Ensuring that history properly recognizes the contributions made by disabled lesbian lumberjacks of colour;
As part of a “rebranding” exercise, Vancouver City Council is scheduled to consider today a report on the many “challenges” associated with the continued use by the municipality of its coat of arms as the city’s main visual identity. But in truth, there is really only one challenge facing Vancouver’s politicians: How do they get rid of whitey?
The report, by Vancouver’s communications director Catherine Clement, argues that the municipality’s existing coat of arms “does not help humanize the organization” and “does not reflect the progressive organization the city has become.” Rather, the report argues, it “undermines the image of an innovative government.”
Those are very serious allegations to hurl at a coat of arms that has graced bridges, city hall and municipal documents for more than a century without incident. So what is it about the coat of arms that is suddenly harming the image of Vancouver’s “innovative government”?
After making the case that a truly effective identity for the City of Vancouver would communicate to residents “the myriad services they receive from their local government, and improve awareness of the value they get for their tax dollars,” the report finally gets to the point. According to Ms. Clement, “the present coat of arms uses two Caucasian, male ‘supporters,’ when other cultural groups also played a significant role in the development of Vancouver.”
I cut down trees, I wear high heels, suspenders and a bra. I wish I’d been a girly, just like my dear papa.
I’m reminded of one from a few years ago from the minutes of the U of California Riverside student senate meeting:
At the meeting, the senate also voted to approve a mural to be placed in the Commons. There was some concern voiced by the senate about the contents of the mural.
“I see some pilgrim invaders here,” said Elisa Haro, academic affairs director. “It kind of reminds me of my colonization, and I don’t like that.”
The artist of the mural said that the pilgrim invaders were meant to be Shakespearean actors and that he would try to make that more clear.
Other concerns with the mural included the depiction of white cranes, which the senate demanded be changed to color cranes.
They were also concerned with the lack of a same sex couple depicted, which the artist agreed to add. The senate voted to approve the mural in light of the adjustments being made.
NOTHING the Vancouver city council says has ANY importance…Politically correct hacks!
However,let me suggest these other fine Vancouver icons….how about a junky with a government needle in his/her arm,a chronic car thief,an aggressive panhandler,an eastend drug dealer or perhaps our newly spiffed up dumpster divers complete with government literature on what garbage is safest to eat!
They are right.
They should change the Coat of Arms to show two 14 year old (age of consent) same sex, crack addicted, methadone popping female lesbian poets with the dry heaves, talking on whitey (the big white telephone) as a symbol of innovative services and compassionate care for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Read the report all 28 pages of it. Pretty interesting justifications and options. I love the idea that one reason to update is that the current one does not translate well to lapel pins. Wha a hoot.
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20060718/documents/a15.pdf
Catherine Clement’s coat of arms: a bat in front of the moon.
Have they nothing better to do?
If you read appendix C of the Van City Report you’d discover that the present coat of arms is the 3rd one and only in use since 1969.
I’m against PC as the motive for change, but I’m for accurate reporting too!
Love your blog
jvp
Re: Canadian Observer’s remark above about “government literature about safe garbage-eating” — that is in fact no joke. Moreoever The Province (or Georgia Strait?) had a front-page cover story offering helpful tips on eating from Dumpsters — no really! And on Father’s Day, the Courier’s front page featured TWO DADS playing with “their child”.
Despite living here since 1979, I only recently spotted a road sign near Stanley Park with the following message: “Vancouver is a Nuclear-Free Zone”. LMAO while trying to retain control of my motorcycle! Yeah, and my house is a Lear Jet-Free Zone.
As someone mentioned on another thread John Cleese has made the observation that you can’t do satire today — the barminess is now routine.
Really? 28-page report?
Actually only 25, my finger slipped. I’ll owe you 3.
The people of Van elect these idiots, they can have their tax dollars pay for the idiocy their representatives come up with (on top of their representatives salaries at that…)
ya gotta read the last 3 para’s
John Geiger does a great “tongue in cheek”
meanwhile a couple of crackheads are hanging out down the block, thousands of junkies squat on sidewalks all over downtown and needle-up and property crime is at mega epidemic levels.
the city us dirty, the alleys are full of garbage thrown on the ground by dumpster divers searching for cans and anything with a credit card number on – they sell for $25, grow ops are everywhere and if you are caught you get a suspended sentence.
Ya . . . Vancouver has nothing else to do so it can worry about its diversity level on the coat of arms.
meanwhile a couple of crackheads are hanging out down the block, thousands of junkies squat on sidewalks all over downtown and needle-up and property crime is at mega epidemic levels.
the city us dirty, the alleys are full of garbage thrown on the ground by dumpster divers searching for cans and anything with a credit card number on – they sell for $25, grow ops are everywhere and if you are caught you get a suspended sentence.
Ya . . . Vancouver has nothing else to do so it can worry about its diversity level on the coat of arms.
Yeah, they could show an Asian gang member, a female prostitute, and a heroin addict at the safe shooting gallery.
All good contributing members to Vancouver society.
Do they assume the ” Caucasian male supporters” are heterosexual? They could be gay, and therefore Politically Correct.
Good heavens, you don’t suppose Catherine Clement is anti-gay?!
Agree with “Shaken”.
if they put both male supporters on the same side in a compromizing position that could cover off for the Svends.
then on the other side, instead of supporters they need to have them laying down for free needles and begging. the central crest can remain the same, just never clean it.
They should change the Coat of Arms to show two 14 year old (age of consent) same sex, crack addicted, methadone popping female lesbian poets…
As opposed to male lesbians, eh? Heh.
Vancouver Politicians:
“…and so, as I was emphatically saying – our coat of arms does not…”
*blink*
“…oh lookie, a shiney thing!”
————-
I cut down trees, I wear high heels, suspenders and a bra. I wish I’d been a girly, just like my dear papa.
– Ha Jonesy! Beat me to it!
Catherine Clement:
“squeek squeek”.
Yep the soft in the head crowd from the left just can’t stand to recognize and stand behind tradition, history or facts.
In a make work work project to reinvent the world to suit their POV the “Progressives” need to keep working to eliminate the reminders of the past because those things do not suit the warped idiology of the moonbat.
In MB we have Doer and the Dippers singing about ” Spirited Energy” …..Hooray!
That’s right kids…don’t worry about dealing with REAL problems or taking responsibility for what you have or have not done.
Just go out with your can of rainbow spray paint and try to cover up the symbols of REAL innovation and industry.
Another reason I detest these kinds of people.
OMMAG
So how would you depict a transgender logger or fisherman. Perhaps they can have a logger with boobs and a penis. Then for sure we would recognize it. I think that Mayor Sullivan is not only physically challeneged but mentally as well.
Vancouvers deserves what it gets.
And to top it all off they made iddling your motor for more than 3 seconds illegal today. I wonder if that is 3 consecutive minutes, or cumulative minutes in a day. With the non syncronized traffic lites one could rack up 3 minutes in 3 blocks. Or can you idle for 2 minutes and 55 secs, shut it off for 5 seconds and then idle some more. The problem is not with iddling engines in cars, it is with idle brains at city hall.
Horny Toad
More f**king aapeasement to the less motivated.
Yes, let’s change everything to reflect the sterling examples of the fine development of nations whom most of our recent immigrants FLED from.
– E.G. The middle yeast infection
– South America
– S.E. Asia
– And let’s never foget to honor our devient divas and felacious fellows of the lower mainland.
When “whitey” is finally disposed of this world will quickly become the true cesspool it so richly deserves to be.
Don’t worry about the environment. A million or so years after we are gone the earth will be beautiful again as though we never existed. With no tax payer or oil money involved.
Vancouver is San Francisco north … whack-jobs abound.
Hey! I just thought about something.
These people who want to design a new coat of arms, they’re not the same people who dreamed up the Vancouver 2010 Olympic logo, are they?
Two wrongs do not make a right.
A WORKING ASSIGNMENT TO REDESIGN COAT OF ARMS NOT A FIRST PRIORITY. FLUFF, MEANINGLESS WORK ENDEAVOUR. SUGGEST ALLEVIATING HUNGER IN THE STREETS SO THERE’S NO NEED TO DISTRIBUTE COSTLY PAMPHLETS ADVISING THE HOMELESS HOW TO EAT SAFELY WHEN FORAGING IN THE GARBAGE BINS.
A LITTLE BRAINSTORMING, INNOVATION IN THESE ‘PARAPHERNALIA’ DEPARTMENTS (COATS OF ARMS, FLAGS, ET.AL.) FOR A LEGITIMATE WORKING AGENDA WOULDN’T HURT. THEIR PERFORMANCE SHEETS ON THIS ONE SHOULD REFLECT THEIR INCOMPETENCE AT SEIZING ON PRIORITY ISSUES. WASTED TAX DOLLARS. WELL YOU MAY GET THE PICTURE…
HOW TO GET THE MESSAGES OUT TO ORGS. EARLIEST SO THEY CAN REVERSE AND REVISE MEANINGLESS EPISODES SUCH AS WHAT THIS REPORT DESCRIBES.
Just got back from 3 days in Vancouver. What a town. Drug deals for all to see. Hookers and panhandlers in everyones face. Filth everywhere and not a cop insight. What a wonderful place not to visit. I do hope thier new coat of arms has visual references to the real Vancouver. Bang, bang, shoot, shoot and all the other cowboys who live in that town.
The perfect emblem for the city government of Vancouver (yes, I have lived there) and many others would be a sheaf of $20 bills, burning.
This is race neutral, gender neutral, and does indeed provide an accurate depiction of the services rendered by the said government.
Trashing Canadian history is a popular leftist tradition in Canada these past 40 years. Left leaning people hated everything this country once stood for – and continue to hate anyone who looks back fondly on the ideals that made this country great in the first place.
How bout a toothless white 55 year old hooker and a young 12 year old Asian john sharing the intimacies of a heroine needle supplied by the Great Socialist Democracy?
A ship of stools run Vancouver. The curb worms of the lib/left reach new and pathetic heights in their race to be seen to be caring. Their lot will improve only with death and that can’t come to soon, at least learn from your parent’s mistakes, get sterilized.
Melwilde, the cops are busy writing tickets at 3 different locations on Knight st. because crack- heads don’t have much money.
A new logo should have some unicorns and/or goats to reflect our liberal / insurgent population.
How bout the hooker and the john fighting over a crack rock? Really, I’m just trying to help you guys out.
how about one of those “hands in your pockets” guys giving our tax dollars to a junkie or 2.
f’cryin out loud in Calgary the city council decided smoking outside on a patio bar is illegal, you must go inside the bar to smoke…clean air stuff y’know.
they wish they’d been born girlies just like their old papas
From the comments expressed on here about individuals various cities.
It appears like we need to call in pest control in charge of Socialist moon battery, if not chicanery.
Something smelled odd about this. Why so many moon bats in power locally?
Edmonton being no exception, With a city council giving themselves a raise . As to being paid 98% more than “Ordinary ” Canadians. The Mayor who at least has the grace to sign his check over to Charity (he’s a millionaire already)is in the 99 percentile. They have smokers sitting out in -20 in hospital gowns. Since when did we start torturing the sick?
I have an idea. Why don’t civic politicians disclose there Party affiliation or there political beliefs? That way we can stomp the Socialist corpulent maggots from the flowers of reason in a Polis.
Its time for honesty. Seems the left has taken over our municipalities. As a sure fired reminder of that. Is just how the far loony left Calgary’s council is, & ours as well . With few exceptions. This in a conservative Province?
They have crawled in threw the sewers . Nestled smugly in positions of local power for there gangrenous social agenda.
I bet peaches to popcorn there is not one city held hostage to the Poverty loving left?
Thank Goodness for Kate & others finally exposing these poseurs. Makes my nights more peaceful like.
Let’s vote. Those in favor of a shield of arms representing a 55 year old white toothless crack whore, and a 14 year old (ok hell I’m reasonable enough to make concessions) asian john fighting over a crack rock. Say YES
Supporters are granted by the Chief Herald (in Ottawa) using the rules as handed down by the College of Arms in London and the Kings at Arms in Edinburgh & Dublin.
Changing the supporters requires a reason that is valid to the rules as so set out. It is also moderately expensive @ ~$5,000.
Most supporters are animals.
It seems to me that worrying about supporters –no matter how much I enjoy heraldry– is a waste of time and energy for a city council.
This PC Poltical Correctness has reached a all time high of rediclous i mean its like the liberal idiots trying to remove the minuteman statue there at UMASS becuase it offends the liberal wussies and then their athetic derector was demanding it be replaced with a wolf idol i suggest that their athetic director go live way on top of a mountian and stop being such a PC jerk
Let’s vote. Those in favor of a shield of arms representing a 55 year old white toothless crack whore, and a 14 year old (ok hell I’m reasonable enough to make concessions) asian john fighting over a crack rock. Say YES
No, as those aren’t quite the affirming progressive images that the Council wants. I say keep the two white guys, but put them both on the same side with one of them on his knees performing a progressive sex act on the other (well, maybe the guy on the receiving end should be an Indian, just to be really PC); on the other side, feature a “full bodied” woman in a wheelchair next to a Hong Kong property developer in a $10,000 suit (maybe this ain’t so progressive, but it sure reflects Vancouver).
The left wingers are very very good at divide and conquer and the right needs to fully understand the way this tactic works for the left.
White against black, rich against poor, men against women, homosexuals against the church, Quebec against the Anglos, Canadians against Americans, it is the left that must underline differences and also the left that creates programs that perpetuate problems because it is those same problems that are used to finance a left wing agenda.
For instance, anyone who tries to rent an apartment in Van will soon notice there are very few apartment buildings built since the 1970’s.
Because of the way landlords are taxed Vancouver is all condos and strata titled.
No one is going to build many rentals there and that is the way the left wingers that run the place like it.
Renters have very few choices but to rent in run down shabby buildings from the 60’s and 70’s and sooner or from individual home and condo owners and the politicians obviously want it that way or they would change the law.
The left in Van can paint landlords as greedy bastards with terrible buildings AND sell condos at inflated prices so this tactic has the added benefit of keeping condo developers quite busy and happy about the lack of any real competition.
No one will build rentals because of the tax code where all capital gains from rentals are fully taxable and not eligible for any tax break if reinvested, i.e. used to build more apartments.
IIRC, this tax law does not apply to a hotel or to any other business , just rentals.
Thank the NDP and the Libs and the Progressives.
And if one wants to see what happens when rental apartment buildings are taxed the same as any other business, just drive a few miles to Bellingham where developers have always built apartments for rent and where people have some variety of choice available in the market.
…sometimes I wonder if the proverbial centre of life is moving away form me because my patience with lying, self-righteous leftist airheads is getting less and less; or that the spectrum/bell curve is trying to adjust to how far the moonbats are moving away from reality…
I’m outraged by the Newfoundland coat of arms. Why the supporters are two Beothuks, when everyone knows that other cultural groups played a significant role in the development of Newfoundland. (And incidentally in wiping out those same Beothuks).
And how about Saskatchewan? I think it’s important to represent mamalian groups other than lions and white tailed deer that have contributed to the development of Saskatchewan!
as a resident myself, i think the coat of arms is out of date. very few people in the city are actually lumberjacks or fisherman, so i would agree that it does not accurately resemble the population. Let’s face it, half the people in Vancouver are non-white, so i don’t see the big deal in giving them some representation. it’s what makes the city more interesting anyway; otherwise it would be like living in calgary or regina with a bunch of white-bred, cracker hacks one generation off the farm.
“it’s what makes the city more interesting anyway; otherwise it would be like living in calgary or regina with a bunch of white-bred, cracker hacks one generation off the farm. ”
yoyo would appear to be a good name for you. As a bit of a lesson, most coat of arms are “out of date”. They tend to depict things from the past to reflect some point in the history of the subject.
“i think the coat of arms is out of date.”
Yeah, it’s always good to pontificate on a subject about which one obviously knows nothing. Come on, listen to yourself: does one seriously expect HERALDRY, a legacy of the Middle Ages, to be contemporary and cutting edge?!
On the contrary, one of the few things I envy Canadians is their active Heraldic Authority, making them one of the few remaining heraldic jurisdictions (alongside the College of Arms in England, the Lyon Court in Scotland, the Chief Herald of Ireland, the South African Bureau of Heraldry and the Cronista Rey des Armas in Spain). This is a body of law with deep roots, not something to be changed on the latest political whim.
How about a big cauldron of vegetable soup to represent the multiculturalism and some crackers on top! lol!
So, now the truth finally comes out…
Brokeback Mountain was based on a true story.
I didn’t know until now it actually took place in downtown Van.
PS: When re-designing the coat of arms with the crackhead, 14-year-old asian john, dumpster diver and the white paraplegic male performing fellatio on a blind native canadian, don’t forget the almighty turban-clad east indian cruising around picking up fares in his ’99 Intrepid (with no shocks and plenty of curry powder on the dash).