Doing just what you’re paid for and not one bit more is called “Work to Rule” and it’s just total bullshit that it’s an effective labour tactic of resistance, because it implies that exploitation is part of the expectation in capitalism.

People want to do a good job and employers milk that.

this has “with us or against us “ energy

There is very little ’Alberta’ that is left over after you map out Treaty lands and Crown land.

The Treaties are older than AB and take precedence.

popcornandachair.gif

This is true, though the declaration being avoided is a wider set than just terrorism.

When I say skew I am not implying intent to mislead, just that paranoid interpretations by readers are kind of inevitable in such a situation.

While I agree that it skews the narrative, it’s likely that media at early stages of the story use passive language like that to leave open the possibility of various causes, such as mechanical malfunction or even an algorithmic failure.

This is the kind of uninformed bile that bots and provocateurs use, might want to rethink that readyfireaim joke.

No. East Asian looking male with a history of mental illness.

Most likely the political component of this tragedy is how the Socreds closed regional mental health institutions in the late 20th C, and subsequent governments just swept the whole thing under the rug while homelessness spread through the province and mentally disturbed and unsupported people lashed out in random ways.

Now you have dorks and bootlickers like Mayor Sims turning a health system failure into an opportunity for cruelty and repression. Punishment will be the talking point. They will roll with that, watch.

A drunk and his goons just took over your bus and it’s headed right for a school, I get it, you didn’t do it! …even though everyone saw them standing on the curb with tommyguns and shitty fedoras before they boarded, but OK.

Whatever happens from this point on is entirely on you and yours, now, though. History is watching.

Just a reminder to non-canadians that a core part of Canadian identity has always been not being American. It’s a quasi-colonized pov. Make it real and it will be life-or-death for many many folk.

Slightly more than 50% of all people are at least somewhat uncool, in my estimation, and that of course includes Jews, so thanks for confirming that!

it must be springtime

the style police have emerged

discourse now narrows

Don’t go full serial killer please. And while protesting can be helpful and at times necessary, it is only a small fraction of what is required for political and cultural change.

What would I do in your shoes, even though I don’t know their size or colour or condition or style? It seems obvious to me, but I am old and have spent time in places where Canadians have more global power than the locals.

Let’s say I move to Canada as a non-refugee, but maybe a political migrant moving out of concern. Some people are very welcoming and many seem cold or outright distrustful. Some of that seems directed not so much at me, since I check whether I am a mealy whinger or arrogant main character, and I’m not. It’s mainly about my origin and identity.

So I am going to earn trust where it counts. Not for the globally consistent 20% or so of boneheads who are always going to be authoritarian and xenophobic or supremacist in some way, fuck ‘em. Earn trust by building community in meaningful ways.

Work on making friends, while working on making up for the bullshit everyone here is now burdened with because American culture is so individualistic and religious and authoritarian and parochial and violent. Mitigate that shit for my new neighbours, in my own behaviour and by joining local initiatives that are pro-social, like volunteering at shelters or for a refugee organization.

Educate myself on history and local customs and geography. Don’t be the parochial dimwit of stereotypes. These are standard practice for any mildly courteous traveller, mind you.

Canada, however, has a special colonial relationship with the USA that affects everyone. So I pay attention, and remember that the citizens of the USA have long been friendly to, but have also long ignored and belittled and coveted and threatened and financially controlled and culturally dominated my new home… and people are going to remind me of that when I inevitably channel some of the american exceptionalism that galls most Canadians into passive aggressive mockery.

Yes, about 100M people right next door are probably risky to Canada, because they are drinking the fox poison or allow evil through indifference. Maybe 150M?

About 5 million potential refugees. Difficult for us to manage but we’ll try. The other 200M are (I’m guessing at the local mood here) welcome to visit and maybe immigrate.

The blame USA’ians feel coming from the north, even to allies, is about voting not being enough, it’s not a way to wash away culpability.

I know a few people who feel that we are under imminent threat of unimaginable violence. It does things to you.

Most of them see certain usa cultural behaviours and feel that’s where the risk comes from. It’s too hard for them to articulate or figure out how to filter through it, so it comes out as blanket rejection and distrust. Not sure I have seen any outright hate yet, it’s mostly defensive.

Also I have seen a lot of USA people online confuse that distrust with hate, obviously feeling touchy.

In the west we say “a boat”

Also shoes off in a home.

Because of course we know USA geography, eh?

Much to his Mum and Dad’s dismay

Horace ate himself one day.

He didn’t stop to say his grace,

He just sat down and ate his face.

-M.P.

Sure, I guess it depends on your style preferences… I prefer science fiction, so can’t remember much about the sword and sorcery novels, but they’re readable, and like anything Delaney does, underpinned with exploration of the power of words, ideas, power, desire.

Stay away from Dhalgren.

Nova is probably the most space opera novel with a standard structure. Good starting place.

Babel-17 is intense and weird and fairly short, about language as a weapon. Sometimes you find a copy doubled up with Empire Star which has a plot and structure that loops back on itself.

Probably my favourite is Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand which is probably the most alien yet approachable family portrayal in SF. Sadly it’s the first half of a duology that didn’t get finished, probably because it stands alone really well.

The short story collections vary but are mostly wins for any reader.

Yeah the hippy sexy Delaney novel was probably Dhalgren, which I don’t think I have actually finished despite a few attempts, and for reference I enjoyed Finnegan’s Wake in its entirety so it’s not like I don’t have stamina. I like all the other Delaney works, though. Triton might be a slog because the main character is self centred and childish and it’s from their point of view. It has some banger scenes, like the visit to a novelty restaurant with a nostalgic capitalist theme, and the wacko performance art at one point, and details like every candidate who gets any votes is elected and represent those voters, however few they maybe. Also main character gets a sex change to run from their problems but of course they’re still a jerk lol.