Trouble brews for Winnipeg’s shrine to identity politics…
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is set to tackle the thorny issue of whose story to include and whose to leave out — a process that is causing controversy before it’s even begun.
Construction of the $265-million project in Winnipeg is now underway and the museum will soon announce a cross-country “story gathering process.”
“We will be talking to community groups, individuals, academics and researchers, to really start identifying what the stories are, and who the storytellers are as well,” said museum spokeswoman Angela Cassie.
But some groups are already raising concerns their stories will be excluded.
[…]
“It needs to be inclusive and equitable. If it focuses disproportionate attention to some cases over other cases, then what it is actually teaching us is that there is a hierarchy of human suffering, and that some human suffering is more important than other cases of human suffering; and on that basis, the museum would not be teaching us anything about human rights, it would be teaching us about racism,” Kafieh said.
Here’s hoping they tear each other apart.
Well now all they need to do is tell the story of those poor victims of Canadian imperialist aggression. Oh wait a minute, I think they did that in the War museum.
For some bizarre reason, in spite of the bloody cold winter, the Red River flooded and crested almost three weeks earlier this year than it did in 1997. As a result, the flooding impacts were compounded significantly by ice jams and in some locations large pieces of ice were thrust up on the shore and a number of residences and other structures were damaged.
Warwick, I’m grasping at straws here, because I don’t think even the largest of ice piles would be able to do significant damange to a major structure, but if a future flood were to happen in March, perhaps there would be enough ice to do something.
As for the possibility of failure of the floodway works, I would have to agree with Hans. Engineers, German or otherwise, tend to do a pretty good job if the politicians let them do it. The floodway looks to be well-engineered and has served the population of Waterpeg extremely well since it was put in place in 1968.
Hans, if it wasn’t for the floodway engineering, Hunnish or otherwise, the museum would never have been contemplated for that site. In what part of St. Boniface did you live back in those days? My proximity to the museum site also puts me right in the shadow of the Basilica.
Take advice from an old Liberal turned Conservative. Some stones are best left unturned. Leave that one alone!!
Kate, loved your title. So would Joni.
Kate, loved your title. So would Joni.
felis corpulentis:
As I recall, it was 37 Jubinville Bay which you can google map.
Not too far from Stock and Symington rail yards, but then we were always from the wrong side of the tracks.
🙂
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Well felis corpulentus, now that you mention ice dams I know what one of the wings of the museum will be: fish rights.
This winter the Grand River flooded twice. Once just after Christmas, once in Feb. The reason it flooded was ice dams. Feb. 13-16 was a record high water. There are no docks left down river of Brantford right now.
In days gone by (like five years ago) they used to blow up the ice dams with explosives. This was cheap and quick, they could blow them up before the water started backing up and flooding everything.
This year they used a Coast Guard icebreaker. Which was expensive and took a while, and didn’t really get the ice dam up close to the bridge in Dunville which is where the problem is. Because the water wasn’t deep enough for the bloody great 16 man ship to sail in.
What they really needed was explosives. Why were explosives not used? REGULATIONS. In Ontario you can’t use explosives in the river because it kills fish. Not even if there’s a pretty good chance of loosing 10 or 15 really expensive bridges to the flood. You know, like every bridge from Paris to Dunville.
Fish have more rights than we do. They should be in the museum.
Tax cut now, please.
A human rights museum run by the Government…wow!
I’m taking bets that this will be a self sustaining profit making enterprise.
Why don’t they use the money to put up a statue of Pierre Trudeau in every town in Canada and be done with it (not).
Wasn’t that Warren Kinsella idea?
I hope that any HRM will include exhibit after exhibit of all the HR transgressions committed over the eons by banana republics past and present: China, Russia, Libya, any number of countries in the M.E., etc
Of course, that would entail howls of protest from said countries. But what is a museum if it doesn’t include ‘everything’ related to its title or raison d’etre?
Thanks Kate.
Another truly baffling aspect of this project is the projected annual operating costs, which are expected to be $22 million per year (to start). Taxpayer funded, of course. What they’ll need to spend that kind of money on an annual basis for I don’t know.
http://blog.canoe.ca/raisinghell/2008/12/19/human_rights_museum_nice_but_pricey
how about we leave out everyone, individual or group that did not contribute anything materially or —– fill in the blanks. there were and continue to be those who are recognized for who they are and not what they have done for canada. let’s leave them out of this wonderful waste of money. in fact matbe we could make it so small it would cease to exist.
Oh you just have to defecate all over anything that isn’t white-Christian-hetero-orthodox, don’t you? You must feel very threatened by anything which doesn’t fit your very narrow, simple-minded view of the world.
Pre-Columbus Aboriginal slave trade? You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking. Yeah, and Africans captured and sold their own into slavery. Can’t handle the guilt can you?
My partner and I will soon find ourselves out on the street as a direct result of this country’s systemic hatred of anything that deviates from the norm. Congratulations. You get your wish.
Izanpo, you might find nobody to argue with as your clear lack of history, as shown in your second paragraph, tells everyone you are nothing more than sh*t disturbing troll. Go back to KOS Kucy ’cause nobody here will fall for that.
Sorry, I mean’t “Lucy”.
“My partner and I will soon find ourselves out on the street”
Posted by: Izanpo at April 17, 2009 4:56 PM
———————————————
Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!
Izanpo…Nice try,reference your partner and yourself being on the street because why,because of your sexuality?Puhlease,no group gets further recognition just because why?Oh yeah,because of their sexuality of course.You sound like a HRC goon trolling for gay bashers,and if so,may I say it was a pretty pathetic attempt.
No, I think you’re jumping to conclusions on Izanpo. I don’t think (s)he is referring to a same sex partner.
I think his (her) partner is a goat, and (s)he is referring to the anti-beastiality mindset as being “this country’s systemic hatred of anything that deviates from the norm”.
But I’m just guessing.
Oh no, individual responsibility claims another victim.
Well, supposing there is a decision on what is and what is not included, who the heck is going to visit?
Gee I wonder if the CWB has donated big chunks of western grain producer money to this magnificent museum?
I hope they build right across the street from the CWB.
Because human rights mean SFA to the CWB.
I haven’t lost my rights, I’ve just lost patience with various people (guess who) that want to diminish them. But I can say what I want … so far … wait a sec, knock at the door, be right back …
Shhh … don’t tell Justin about this. PET’s Cemetery Board will be feeing the HRsM; it’s a slippery slope.
Next fees will be from the Toomy Douglas Fdn., the Lethter Pearson Fdn., Bertha Wilson Fdn., and on it goes.
Fees galore. It’s blackmail.
…-
“King family draws fees from DC memorial project
WASHINGTON – The family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has charged the foundation building a monument to the civil rights leader on the National Mall about $800,000 for the use of his words and image — an arrangement one leading scholar says King would have found offensive”
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/news-forum/index
… umm, just wanted to let you folks know, Peter won’t be back for a while, we need his help in boosting uranium production at a remote location. Could you please e-mail your current locations to
MARXIST.SNOOP@BCHRT.communist.org
Thanks, just stay on-line, we can find you sooner that way.
muzzies have been denied their cherished ShariaLaw in the inhumane Canadas and tacking on an extra mill for an exhibit next to the muzzritescoms would be pretty awesome. Say a pile of rocks.
Sorry, “human rights” isn’t a matter of stories and community inputs.
Interestingly, we only build museums to dead things, so maybe a “human rights” museum is apposite. It could record how life was like when people exercised their natural human right to do whatever they wished, within civilized bounds.
It could also have a chapel, with the HRCs of Canada represented in marble, prostrate before the feet of a Victorious Bronze Ezra Levant.
Warwick at April 17, 2009 10:13 AM
You could buy CanWest for 256 bucks at the moment
Izanpo at April 17, 2009 4:56 PM
You are wrong on all your points. Human rights are a universal, not race-specifc thing; only racists would hold such a position. Are you then a racist?
And read a little history before you parrot the standard liberal BS you were indoctrinated with in school.
As a Canadian a Manitoban and a Winnipeger….. I am thrice afflicted by this fraud being foisted on my home.
No amount of scorn directed at the Aspers or their cronies in this effort to inflict us with the cost of Izzy’s extravagant memorial is too much.
rockyt sez: “Gee I wonder if the CWB has donated big chunks of western grain producer money to this magnificent museum?
I hope they build right across the street from the CWB.
Because human rights mean SFA to the CWB.”
You’re not far off, it will be just around the corner.
Don’t see CWB on the list though: http://www.friendsofcmhr.com/index.cfm?pageID=32
The pathetic spectacle of various groups jostling for position in the victimhood rally is akin to Tasmanian Devils brawling and squealing over a decomposed wallaby carcass.
The whole sorry debacle is, except for the entertainment value, beyond disgusting.
Return all the funds to various contributors and lease the property “Bass Pro Shops”. Sounds like the ideal location for boating and fishing equipment.
Texas Canuck….I really can’t assign much value to the comments of some toughguy who rides around in his giant Dodge Tundra caring not one whit about obscene carbon footprint he’s creating.
And read a little history before you parrot the standard liberal BS you were indoctrinated with in school
My dear RW…I studied herstory at the University of Toronto. You know only the lies fabricated by the establishment. I know the truth!
I know that Canadian society despises artists and gay artists especially! And I’m talking about real artists here.
My lifepartner Sasha is a one such artist! His brilliant work is infused with passion and it holds cultural significance. Sasha’s latest works involved molding cat feces into small busts of George W. Bush and lining them in a row in the park, whereupon he would proceed to smoosh them with his pink fuzzy mules while shouting “Sic Semper Sirius!” Sasha made the molds himself out of rtv silicon!
But none of that matters now. The art grants have all but evaporated, and now we can do nothing but watch helplessly as our lives slip into oblivion.
But I will continue to sit under the willow in the park and play the lute right up until the end.
Phantom, even if they don’t take your suggestion about having a wing on “fish rights”, there will probably be plenty of fishy stuff there, judging by the jockying going on among the grievance groups.
Hans, Jubinville Bay may be across the tracks but back in the 60s that was a nice new suburb. Actually it’s still pretty nice, although not new anymore. And it’s far enough away from the HRM site that your successors on the Bay won’t smell the fish. I, on the other hand, will have to violate bovine rights on my barbecue every night to neutralize it.
Shouldn’t it be called the Canadian Museum for Human Lefts?
How did that one get past the censors?
Izanpo, dude.. you play the lute? That’s like so far out, man… I play the lyre – wanna jam sometime… in a non-judgemental accepting anti-racist and pro-GBLT way of course?
Drop me a line and let me know
Tata for now
“My lifepartner Sasha is a one such artist! His brilliant work is infused with passion and it holds cultural significance. Sasha’s latest works involved molding cat feces into small busts of George W. Bush and lining them in a row in the park, whereupon he would proceed to smoosh them with his pink fuzzy mules while shouting “Sic Semper Sirius!” Sasha made the molds himself out of rtv silicon!
But none of that matters now. The art grants have all but evaporated, and now we can do nothing but watch helplessly as our lives slip into oblivion.”
OK. This guy must be joking. And if he isn’t, maybe he and his partner should look for real jobs. You know, taking responsibility for poor career choices. If this Sasha really created brilliant work ripe with cultural significance, he wouldn’t need the grant money now would he? I didn’t realize that art infused with passion somehow made it valuable.
Izanpo, that’s great.And with regard to playing your lute up your rear end, I was going to suggest as much.
Sasha has to do something original – the cat sh1t/GWB shtick is getting old.
If he needs some dogsh1t with corn (ethanol/green statement) embedded in it, let me know.
I want to see a whole wing on the aboriginal slave industry that existed in pre-contact history. especially on the west coast where it was really big business.
Posted by: Fred at April 17, 2009 10:32 AM
Add in a section on ritual cannibalism on the west coast, along with the ritual murder of slaves.A fact sanitized from most Canadian museums and librarys.
A true leftist can never have a pet.
First, they have to choose the species.
And then, they have to choose the particular animal.
There is no socially just way of making those choices. It’s really unfair.
The Aspers started out with a very good name and reputation in Manitoba. They started out with one small but good TV station.
Trouble is , once they acheived success , they forgot about their viewing audience and systematically have began to dismantle everything that was good.
Beleive me , they are just getting started. The final failure will be the Museum in a year or two but of course they were clever enough to hook the taxpayer with that problem.
They should let this museum idea die now before making an even bigger mess. They have already “stolen” a million dollars from our public , not for profit car insurance company , they call it a donation, but I call it a theft.
The insurance corporation was mandated to fund and serve Manitoba drivers , not museums. Business violations or human rights violations , it doesn’t matter …. it is a violation.