke that Senators Duffy, Wallin and
Brazeau were being suspended from the Senate without pay I was in first in
favour of the action. However, as time passed I realized they were being pushed
out to cover up the abuses that they and their party masters had participated
in. The revelation by Senator Duffy definitely reinforced this perspective.
However, when the Conservative government in the Senate made this motion I saw
a live poll on CBC that suggested that over 60% of viewers wanted to see them
turfed out.
For those who transgress against us we want to see them
suffer. Bring them to the public guillotine where there bright lights and
cameras hum and let’s see a little humiliation and suffering to satiate our
anger. As I suggested this isn’t a recent phenomenon. Bev Oda’s, former
Conservative MP for Durham, $16 orange juice pales in comparison to millions
misspent by Treasury Board Secretary Tony Clement (CPC – Parry Sound-Muskoka)
in his own riding that was earmarked for border improvements. But the abstract
is less likely to rile up a mob than the concrete.
Everyone I mentioned I believe should have resigned and
then be quietly allowed to exit public life (or sit as an MP, depending on
their error). It’s the public reaction and the call for blood that I find
difficult to stomach. Mike Duffy has a documented heart condition and it is
understandable why he hid behind it once the storm began. It is ironic that
with the massive number of professional and citizen journalists, media outlets,
Twitter and bloggers that our discourse seems only able to focus on one story
at a time. Why is that? I suppose an answer might be found back in that mob in
the streets of Paris; despite the many peering eyes there can only be one
speaker and the mob answers with the din of a single voice.
What do these public witch hunts (which has uncovered
witches) communicate about public life? What member of the business, academic, intellectual
elite would look at the events of the past week and embrace the chaos and
thrust themselves into it? The optics are terrible. Ford and his supporters
believe the man never had a chance and he was hounded by the media, destined to
fail. Can anyone expect a fair trial in the court of public opinion? Once a
story breaks opinions solidified and politicians forced to deal with the
consequences, even if they are ultimately vindicated.
French Revolutionaries soon learned that the mob hungers
for blood and that there is no true end. I wonder now if we are struck in a mob
fueled by scandal and we eagerly ferret out the next controversy until someone
gives. It seems an unhealthy way to run a democracy or a government regardless
of the mob’s satisfaction.
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