I have read a lot of posts today and the theme still seems to be.
From The Caledonia Cafe Blog [Link]
Jim Anderson
Jan 26, 2007
That is fine if it makes both sides feel better but I have a Question?
In all of the posts not one of you has volunteered to step forward take a lead and try to make the Government address this problem. SO...... who is going to step up to the plate and take a positive leadership role and take the hits Gary has taken for you in the past?
Also before the Caledonia Wakeup Call site was set up how many of us had any real information on what was going on in our town? I was in town every day and I knew nothing until Gary started to put it all together in his site. Where will we be without this valuable information?
Maybe we would already be just like Ipperwash.
Maybe someone from our affected neighboring Native community would want to become that leader to exonerate their community for the outlandish terrorist acts that were perpetrated on their neighbors and friends by the terrorist faction that occupied Douglas Creek Estates.
I would like to believe that none of this was truly planned and was all a result of bad Government policy (IE McGuinty) and bungled policing (OPP). Had things been acted upon early with good policing and according to the law the Native occupiers would not have found themselves entrenched in this prolonged occupation and could have by now returned to their own communities. They could have made their point peacefully and would have had the full support of their neighbors and friends.
The lying was evident even in the OPP who we expected to protect us all. It was easy for them to blame Gary McHale for the situation to deflect all criticism away from very bad policing decisions. Just read their press releases and you can see for yourself that they blame Gary for injuries the police received long before Gary McHale came to town. They aren't telling you that people like McHale came to town because of the bad Policing.
However due to the poor leadership of McGuinty and friends this so called peaceful protest was not to be so and we now have community against community and friends against friends.
Maybe out of all of this a true leader can emerge who can bring the two factions together and bridge the differences that have divided our communities.
I wouldn't care from what community the leader emerged but I would openly support such a person in their quest for equality and fairness from a Government that truly doesn't understand either the importance or significance of true justice and one law for all.
I know that our Native Canadian neighbors would not like it if I was designated to be above them in law and justice and I in turn would not like it if my neighbors were deemed better than me and above the very laws that bind me.
To solve the dilemma we as Canadians are faced with we must first all accept that we are all equal under the law and are free to live our lives as we feel fit without any undue Government restrictions just as long as we all abide by the same rules of law.
Once we have gotten past this hurtle then we could formulate a plan to make our politicians accountable to the people they serve.
This seems to be a very basic requirement in a democracy.
Why do we openly let a politician lie to us during election campaigns and then not hold them accountable for their lies.
What message are we sending to the future generations of our children when they study History and find that lying pays.
Throughout this mess in Caledonia the politicians, police and negotiators have purposely stalled, fed us a lot of misinformation (read Lies) and fueled mis content on both sides.
I can't believe that they are that stupid to realize that through their actions they were actually fueling the fires so to speak and through their total lack of truth and communication with the people of both communities have prolonged this occupation.
The occupation does not serve any real purpose now and the longer it goes on the more non native support is lost through the media. Any goodwill felt to-wards the cause and plight of the Natives has long been lost.
The Government of the day's time is almost up and by fall we should have a new Government in power once the electorate turfs McGuinty's gang for lying.
Should this occur we will be back to square one and the next Government might not be as spineless as the last one. I would rather deal with a Government in power than starting with a new government and taking a year or two to bring them up to speed on the issues.
I mention the above because I think time is of the essence for everyone to show some good faith and reasonableness in resolving the occupation issues.
To the Native occupiers maybe it is time to move on and let the negotiators get down to negotiating land claims and not getting back flags and to the people of Caledonia maybe its time for us to come together and extend our hands in peace to our neighbours. It is time for community leaders to come together to allow our communities to heal.
By leaders in the community I don't necessarily mean do nothings like Mayor Marie Tray nor and most of the Councilors or some of the Native leaders portrayed on the news.
What we need are true community minded individuals who truly care about our communities, our neighbors and the past friendships we have all enjoyed. These true peacemakers are what we need and I hope we can get them to emerge and take a lead because if we leave it to the present players it won't happen.
I await your responses and thoughts. But before you shoot me for caring remember non of us on either side wanted any of this to happen in the first place.